My heart cries for my husband when I see him rocking back and forth, jiggling his legs, moving his arms back and forth and moving his head.

[MSGTwife]

Can anyone tell me what I, as his wife, can do to help alleviate any of his symptoms during the daytime hours? He takes medication at night and it helps when he gets so exhausted his body gives up and he passes out. Or, worse, he will take anti-anxiety medication on top of his RLS meds because it will make him relax a little. I don't think this is a good thing but the poor man suffers so much. I want to help him but I don't know what to do. Would a massage help?? I can't massage him because of my severe body tremors but I can certainly buy him one! HELP..... PLEASE No he isn't in the military. He retired from the Air Force a MSGT and I couldn't think of another user name haha. He also just retired last year from 25 years with American Airline. Last year he had an emergency triple bypass and his aortic valve replaced. He does exercise but not on a regular basis. Gosh, I'm windy I just want to help my husband enjoy his life as much as he can. Oh, he's also insulin dependent diabetic with pretty high blood sugar levels from being bored and eating no-no foods. Thanks for any help........... Judy

[Tiredparent Restless Leg Syndrome]

So many of us suffering! Can you tell us what medication your husband is on? It sounds as if the RLS is reasonably under control at night. It might be that he can take medication that releases over a 24 hour period instead. Personally massage doesn't help me but everyone is different. Would he be able to go for a short walk or similar everyday? Too little exercise can make RLS worse (and so can too much or too close to bedtime). I really hope we can help you. I think it is fabulous that you are trying to think of ways to help him. Best of luck

[landman]

Marijuana

[ookla]

I have rls round the clock, any time I sit still. For me, massage feels good while it's happening, but my symptoms come back as soon as it's over and I sit still again. The only medication that is working for me is 15 mg of oxycodone, but it only lasts for 3 or 4 hours. I don't want to take it four times a day, so the Dr prescribed the extended 12 hour release oxycontin (except she's playing some weird cat and mouse game with me right now and only prescribed 10 mg once a day, so no help there any more). Maybe one of the extended release narcotics twice a day would help him. Best of luck, please keep us updated.

[Lindy14]

Hi MSGT wife,

I must admit I can see you are in a similar position to my husband who is on the receiving end of my kicks in bed. He wants to help but I can't find anyway for him to relieve things. What I do find useful is his descriptions of what I am doing while asleep, i.e., whether I am writhing or kicking. I feel that he, rather than me, is the one "suffering" from the RLS!

I have found some things that help on a temporary basis.

Some way of cooling my legs eases things. These include:

a) wearing light shorts rather than thick jeans, or clothing that keeps me cool

b) using a mattress topper that can keep the bed cool (one made by a firm called Climsom is expensive but I wouldn't go anywhere without it now.

c) exercises involving laying on the floor and lifting my legs up for 15 minutes eases the jerks for a while

I have been started on Ropinirole (for 5 months) but I told my GP that it doesn't seem to be working to cover the full 24 hours. He has admitted defeat and has just referred me to a neurologist. After at least 15 years of trying to cope with the jerks and sensations I am looking forward to see if this specialist has any up-to-date suggestions.

Have the doctors your husband sees picked up the RLS? There may be some connection. I've picked up a lot of information from other people on this website, and the charity concerned with RLS also has some interesting information.

I found out about these forms for me purely by experiment, but they may help your husband. Do you keep a record of the frequency and severity of your husband's RLS. I do feel that some medical staff are not aware of its impact on our lives (I mean your life and your husband's life).

I hope these ideas help.

[restlessinlondon]

I have learnt from people here that anti-depressants can make RLS worse, so that may not be helping. Also caffeine has a big effect. I do hope that you both will be able to find support and practical help soon.

[harryredwards]

You absolutely must get him to get his prostate checked -= both PSA and rectal examination especially if this is getting worse. I had really bad worsening restless legs following retirement and found out I had terminal prostate cancer. The reason I say this is because I know of 2 other men who had restless legs and who later found out they had advanced prostate cancer. Restless legs can be secondary to cancer!

[Hidden in reply to harryredwards]

RLS is known to get worse as we get older, mine got worse a year after i retired. But i have never heard of RLS being linked to prostrate cancer.

[nightdancer in reply to Hidden]

We can have way more than one thing wrong with us-co-morbid conditions. Prostate cancer is common and so is RLS, but RLS is not going to cause prostate cancer or any other kind of cancer. sorry, but there is no evidence to that and we do not need to scare people either. I have RLS, but that does not mean my ovarian cancer was caused by RLS, it is just a coincidence. We would need a lot more scientific evidence to even start thinking of that.

[tremors1]

My husband has suffered from rls for about twenty years, the doctors would say, yes I have heard of this, theres nothing can be done because its very common. Recently our g.p. gave him ripenrole, it works sometimes at night, but no always, and he gets it during the day when he relaxes.

[Hidden]

It could be that the Ropinerole is a med that isnt suited to your husband. Even tho he has only recently started taking it, he could be already having augmentation. There are other medications used for RLS, so dont let his doctor tell him, nothing can be done. Because one med doesnt work doesnt mean he has to suffer. Its trial and error, most of us have had to change meds to find one that works for us.

[wendy25]

I have Restless Leg Syndrome, it is really annoying, cant get comfy, they say its worse at night, which in my case its like it all day, feel like i'm doing running round a track, they also say exercise is good, but when i have other medical problems, i cant exercise. Im on Quinnine, n Pramoexole 0.088mg, they calm it down, but not for long. my sleeping is not very good either, maybe a couple of hours a night, then back up running.....

[nightdancer]

An extended release med, like Ropinerole XR or one of the other slow release meds could help him more. And, there are other classes of meds that can help. rlshelp.org is a great web site, go to the treatment page. Usually the partner suffers along with the RLSer, because besides researching and being sympathetic, there is really not much the partner can do. Anti-anxiety meds do help, the antidepressants are the ones to watch for. on the treatment page of that web site, the list of Drugs and Foods to Avoid is well worth reading. The antidepressants that can hurt RLSer's are the SSRI's, like Prozac and Paxil, and tricyclics are the worst for 99.9% of us, remembering there are always exceptions.

[VRose]

Ask your doctor about the Neupro patch. This is godsend for me. It is a transdermal patch that delivers the med continuously . I would also seek out a neurologogist's help.

[Gwenlou]

Perhaps try changing the foods he eats...this helps many people. My experience with RLS symptoms is primarily caused by what I eat. Gassy foods (bananas, oats, beans, greasy foods) cause trapped gas. Avoiding these foods and getting exercise in the morning, when my body best absorbs the Vit D from the sun have eliminated my RLS symptoms. I sleep beautifully now. If I do get an RLS attack, I move the body around, twist at the waste, walk, yoga and drink water and then go to the toilet to release the gas or defecate.

[Windwalker]

If you don't have the sensation then you can sympathize but cannot help him. My wife has all these suggestions that I tried when the full blown conditions first started. Long story shortened, for the spouses of RLS patients....you are as helpless as we are.