Patient Voices: Restless Leg Syndrome

[elleng]

'Creepy-crawly, itchy, tingly, aching legs — while different people may describe restless leg syndrome differently the results are the same: sleepless nights and restless days. What is it like to be diagnosed with R.L.S.? Six men and women speak about their experiences.'

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/well/patient-voices-rls.html?

[chillfactor]

1. I have RLS...

even on meds I get severe body jerks during the night...days I am fine...maybe because I am moving around during the day. But some night can be tough....I wake up from a deep sleep because my body jerks so badly.

[WhiteTara]

2. Do you have sleep apnea?

[Laffy Kat]

4. Myoclonus jerking.

I had it so severely at one point I couldn't sleep more than a few minutes at a time. I was put on a benzodiazepine and it really helps. They can also prescribe a parkinson's drug. Don't give up. Keep calling your doctor. And DON'T let them put you on amitriptyline (Elavil) because it will actually make it worse.

[Ron Obvious]

3. I describe them as "voluntary(sic) muscle spasms".

There's an increasingly intense tingling on the inside of my leg and I just have to either shake my leg or else go mad.

I've had it more or less since puberty, and I get them before going to bed already if I'm getting sleepy.

[Mosby]

5. interesting article

I have it just a little and mostly in my left leg. It's such an odd feeling, I can't really describe it. Fortunately it only makes it a little harder to fall asleep. For me exercise has helps a lot.

[Thekaspervote]

6. A natural supplement now recommended by physicians and sufferers alike

I have a mixture of those kinds of symptoms. Benfotiamine is a lipid soluble thiamine or b3. It’s the lipid formulation that makes it different than regular thiamine. Not expense, now widely available. You can google it, lots of info out there about it. Hope it helps!!

[procon]

7. "She recalls waking up in the middle of the night as a child to take a hot bath..."

OMG... that was me, too! I was like 6 years old and would wake up at night and run a hot bath to ease my legs. My mom thought I was nuts. I never even knew it was an actual medical condition until I saw a drug commercial on TV a few years ago.

It was the worse in my late 20s- mid 30s and gradually faded away. I've never seen a doctor about it because it occurs infrequently these days, but I'm fair certain I have correctly diagnosed my twitchy, spasming legs.