Restless Legs anyone?

faceman · 07-08-2006 2:18pm #1

My other half suffers terrible with Restless legs most nights. Anyone else suffer and have any worthy remedies etc? She says eating rich food before bed makes it worse than normal.

Thanks!

deise_boi · 07-08-2006 4:41pm

aye, I get that a lot. Normally a sign of.. go to bed :P

I've found that maybe sprawling out on the couch is better rather then sitting upright in a chair. But usually it kicks in late at night so I just go to bed.

Chinafoot · 07-08-2006 6:42pm

Taken from here:

What is restless leg syndrome?

Restless leg syndrome is a common cause of painful legs. The leg pain of restless leg syndrome typically eases with motion of the legs and becomes more noticeable at rest. Restless leg syndrome also features worsening of symptoms during the early evening or later at night. The characteristic nighttime worsening of symptoms in persons with restless legs syndrome frequency leads to insomnia.

Restless leg syndrome usually begins slowly. Over time, the legs become more affected. Less frequently, restless leg syndrome can affect the arms.

What causes restless leg syndrome?

The cause of restless leg syndrome is unknown in most patients. However, restless leg syndrome has been associated with pregnancy, obesity, smoking, iron deficiency and anemia, nerve disease, polyneuropathy (which can be associated with hypothyroidism, heavy metal toxicity, toxins, and many other conditions), other hormone disease, such as diabetes, and kidney failure (which can be associated with vitamin and mineral deficiency). Some drugs and medications have been associated with restless leg syndrome including caffeine, alcohol, H2-histamine blockers (such as Zantac and Tagamet) and certain antidepressants (such as Elavil).

Occasionally, restless legs run in families. Recent studies have shown that restless leg syndrome appears to become more common with age.

Can other conditions mimic restless leg syndrome?

There are many conditions which can mimic restless leg syndrome including muscle diseases, joint conditions, nerve problems, and circulation difficulties.

What is treatment for restless leg syndrome?

Treatment of restless leg syndrome is first directed toward any underlying illness, if known. For example, a search for iron deficiency by blood testing to reveal underlying iron deficiency anemia. Reduction or elimination of caffeine and alcohol can be very helpful. Stopping smoking can also diminish symptoms. Getting better sleep and exercise can help some persons affected by restless legs.

Black Swan · 07-08-2006 6:54pm

peachypants I do not have this syndrome, but found the information interesting, as with many of the things that are appearing on this new forum.

littlebug · 07-08-2006 11:43pm

Some things I do...
Get up and walk around for a few minutes, prefarably on a cold tile floor.
Stand with legs against a cold radiator for a few minutes. (or maybe a cold hot water bottle in the bed, if that makes sense).
If all else fails I take myself off to the spare room and find that getting in a nice cold bed helps! This doesn't go down very well with hubby but I think might be slightly prefarable to putting up with me tossing and turning and kicking etc.
Avoid the "rich foods" late at night that make it worse. Red wine is a killer for me. I'm guaranteed to end up in the spare bed if I have a few glasses!

I'm not recommending this as a cure but I did find that mine got much better after having my babies. I think it was more a case of suddenly getting the ability to sleep on a bed of nails.... if I ever got half a chance to sleep. Once they both started sleeping well the old wibbly legs syndrome returned.

P

Pink Bunny · 09-08-2006 4:22am

Try putting a bar of soap in your bed under the sheets. Or if you are watching tv etc... and get the restless legs put a hotel size soap in your socks.
Everyone I know that has tried it swears by it.

If anybody tries this would you please report back in this thread if it worked for you? I'd be curious to know.

londubh · 11-08-2008 6:19pm

restless leg syndrome is possibly a neurological disorder, its also classed a sleep disorder and may be genetic. it can also be a sign of mineral deficincy.
truth is noone really knows.
gp's dont diagnose properly as the only treatment is an anti-parkinsons medication or medical grade narcotics. neither is good.
get your partner to try tonic water half an hour before bed, yes tonic water. its the quinine, some people find it helps. it depends on the severity. as the quinine levels are below theraputic levels. some gp's will give malaria tablets, but they have a reputation as being an abortive.
others swear by antistax a herbal product you can buy over the counter in the chemist,
magnesium or potassium or iron vitamins. but get blood test first as you dont want to end up with iron overload which is very serious and can lead to liver damage.
truth is there is no cure and it gets worse as you get older and eventually causes sleep deprivation. so see a gp and go from there. its a very common problem. when i seen my gp i didnt even have to go through all the symptoms. he was very familiar with the condition.
hope this helps
sweet dreams!

christinadublin · 16-08-2008 4:39pm

It could be caused by too much caffeine in the diet.

londubh · 22-08-2008 12:14am

good yeah. im alot worse when i drink coffee, coke or black tea past 6pm. ice packs are great. put them on your ankles for about 20mins before you go to bed.

