RLS related to Bowel Function

[Craftyfox]

I am currently on Ropinirole 4 mg around 1:30 pm and Ropinirole 1 mg 1-1/2 at bed time along with 1 mg clonazapam. I have found that my symptoms are directly related to bowel movements. As in the symptoms are relieved by having a bowel movement. Has anyone else experienced this? No one really takes me seriously, but I feel I could reduce meds if I could unlock the key here.

[Kaarina Administrator]

Craftyfox,

A few members in the past have mentioned that having a bowel movement/passing urine reduces their RL symptoms.

[Matrix]

Yes I have found that a lot of times not always . My osteopath said we so many nerve endings in the bowel that's it's not surprising that if we have problems relating when we need to go .Its a right royal pain literally .x

[Madlegs1 in reply to Matrix]

I'm not sure about this--- I think I'll sit on it a while.😂

[Matrix]

Lol very funny x

[Pippins2]

No I haven't noticed this x

[Joolsg]

Yep. I have definitely noticed that.

[Gmc54]

I too notice my symptoms disappear after a bowel movement, my daughter who also suffers says that she gets relief after emptying her bladder. I still get rls at other times though, so it's difficult to say that a full bowel is the main cause of my symptoms

[LoisTonya]

Yes, at about 3 - 4 am I have a feeling of a full bladder and bowel and violent kicking movements which seems to originate in the small of my back. Emptying my bladder doesn't help at all and my bowel doesn't seem to want to empty but, later on in the morning, evacuating my bowel does clear the symptoms.

[lauraflora]

I can relate to what you are saying, but in the context of a full bladder. If my bladder is full at night or even while sitting in a chair, it seems to cause RLS to act up, until I get up and go to the bathroom. It is, I feel, caused by pressure on the nerves. Which leads me to what I have posted on here before, and it seems several people have been able to identify with and are pursuing - and that is-

Your spine. I go to a Chiropractor due to spinal issues over the years. If your spine is compressed, this causes pressure on the nerves that come thru the spinal column and go into various parts of your body. The pressure irritates and inflames those nerves and RLS can become very bad. I have had compression of the bottom quarter of my spine by, first, as a child, jumping off a swing set and landing sitting down so hard it knocked the wind out of my lungs. When I was 25, I slipped on ice while jogging and landed, once again, sitting down. And a few years ago, again, I was out hiking thru the woods and slipped on ice and landed, you guessed it, sitting down.

Chiropractors are well versed in RLS. You an look on the web for info about this and what they do. In my experience, and in my reading online, there is an internal imbalance of various body chemicals that seems to cause the nerves to act up (which is a different topic), AND if there is pressure on the nerves, then they are much more irritated and problematic.

So, my advice is to do some research into Chiropractic and find a chiropractor to go to. My most recent (about 1 month ago) bout with extreme RLS caused me to have horrible sleepless nights with nerve impulses coming every 10 to 15 seconds, no matter what I did. I finally went to my chiro (got caught out for several days over a holiday weekend). He fixed particularly my sacroiliac joint, had me Ice it for a few days. That night was the first night I slept thru with only a few flickers of RLS. So, check it out.

[Craftyfox]

Thanks! I have had surgery to remove a tumor from inside my spinal chord C-3 to C-7. I am somewhat numb from the waist down so am pretty sure this plays a role in my RLS. It is so bad at times that my leg literally jerks uncontrollably. This is usually a cue that I need to use the bathroom. I have gone to a chiropractor but not for this.

[Pennyfarthing]

Yes I have. My rls will start directly before I need to go

[Craftyfox in reply to Pennyfarthing]

Thanks for your reply? Now I know I am not crazy! Are you on any meds?

[jonjo]

yes I have found that sometimes relief comes from rls if I have a bowel movement. I thought that I too was imagine it at first. Glad you mentioned it .