Restless legs without restless legs?

[TomRLS]

Hi guys,

I am new here. Just after your opinion. About a year ago I had a pretty bad episode of RL. To me, this was the typical described ‘ants under my skin; followed by forceful and often involuntary kicking of legs’. Initially it was mainly in my left leg but soon it happened all over my body. The sleep disruption was awful.

I was iron deficient and still am (despite attempts on supplements). About 6 months ago symptoms settled. I am now left with this really weird warm sensation of my legs at night. I’d like to think it happens when I go to bed and lasts for a few hours. It is not there anymore when I wake up in the morning.

So every night when I go to sleep my legs feel heavy, warm, burny - like I’ve ran a marathon (of note: I did not run a marathon hahaha). There is no real urge to move my legs (it kinda just feels nice to stretch them). There is no real sleep disruption. This does NOT feel like my usual restless legs but it feels close and it coming on whilst falling asleep also seems typical.

Because my RL were so bad about a year ago I am so feArful it will come back. So despite it not affecting my quality of sleep, it effects me mentally a bit.

I am a fit 37 YO male, Normal BMI, non smoker, no diabetes and no risk factors for peripheral neuropathy.

I would love for someone to tell me that it’s not restless legs (because I am so pre-occupied with this ha). But does someone recognise this? What else can it be?

I am seeing a neurologist and sleep physician over the next couple of weeks as well.

Cheers, Tom

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If you did have RLS and are taking iron supplments then it may be a good idea to have a blood test for ferritin and haemoglobin. If your ferritin is below 75ug/L then you may benefit from an oral iron supplement.

If your haemoglobin is OK then it's not so easy to raise ferritin because the body has a way of restricting how much you absorb in order to prevent overload.

You will actually absorb more iron if you take it less often. Taking it once every two days is better than taking it every day. Also take it 30 mins before or 2 hours after a meal and along with a glass of orange or vit C tablet.

There could be many explanations for the sensations you get in your legs, including anxiety. Since you don't identify the urge to move as part of these symptoms then RLS can not be confirmed.

Hopefully the specialists will clarify this for you.