Splendour · 18-09-2008 11:41pm

Quinine as suggested by londubh is good but the best thing as also suggested by londubh is magnesium. The Solgar range is probably the strongest. Tell her to take one in the mornings and one at night.

dmaxontour · 11-08-2009 1:38pm

I get this a lot. Especially recently. I think Moy park Chicken kievs kick it off with me. Seriously. As well as other stuff. I find it very hard to lock something down as a cause or contributing factor. All good suggestions here and I know the theories and the difficulty medecine has with identifying a cause.
I'm going to try the soap in socks in the evening and see if it helps.
:-)

dmaxontour · 11-08-2009 1:48pm

Oh yeah, I meant to say this.

I was up at Glendalough at teh weekend and got eaten alive by flies. When this happens to me I come up in lumps (where the bites are) and now I have that restless legs feeling during the day too, so was wondering if the two could be in any way related.
Does anyone else suffer simlarly? Also, flies, mosquitos etc, always go for me. I know people say vitamin B repels them, But I am also wondering if slow "sticky" blood could make me more of a target. And "sticky" blood is related to restless legs....
Anyway. Thinking out loud here :-)

GeeNorm · 11-08-2009 2:16pm

Just another angle on this. Suggested to take it with a pinch of salt.

I've often heard of this referred to as 'Kicking cats.' I think meaning that the leg jolt looks like you are kicking a cat off the end of the bed.

Anyway, lots of people suffer from it when hungover and it is related to 'Vodka leg.' Vodka leg is the belief that if you're body can't cope with various toxins in the blood, that the untreated 'bad blood' lingers in the legs (acting as a sump). This makes the legs sore (vodka leg) and twitchy (kicking cats).

Drinking lots of water helps and i am guessing that for people who suffer from this chronically (i.e. when not hungover), the unprocessed toxins are from caffeine etc (as already pointed out) so avoid these later in the day.

kmick · 11-08-2009 2:25pm

My wife has a bar of soap under the sheet where her legs and feet are. It has eliminated the problem. How it could possibly work is beyond me but it has.

keiran110 · 11-08-2009 3:03pm

That soap method is extremly strange! It boggles my mind to how it possible would work! But sure, if it does work then thats all that matters.

Anyway, first of all, ive read in so many places and have always been taught that eating before sleep or a few hours before you sleep is a bad idea. It will lead to a bad nights sleep and restlessness when trying to sleep.

I do not have restless legs but i do have pains in my ankles when i sleep. This is most likely due to the fact that ive injured my ankles more times than i can count at this stage. What helps for me is to stretch out your feet and point your toes out when your lying down, and hold this position. Also i find it helps if you get somebody to actually sit or put weight on your ankles when your feet are stretched out in this position.

This may just work for me though because i probably have ankle problems rather then restless leg!

dmaxontour · 11-08-2009 3:27pm

"if you're body can't cope with various toxins in the blood, that the untreated 'bad blood' lingers in the legs (acting as a sump)."

I'm not sure what a sump is but this rings true to me. I can't help feeling that there is something circulatory involved. I'd like to drain my feel and lower legs and then have a refil (like an oil change).

Another thing, possilbey related, possibley not, is that my feet virtually never sweat. That seems strange to me and they often feel hot, when I have restless legs, which is why I think walking on cold tiles etc helps.

woollysocks · 15-09-2009 8:09pm

my sister suffers really badly with RLS and her doctor prescribed her Mirapexin which she has found really helpful. she just takes one before bed every night and it stops the restlessness within minutes

keiran110 · 16-09-2009 2:43am

really? Did she ask her doctor why he/she prescribed this drug?????

woollysocks · 16-09-2009 2:56am

it is used in the treatment of RLS if severe enough. my Dad also takes it for his Parkinson's and I know it works on the dopamine system so therefore taking it long term is not to be sniffed as... but, if the RLS is bad enough i would urge people to go to their GP and query it with them. I think too often RLS is brushed off as being just a niggle and almost viewed as psychosomatic, but it has a real negative impact on people's lives if it leads to constant sleep loss.

keiran110 · 16-09-2009 11:05am

ah very good. i didnt know about it being suitable for short term use

helimachoptor · 16-09-2009 11:07am

I get it normally after playing a match, I used to cycle about 40k a day and suffered with it then a bit too.

