Diagnosis

[lottiebooboo]

Hello, I am a newbie to the group

I am pretty sure my husband has RLS. It affects him most at night and he barely sleeps. We saw a GP about it and he was given some tablets that are also prescribed to Parkinson's sufferers but he stopped taking them as they were making him hallucinate!!!. My question is, is there a test you can have to actually get it officially diagnosed?

My husband is reluctant to take medications but he is driving me potty with this and we really need to try and find a way to control it.

Thank you for reading x

[Madlegs1]

Unfortunately, there is no testfor it. But there is a list of criteria that help diagnose the syndrome.

It can be found in

rls-uk.org

Or

rlshelp.org

Basically it's where one has an uncontrollable urge to move the legs due to discomfort/tickling feeling.

What dose of the medication was he put on ? Usually it would be a very low dose for rls- much lower than for Parkinsons.

There are a range of medications for alleviating rls- they affect everyone in different ways- so there is a certain amount of experimentation required.

The 2nd site above has a good list of the meds available.

The 1st site has a list of meds to avoid.

It's well worth spending some time on both those sites educating yourselves about rls.

All is not lost- good luck.

[lottiebooboo in reply to Madlegs1]

Thank you so much for your reply. I will do a bit more investigation and then march him down to the doctors to try and get something to help Thank you again x

[Parky1949]

Most start with a sleep study to determine the problem , if it's RLS then find a knowledgable neurologist.

GP's are a jack of all trades and a master of none, especially RLS.

[lottiebooboo in reply to Parky1949]

Thank you for your reply. I just need to convince his lordship (husband) He was put on Amatriptaline!!! Has anyone else been on these? thank you x

[Hidden in reply to lottiebooboo]

Amitriptyline.....I take that for migraines, does nothing for my restless legs. I read that massaging your legs and feet with lavender massage oil before you go to bed helps along with putting a bar of lavender soap in a sock and putting under the bottom sheet by your feet will help. I am willing to try anything to get some relief and sleep.

[Kaarina Administrator in reply to lottiebooboo]

Hi Lottie,

Amitriptyline is one of the medications to avoid if one suffers with RLS. Most sufferers say this drug sends their RLS into overdrive.

Amitriptyline is listed here under Medications to Avoid: rls-uk.org/treatment/

[lottiebooboo]

Some of the RLS medications sound a bit scary! I guess it's weighing up what you would rather suffer from I guess. Thank you all for your replies x