Is acute pain part of your RLS experience?

[Nannarls]

Just another thing while Im here at the pc. It seems that most of you talk of acute pain and RLS together. Now, I have RLS BUT my acute pain is from more recent injuries and in no way associated with the RLS. The question is: How many of you have the RLS so severely that it becomes painful? When it manifests in me, it just about drives me crazy with feelings like worms crawling in my legs (mostly thighs) and it prevents sleep. Its NOT pain but it is maddening..... in the past I would punch my thighs but only after many hours of trying to sleep and knowing that I had a grueling day of work ahead of me.

[rkatt]

I have those crawling sensations but also much more explicit severe pain - like electric shocks deep inside tissue and along nerves, also a sensation like ground glass trapped inside my legs and feet. Sometimes my leg muscles involuntarily clench, which is painful too.

[Nannarls in reply to rkatt]

rkatt: that sounds dreadful. Ive had the electric shocks but certainly not frequently enough to have associated them with RLS. They are like a tiny sword shoved here and there and maybe only happen 5 or 6 times a year... I assumed it was just another pain to deal with. I hope you and all of the others get relief soon and now i understand why so many turn to these prescribed drugs.

[rkatt in reply to Nannarls]

Thanks Nannaris, I get relief from Pramipexole and Gabapentin. The moment I try to cut down though ... ouch.

[Madlegs1]

I agree- but people have different conceptions of pain and thresholds.

I don't experience pain at all- just extreme frustration and annoyance.

I wonder if people are describing some sort of neuropathic pain and confusing that with rls???

This comes up constantly on this forum.

Cheers.

[Nannarls in reply to Madlegs1]

its hard to tell what others feel. I think I have a high pain threshold. The wriggling and jiggling of crawling worms and involuntary kicking with squeezing muscle sensations is bad enough and being sleep deprived most of my life is the result of this rls.

[Hidden]

There are two kinds of pain that I describe having: uncomfortable sensations that lead to the impossible-to-ignore urge to move and real pain that feels like my muscles are cramping up.

[Nannarls in reply to Hidden]

Thats a good way to describe it : "impossible-to-ignore urge to move". my daughter has told me to lie still for 7 minutes, ignoring the sensations and i should go to sleep but I have never been able to get passed a minute. Before my knee replacement I dreaded the thought of the op because of the RLS... I suspected that the kicking would ruin the surgery but I was wrong and I had no RLS incidents while in hospital.

[Hidden in reply to Nannarls]

I could never last any time not moving - I had no control, if only it were as easy as 'don't move'!!

I suspect that in hospital you were given opioid pain drugs which eased the RLS.

[Nannarls in reply to Hidden]

LOL yes, I think it was morphine.

[involuntarydancer]

I just get the creepy crawley feeling which I find dreadful but am very grateful that I don’t get the pain as well.

[Hidden in reply to involuntarydancer]

same as me

[Hidden]

I would have had terrible pain - it would build as the day/evening progressed feeling like I was running a marathon. The following morning it felt like I had run a marathon the evening before, only for the process to begin again.

That is only the pain and not the uncontrollable urge to move which I find very difficult to describe.

[Hidden]

I get pain along side my RLS. Its a deep ache in my calf, depending on what leg the RLS is playing up in. I USED to get the creepy crawly feeling, but not now. I dont have neuropathic pain.

[marsha2306]

I don’t have pain; just the creepy, crawlers and kicking.

[Restlesslegsgirl]

I always punch my thighs but it moves around and I barely sleep because of it and the pain is just too much I have my daughter walk on my legs while I am on the floor because I get so worn out from punching on my legs