Grateful for this Forum

[Restlesssinger]

Hello, I haven't posted on here much, mostly read others' comments. I'm grateful to all of you for numerous reasons. Because of what I've learned here, I was able to say "no" to my doctor when she suggested I take a dopamine agonist. Based on your comments, I've apparently spared myself the agony of "augmentation." I've had this problem (RLS---a name does NOT convey the actual desperation involved in the middle of the night) since about age 8. At that time, my mother used to give me a Darvon (her husband was a physician with all sorts of pills on hand) in response to my crying in pain and fear in the middle of the night. Down side was it was then hard for me, a 60 pound child, to wake up for school a few hours later. As a child I discovered that binge eating carbohydrates would "knock out" all sorts of pain, both physical and emotional, and cause me to sleep in a sugar-medicated sort of way. A few years later, sad to say, I discovered that alcohol and nicotine helped with all sorts of bodily and emotional distress. No one labeled my physical discomfort as "RLS" until decades later, probably because I suffered from a myriad of maladies----depression; severe, disabling menstrual cramps; blood clots; a ruptured lumbar disc; interstitial cystitis, etc. At age 45, I stopped smoking, and at age 54, I stopped drinking alcohol. Then the RLS came back, because I wasn't drinking wine 'til I passed out at night. I'm now 8-1/2 years sober, and I've been on a hunt for ways to manage the "leg seizures" (as several of you have called this disorder) for most of that time. I appreciate all of your input, advice, encouragement. This forum has been a Godsend!

[Hidden]

Congratulations on getting away from alcohol it is not an easy path you have had to travel. I hope you die sober!!

Your suffering is echoed here so many times it is a crying shame we have to suffer so badly. I am glad you have found a home here so to speak. I credit this site and the contributors here with possibly saving my life. I came very close to the edge so much so that it frightens me to think of those days.

Have you looked into Iron? It helps plenty here. Also if you are on any antidepressants they can exacerbate things.

I am mention this with caution, and at 8.5 years sober you obviously are able to evaluate things properly, plenty are getting relief with cannabis and/or kratom. They can be dangerous for those in recovery so I urge caution if you go that route and strict standards will be a must.

Best of luck and congratulations again.

PS I agree RLS doesn't suffice as a label Complete Body Pain spasms or Severe Habitual Intense Trauma Spasms (or SHITS).

[involuntarydancer]

Nice post, Restlesssinger. I don't know where I'd be without this forum. It has helped me so much. I see elsewhere that you are looking at the iron issue. Hopefully raising iron will help you but if your rls is bad enough to need medication you could try gabapentin or pregabalin. Opioids are another well recognised treatment but with a history of alcohol abuse you might not wish to go down that road. You will certainly have read

I hope you find something that works for you.