Epidural and RLS

[Madlegs1]

Does anyone know if there is an effect between getting an Epidural for L1/2 back pain and restless legs?

I am asking because I notice a lot of people experience greater rls after back surgery and wonder if the same relates to any invasive action in the spine.

Thanks.

[99selkies]

That had not occurred to me but my RLS came on with a vengeance 2 years ago after knee replacement surgery when I had an Epidural.

Previous to that I had had bouts of RLS much less severe & for short periods only

[Lilian18]

Yes I got mine after hip replacement

[Hidden]

I am not sure it has anything to do with having a Epidural. But the back surgery does seem to ramp RLS for many people. According to Dr. B it needs to be studied to find out why.

[Pippins2]

I have had epidurals twice, once when giving birth and recently for my coccyx surgery . I didn't get any change in my RLS following either of them . A person on another group told a torturous story where she had an epidural , got severe RLS sensations whilst unable to move her legs and she had to keep pressing the call buzzer to ask the nurses to move her legs for her! The nurses as per usual were stretched to the limit so could only spare her a minute or two and they couldn't understand why the poor woman was in tears . In the end her partner had to come to the hospital and stay the night to keep moving and rubbing her legs , She said it was like torture I was amazed that you can still get RLS during an epidural ! Pipps x

[Madlegs1]

Thanks to all of you.

Pippins- thats a frightening story- hope I don't experience that!😨

I'll let you know how it goes next week.

Cheers.

[lauraflora]

While I did have an epidural for the birth of one of my 4 children, I had already had restless legs before that since i was a child. I attribute it, mostly,( as I know there are other internal componants to RLS,) to the fact that 3 times in my life I have fallen on my tailbone. Once when I was 8 yrs. old, jumping off the swingset, landing sitting down so hard it knocked the wind out of me and I couldn't breathe till some one thumped me on the back. Then when I was 25, I was jogging in the winter and slipped on a patch of ice. It was so painful and when it was xrayed to see if there was a chip on the tail bone, it showed that I had compressed the bottom quarter of my spine. (I had chiropractic care for that.) Then again, about 5 or 6 years ago, I slipped, again on the ice, and landed, again, sitting down with one knee bent to the side.

So I have had several tailbone injuries and my sacroilliac ( the joint of the tailbone that enables it to move ever so slightly from side to side) goes out frequently. When it does it seems to aggravate the RLS, sometimes not so bad, sometimes really bad as it presses on the nerves. I go to a chiropractor for that and it helps a lot. Especially important is to ice it after treatment, as sometimes it will get inflammation and feel worse for a day. He suggested a sacroilliac belt (Amazon has them) for me to help squeeze it back into place (tho not to wear all the time.) I mention this as there certainly is a spinal issue as one of the causes of RLS - or at least aggravation.

[Madlegs1 in reply to lauraflora]

Thanks- that ties in with a lot of other experiences.

[Joolsg]

I've never had an epidural but know that my lower spinal cord has the most MS lesions (scars) and my RLS became really severe shortly after my first MS attack. I therefore think that any scarring/ interference in the lower spinal cord area will make RLS worse or even cause it in the first place. After reading what Pipps has written about that poor woman who still had RLS while unable to move from epidural I definitely will never allow that needle anywhere near my spine. Sounds awful.

Take care,

Jools

[Suckerbeagle]

Any trauma to the body can result in a temporary increase in frequency and severity of RLS symptoms. A woman in my support group says that if she stubs a toe badly she gets increased symptoms. Surgery of any kind, and especially in the legs is a huge trigger.

[Letmein76]

HI Madlegs. i would never let a needle near my spine to have an epidural. I have lived with chronic pain since 1979 due to having an epidural. The needle went into my spine in the wrong place and caused me to get Arachnoiditis. I wont go into details but please read about arachnoiditis and how you can get it also that many people may have it but have no idea it was caused by an epidural. It all depends on the person who is giving you it. i wont go on but please, please read about arach and it will give you an understanding as to why epidurals are so very dangerous. Woman in childbirth who have them can be affected and they never get to enjoy their babies because of the pain they suffer. B

est of luck Letmein. xxx

[Madlegs1]

Update- I got the Epidural last Wednesday. Local anaesthetic but I was 'out' and remember nothing. I think it's moved on a lot from years ago. It's done using xray and tracing dye so they know whats happening.

The rls was quite severe for a few nights- along with increased pain ,even with the oxycontin 10 at night.

I'm now having issues with the longevity of oxycontin. It was giving out by 6am having taken it at10pm .

I assumed it was tolerance but having checked out Dr B's site it seems more likely that it simply isn't lasting the full12 hrs. (Major matata about that)

I now have to consider a new dosing strategy to take into account an 8hr effectiveness ( using oxy 5and10) for RLS and also pain control for the lower back pain.

The Epidural is having some effect on the pain to the hip but I will need another in 2 months to cover the whole Sacro Iliac area.

Also still coping with trying to solve very high ferritin level.

Life is not simple.😎

Cheers.