Weighted Blanket

[Bejwo50]

Hiya, has anyone tried weighted blankets for rls? Has it helped? I've seen some good reviews on the Internet but wasn't too sure if it will work. In the past I got my mum a copper bangle, which didn't work so I wanted to get real reviews before buying.

Thanks in advance

[Bumble34]

Sorry, Didn`t work for me.

[Bejwo50 in reply to Bumble34]

Thanksv

[Annieapple]

I recently read an independent review that said weighted blankets were not recommended as having any neurological benefit to RLS sufferers, should definitely not be used by those suffering with sleep apnea. There were benefits however to children with Autism & sensory disorders.

[Bejwo50 in reply to Annieapple]

Thanks for this info. Mum does suffer with sleep apnea, so best not to.

[Bejwo50]

What about electric blankets??

[Annieapple in reply to Bejwo50]

I think that is trial & error...cold bed cold floors ice packs etc help me more but for others it’s warmth...

[Bejwo50 in reply to Annieapple]

With my mum she has moments when she needs cool and moments when she needs warmth. Thanks for the swift replies 👍

[Virginic in reply to Bejwo50]

My husband is similar.

[Snapdragon72]

Good morning. I've had rls for over 15 years now on ropinirole. I tried the weighted blanket and unfortunately it made no di and really didn't help. If you wanted to try it your more than welcome to have mine as I now store it under the bed. I do think it may of helped when my legs responded just to stretches in the early days

[Bejwo50 in reply to Snapdragon72]

Thank you very much but as my mum has sleep apnea as well as rls I think it will be best not to try the weighed blanket.

[Hidden]

Weighted blanket very helpful for rls

[Mrs_Atko]

I tried one & it did help for a while (3-4 weeks) & then I had a bad blip with my RLS so stopped using it. But when I did use it, it did help as it almost discouraged my legs to not freely be able to move. Hard to explain but I think it’s one of those things that can help but not 100% of the time (from my experience using one)

[Graham3196]

Quite a few people in this forum have found the weighted blanket helps them. Like almost everything about RLS what helps one person doesn't help another. We need a rental service so we can try before we buy.

[Snapdragon72 in reply to Graham3196]

Hi there I have 2 single weighted blankets I got one for my daughters anxiety and one for my legs neither of us found them beneficial but if any one would like. one then please contact me

[Lunatha in reply to Snapdragon72]

Hi, if you still have the blankets available?, I’d really like to try one.I live in London ~

[wildlegs]

I’ve had RLS for 25+ years and I’ve used the weighted blanket for the last two winters. It helps but it doesn’t take the place of Tramodol.

[otter5]

I can`t even stand ordinary blankets when rls starts

[Tobias10]

My daughter suggested months go that I try a weighted blanket - she uses one for anxiety. I ordered her a new one from Amazon but forgot to change the mailing address so it came to me. I have been using it and it seemed to help the first 2-3 nights but now every other night I am having a bad time with one leg and then the other jerking - usually the left one first and then it will stop and the right one starts. I bought a vibrator (not for personal pleasure) and often I turn it on and put it between my knees while I lay on my side and the vibration seems to distract me from my legs jerking and it seems like while it is running the jerking stops. There is a guy in California who developed a vibration pad for treatment of RLS and he sold many of them but Medicare would not pay for them because they tagged them as personal pleasure devices so he had to pull them off the market while he battles in court with Medicare to prove his claims. That is what made me think to try purchasing something small to try (his pads were around $300 I think). Maybe it is just my imagination but I think the vibrations seem to be soothing and take my mind away from the annoying spasms. As with most of us with RLS, we are willing to try just about anything to get relief, especially if that leads to a decent night's sleep.

[Bejwo50 in reply to Tobias10]

Oh wow! Thats interesting. Not sure how mum would feel about using a vibrator, but I will suggest it to her.

Lately she's been having bad nights with her rls. So we're at the stage where she's willing to give anything a go.

[Tobias10 in reply to Bejwo50]

I think you can purchase hand held massagers that you can slip onto your hand and the other size vibrates to use on stiff muscles, etc. maybe that would be an appropriate option for her to try. I just find that the sound of the vibration has become soothing to me and i often find that i've dozed off - even 5-6 minutes or more is a blessing on a bad night and it sometimes stops the cycle so I can get some sleep.