Pain in the a$$!!

cathal212 · 04-01-2010 3:09am

i've started to get this, really bad infact in the last few months, has been making life unbearable with the lack of sleep im getting!! anyone go to the doctor about this? is there any thing they can prescribe?

Dr robotnic · 04-01-2010 3:38am

chop the legs of and bury them in lime , then dig them up and bobs your uncle .... seriously though try going for a walk or have a really hot shower before bed this always help me sleep if i ever have sore limbs at night , and if that doesn't work try the lime thing

dmaxontour · 04-01-2010 11:34am

cathal212 wrote: »

i've started to get this, really bad infact in the last few months

Have a think about anything that may have changed in the last few months, especially diet related.

Doctors have not been able to helop me at all as very little is known about it.

I've had some luck with magnesium supplements. Also, I find it gets worse after a prolonged period of eating badly (lack of veges or eating a lot of processed food) or drinking a lot. But these are all vague guesses.

For an immediate help, try walking on cold tiles, or lying down and putting your feet up against cold tiles or a cold radiator.

Auscast · 05-03-2010 2:08am

I have a strange version of this (I can't think of anything else it could be) where around the time I start to think about going to bed (10pm) my legs start to ache. Then, by the time I'm in bed and trying to fall asleep my legs, arms and sometimes across my chest has this uncomfortable sensation that happens in waves. It's a hard sensation to explain... Kind of like a tired muscle feeling, cold skin and shivers (without shivering).
To relieve the sensation I have to get up and watch tv until I fall asleep (or am about to). It seems while in bed the more I think about it the stronger the sensations.

The doctor said I should try drinking tonic water for the Quinine which I'm doing now (for the first time), but I think it might be worth visiting a hypnotist.

Anyone know of someone with anything like this?

lazarus mind · 10-03-2010 11:45am

I used to have RLS really bad. After I became vegetarian it just went away. I suppose some change in my nutrition...

dmaxontour · 10-03-2010 12:33pm

lazarus mind wrote: »

I used to have RLS really bad. After I became vegetarian it just went away. I suppose some change in my nutrition...

Interesting. When i go through a period of neglecting teh green stuff my RLS seems to get worse. And I get a craving for brocolli and veges.
Diet seems to affect me strongly in terms of RLS. Heavily processed food seems to make my RLS worse.

Auscast · 10-03-2010 1:06pm

I have a pretty healthy diet. Admittably there's meat involved in 95% of my dinners, but there's loads of veg as well.
Taking a glass of tonic water an hour before bed seems to help at the moment.

Cherrycola · 19-03-2010 11:09pm

GeeNorm wrote: »

Just another angle on this. Suggested to take it with a pinch of salt.

I've often heard of this referred to as 'Kicking cats.' I think meaning that the leg jolt looks like you are kicking a cat off the end of the bed.

Anyway, lots of people suffer from it when hungover and it is related to 'Vodka leg.' Vodka leg is the belief that if you're body can't cope with various toxins in the blood, that the untreated 'bad blood' lingers in the legs (acting as a sump). This makes the legs sore (vodka leg) and twitchy (kicking cats).

Drinking lots of water helps and i am guessing that for people who suffer from this chronically (i.e. when not hungover), the unprocessed toxins are from caffeine etc (as already pointed out) so avoid these later in the day.

Totally agree with this, i suffer with awful restless legs after ive been out drinking, and i put it down to dehydration.
And i suffered a lot more when i lived in the ME, as i wouldnt always drink enough water.
Its so hard to describe the sensation of restless legs to anyone, but my whole family suffer with, as did my gran.
Her cure was to take a panadol, and believe me, it works.

Oh and the whole sump thing is true too, i find if i prop up my legs, and let the bad blood run out, or even massage my lower legs to get the blood moving, this helps too.

cathy01 · 12-05-2010 5:11am

I think Low Vitamin B12, is related to it.Check up at the Doctor.??Cathy

Kanoe · 15-05-2010 4:22am

have suffered this on occasion, usually after taking medication that contains anti histamine, someone told me the weirdest solution to take a bar of soap to the bed, (i know it sounds mad) but it worked. (place it behind the knee)

edit:just copped the soap posts on page one..but it does work!

Restless Legs anyone?

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