Hi there.

[BrianF]

I'm Brian. Married with 2 kids to a very understanding and supportive wife. Had RLS for over 10 years now and have tried many ways to try and alleviate the problem with various degrees of success. Will be great to talk to and share ideas with other sufferers.

[restlessinlondon]

Welcome to the site! There are many friendly and knowledgeable people on here. Let us know if you have specific questions or put a subject into the search box and see what comes up.

[BrianF in reply to restlessinlondon]

Thanks for the support. Read some interesting stuff already. Wish I'd known about this forum earlier.

[Hidden]

Welcome Brian, there are many on here will know how you feel and you will get loads of information and help.

[BrianF in reply to Hidden]

Thanks raffs. I've enjoyed reading some interesting stuff already. Didn't realise how common this is. Wish I had joined this forum sooner.

[Hidden in reply to BrianF]

Better late than never. Plenty of help, support and a bit of craic to be had here too.

[involuntarydancer]

I find reading other people's experiences both affirming and incredibly helpful in tweaking my own treatments. It is the nuances that one just can't derive from more formal advice. It is great to have you on the forum and please don't hesitate to post details of your rls journey. We all learn from each other. What is your treatment at the moment?

[BrianF in reply to involuntarydancer]

I'm on Pramipexole. Was on 2 a day but had to reduce to 1 as 2 were lowering my blood pressure too much. I have started my own version of 'diversion' therapy which works for me. I've started weaving paracord bracelets. I find the intense concentration on following the instructions and trying to get the knots right makes me forget about my RLS and I tend to get a decent night's sleep after. What I like is that whereas the tablets take about 2 hours to kick in, weaving takes about 20 minutes.

[involuntarydancer]

That is a genius form of distraction technique. It makes my own version - killer sudoku puzzles seem very ordinary. How did you alight on that?

[BrianF in reply to involuntarydancer]

I was walking around the room trying to relieve the RLS one evening, when I got engrossed in my daughter making one of those friendship bracelet things and it suddenly occurred to me I had forgotten about the RLS. I looked up YouTube and found instruction videos on weaving what's called survival or paracord bracelets. The following evening when I started to feel it coming on, I found a pair of boot laces and followed one of the tutorials. Within 20 minutes the familiar burning sensation had all but gone. Now whenever I start to feel RLS rearing its ugly head, I reach for the paracord. 20 minutes later or so, I head off to bed for for a decent night's sleep. Ok, so I have to buy the materials, but it's a small price to pay for the relief it brings and it's turned into an interesting hobby.

[involuntarydancer in reply to BrianF]

Much cheaper than the illegal drugs I rely on ...