Whole Body RLS

[Grammalu]

I just found this site and thought I'd give it a try. I have whole body RLS that is mostly under control except possibly once a week or so for maybe up to 24 hours. Mine can start early in the day and by night be totally out of control to the point that I can't even walk with the use of 2 canes because my knees buckle. My arms and shoulder jerk out of control and. of course, I can't sit or lie down because that's just torture. Please tell me I'm not the only one who experiences this type of thing. I pace the floor as best I can until sometimes I fall asleep standing up against something and wake myself up because I almost fall over. I wear a NeuPro patch and take Clonazapam regularly, but sometimes, it just doesn't do any good. Any suggestions?

[Eryl]

I would start a food diary, record everything, and look for a pattern, ask myself what i'd done differently on those days to the rls free days. Is there something you eat or drink something or more of something on those days. Try to think about the basic ingredients, like if you drink coffee, do you have it with sugar and cream? If you suspect fruit, think about how you eat it, is it on it's own, or made into a desert with pastry, sugar, custard, cream etc.

[Gazleebryan]

(A bit long but i think this could help) I have suffered with this and ended up losing a job because of it. It really debilitating i couldn’t sit still or enjoy any aspect of my life. This was in 2012 and It has taken me until 2017 just to get to a point where I only have it in my legs a once or twice times a week if at all. I have managed to go weeks without my restless leg. After years of trying different meds I made life style changes and these are the things I changed in my life which really helped. This was trail and error for me plus I but start doing these actions until 2015 as the doctor said I had anxiety.

First of all I go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time everyday, weekend within an hour of a set time. I found this very hard at first but now I wake up at about 6 everyday. Try not to sleep during the day but I know this and sometime be hard, if you do have a sleep have 30min and then get up. This will refresh you a bit but will stop you feeling into a deep sleep.

Try to sleep no more than nine hours. There is research that states 7 hours is better than nine. Only use your bedroom for sleeping and sex, no mobiles, tv and remove alarm clocks that let you see the time. Not being able to sleep and clock watching causes stress which make RLS worst.

I have found that if I eat sugar, caffeine and artificial sweetener can make it worst. Try to eating your RDA of fibre and take some probiotics (if you have a high processed diet) A bit of a read about this rlcure.com/restless-legs-an...

I also do a relaxation technique called ‘progressive relaxation technique’ (anxietybc.com/sites/default.... This was hard for me at first to continue everyday however it showed me how tense I was. Within a week of doing these I started to feel more relaxed. How I do this in the morning and evening but also try to add another one in somewhere in my day.

Final exercise is great at helpping out, it’s doesn’t mean you have to go to the gym everyday. But I go for a walk for an hour, take in the natural scenery. Also every hour or so take three deep breathes in through the nose, hold for 30sec and and release slowly through the month, this help relax the body.

Oh I forget, I do a do to list every night an hour before bed this help with relaxing in bed, as strange as it sounds, it stops things running through my head, I was one for always having thing I need to do running through my head.

I how only get my restless legs at night, between midnight and 3am. I take tramodol which calms the nervous system down by blocking the signal between you brain and your spinal cord. Therefore this stops both the pain and urge to continue to move my legs. I also carry a few tramodol with me just in case I start to get them restless feeling back during the day, I think just having them with me help me to relax. For the first week of so with tramodol you may find it hard to sleep and I was give zopiclone for two week which help me get into a sleep pattern I mentioned earlier.

Please let me know what works for you and I wish you all the best in getting to grip with your rls. Forgot to mention ask you doctor for blood test as well just to rule out any underlying issues that can cause it, I know a few like iron, kidney problems and diabetes. One of the major causes is chronic stress, that’s what caused mine and that why the change in lifesytsle. I know it sounds daft have more fun but not alcohol or unprescribed drug as this doesn’t help.