DOes anyone have restless leg syndrome, HELP

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 12:01 pm

Hi there,

I don't have Restless Leg Syndrome but I have something similar--Periodic Limb Movement Disorder. The doctor said I could take anti-convulsants or anti-parkinsonian medications but I refused. So instead I often feel tired and like I haven't fully rested, which I haven't, because my limbs twitch hundreds of times per night, awakening me without my knowledge and interrupting my sleep.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 4:23 am

I was diagnosed with RLS years ago when I had an overnight sleep study done at a sleep disorder clinic. They put me on Klonopin and this helped but I quit taking it due to it lowering my blood pressure too much. When it was really bad I would have to walk up and down the stairs for awhile before I could go back to sleep. Certain medications made it worse (some of the anti depressants). Over exercising also made it worse. Stretching and taking a warm bath before bed seemed to help. I don't get the RLS much anymore and I do think a lot of it was due to the medication I was on at the time and also the hormone changes.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 1:38 pm

I've been reading all the posts as I was dtagnosed with RLS and i see a lot of people talking about leg pain and cramping. That is not RLS. RLS symptoms are from inside the legs and make you feel like you have to keep moving them . It kept me awake and I would have to get up and keep walking around. I never had pain or cramping. I described it as feeling like small insects running up & down inside my legs and also my legs would vibrate so badly my husband could feel it. My Rheumatologist diagnosed it in 1996 and put me on Clonazepam which I still take before bed and still have good results most nights. I have tried going off it but within 3-4 nights it's back with a vengence. I'm just so thankfull to have it under control.
Just wanted to share my story.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 4:44 pm

Hi poohbear,

have you ever considered low Iron as a possibility to your RLS? I was having RLS problems a year ago and my doctor told me that a lot of times RLS symptoms are actually caused by not having enough Iron. I was skeptical, but after taking gentle release low dose-iron and making sure that I did some walking during the day, I didn't have RLS problems anymore. Hope it helps!

Lew · Post by **Lew** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 4:49 pm

NOTE: What I forgot to specify is that my doc told me that the low Iron related restlessness in legs is often misdiagnosed as RLS. Best of luck to you in managing your leg problems!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 4:06 pm

Hi, I was very sick 1 year ago. Couldnt walk to the car or pick up my children without my heart racing. I slept alot and felt like I was having panic symptoms.. I have a history of GED and Panic, so when I went to the hospital it was assumed my extreme anxiety history was the cause of my physical symptoms. What seemed strange to me is I didnt have sweaty palms or the usual symptoms I remembered from panic. In the hospital my antidepressants were changed and I was put on tons of clonazipam which didnt keep me asleep! I kept waking with Restless legs all the time. The hospital said it was caused by my anxiety. Long story short...I got out of the hospital, still felt terrible, went for a sleep study and learned I was getting less than 10 mins of REM sleep a night! this had been going on for months, which explained my fatigue, falling down stairs, and near car accidents - I was sleep deprived and impared essentially. ANyway. The Sleep Doctor told me my iron was in the normal range but very very low normal, bordering anemia. This wasnt caught in teh hospital cause I guess teh docs never bothered to notice it since it was in the 'norm' field of my lab report. The sleep doctor recommeneded perscription iron, and I have been on it for a year. My iron is still low but no where near as low and guess what! my restless leg is GONE!!! I am sleeping again and my anxiety and fast heart rate are all back to normal...it wasnt anxiety - it was low iron all along!!!! Now granted my tendancy for anxiety likely worsened my simptoms and perception of them, but there was a real treatable cause. I went back on my old antidepressants and the doctors admitted I was wrongly diagnosed. I am almost off the clonazipam, taking slivers of it now to ween myself off. It has been almost a year now that I have been well. Besides the restless legs, and insomnia, I also found I was cold a lot, and my arms would easily fall asleep and get tingly if I was lying on them at night.....again, lack of red blood cells! Good luck to you! Feel better!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 10:15 am

Hi all,

My wife told me that I had RLS, but I never did anything about it because I had always been that way. I guess my leg muscles were well conditioned, they got exercised day and night LOL

However, I had something elese that is even worse than RLS. I have sleep apnea. That is a killer. My mother died from this dredful disease. Anyway, I had a sleep study performed and that confirmed I had it, and they prescribed a <A HREF="http://www.webmd.com/search/search_resu ... query=CPAP" TARGET=_blank>CPAP</A> machine and guess what?

My RLS stopped! No meds, no vitamins, just plain old constant air pressure the CPAP machine provides.

I am not saying that is the cure, I am just saying that once I was placed on the CPAP my RLS is gone. When I do not use the CPAP my legs are all over the place.

Gman