Does this sound like RLS to you ? - Restless Legs Syn...

Restless Legs Syndrome

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Does this sound like RLS to you ?

RLSquest profile image
19 Replies

Hello everyone,I am new to the forum.

I am a French woman, 33 yo living in Paris area.

Since beginning of january, I have been experiencing symptoms that have been increasing quite quickly. It went from nothing to daily symptoms overnight and the symptoms have augmented in a month.

All exams are fine (medular MRI, brain MRI, EMG, sérum ferritin at 142, kidney function OK).

My symptoms are as follow :

When I wake up in the morning and still lying in bed, my left foot and leg start vibrating internally with a frquence like a cell phone vibrating

Then I start my day : I have a computer sitting job so I start working and I start having fasciculations like sensations in my legs and little TNS like buzzing in my toes. This happen mostly in my left leg and foot and when I get this on the right leg, it is very light and not that bothering.

I have some twitches in my left leg also, as if the internal vibrations were too strong and sudden and triggered the twitch.

I also have numbness in my left big toe and it is more sensitive than usual when it touches the blanket for instance.

These sensations seem to worsen as the day goes by until night time.

I can sit still or go to bed but the anxiety that all of this is creating keeps me from sleeping.

Last night I slept with a 10mg seresta which has calmed my anxiety enough to allow me to sleep.

At night when I stay still and try to relax, the sensations lessen and even disappear, but then if I change position, they come back (even with new ones) and take some time and relaxation again to calm down.

My husband says I dont move when I'm asleep so no appearanr PMLD for the moment.

Maybe not related but : on my left thigh, while massaging, I found a point that triggered a tingle between my second and third toe. Does it everytime I massage it. Last doctor I saw (who thought of fibromyalgia) thinks it is related to the hypersensitivity in that leg caused by fibromyalgia.

I know this is a lot to read, but I know some of you guys have become experts on this forum and would like your opinion on this, since it is quite confusing and happened so quickly even during the day.

Thank you on advance for your support

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19 Replies
SueJohnson profile image
SueJohnson

It doesn't sound like RLS at all. With RLS you have an urge to move your leg which removes the sensations for the time you do it.

RLSquest profile image
RLSquest in reply toSueJohnson

Thank you for your reply SueJohnson I have had COVID in early december, so one month before the symptoms started.

Also wondering if the symptoms are not long covid related.

RLSquest profile image
RLSquest in reply toSueJohnson

Another precision : I do not have the urge to move my legs but if I do, the sensations in my feet and legs do go away. (But I don't know if it is enough to tell rls or not).

SueJohnson profile image
SueJohnson in reply toRLSquest

Here's the full way to tell if it is RLS'

All of the following must be true for a diagnosis of RLS: 1) The urge to move the legs and sometimes the arms 2) The onset or worsening of symptoms during periods of inactivity when lying down and sometimes when sitting 3) Symptoms occur or worsen in the evening or bedtime. They are usually dormant in the morning 4) Symptoms get better when walking or stretching as long as it is continued. 5) Can't be explained by another medical or behavioral condition.

RLSquest profile image
RLSquest in reply toSueJohnson

Thank you for your help and prompt reply.

Madlegs1 profile image
Madlegs1

It sounds like some form of neuropathy.

Perhaps even paresthesia, as it starts in your thigh.

Do Google these two conditions to see if they agree with your experience.

Good luck.

RLSquest profile image
RLSquest in reply toMadlegs1

I thought of this too, especially since COVID can leave people with some neuropathy symptoms for months after infection and I had COVID in early december. The EMG was OK though. But I read that small fibers neuropathy are not shown in EMG, only large fibers ones are.

Madlegs1 profile image
Madlegs1 in reply toRLSquest

Look at paresthesia as well!

RLSquest profile image
RLSquest in reply toMadlegs1

Thanks, I will check if paresthesia matches with my experience.

CarnivoreTony profile image
CarnivoreTony

This might sound crazy but try not eating nightshades for a month (tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, eggplant, etc.).

RLSquest profile image
RLSquest in reply toCarnivoreTony

I will definitely try carnivore diet. Because last night was horrible. A constant annoying and a bit painful stinging feeling on my feet (more intense on the left) which went away temporarily when I moved or got up to go to the loo. But came back few seconds after going back to bed, providing me from sleeping. I tried elevating my legs which barely helped. My husband carressed my legs to help me and while je was doing it, it calmed the stingings down. It came back if he stopped but he kept going so I was able to fall asleep around 3am-4am I would say.When I woke up at 7:30 , I felt my feet normal. But it felt like as soon as I noticed that, the vibrations and stinging started (less intense than at night but still annoying).

CarnivoreTony profile image
CarnivoreTony in reply toRLSquest

Definitely sounds like RLS to me.

RLSquest profile image
RLSquest in reply toCarnivoreTony

I am hesitating between RLS and long COVID neuropathy... There are some similarities.

amrob123 profile image
amrob123

It doesn't sound like RLS to me. Perhaps look into benign fasciculation syndrome. Apparently that can sometimes be triggered by a virus.

RLSquest profile image
RLSquest in reply toamrob123

I was confident till last night. I had the worst night with stinging feeling in my feet (more intense in the left one). And it provided me from falling asleep as the sensation was uncomfortable and painful. I dont have the "I have to move" message coming from my brain, but I did notice the feeling went away with movement or walking (when I hot up in the night to go to the loo), of lessened when my husband started carressing my feet and legs to try to help me sleep.The thing is (and I wonder if it is the same for everyone) : when I woke up in the morning still lying in bed, I felt normal, but the second I noticed that the weird sensations were gone : the throbbing and stinging came back (less intense than last night though).

I was so tired that I stayed in home office today.

So I am not that confident after that night.

Munroist profile image
Munroist

It sounds like neuropathy or some sort of nerve issue. I have had back problems which affected the nerves and I have experienced some of these issues. They went away or reduced as my back healed.

It might also be related to COVID as you suggest.

The fact that you get a response in your foot by pressing your thigh sounds quite reasonable when you understand where your nerves run .. if you google "innervation lower limb" and look at the images you will see diagrams of how the neves run from where they exit the spinal cord, down the legs and into the foot. If a nerve is aggravated then it may be quite sensitive and cause the responses you suggest. On occasions I was able to make a muscle in the front of my thigh twitch when I pressed the side of my thigh

The difficulty is likely to be working out what is affecting the nerves. For me it was a slipped disc in the back. You say your job involves sitting at a computer .. that can cause gradual weakening of the core and back muscles and depending how stressful the job is can also cause tension which may affect your spine. I had a similar job and it was part of the problem. Of course if you are active and do things like walking. running swimming, yoga, Pilates etc. then that should be enough, combined with regular breaks from sitting

Bottom line is that I don't think it is RLS, as others have said.

RLSquest profile image
RLSquest in reply toMunroist

Thank you for your testimony. I have done a lumbar MRI that showed a beginning of discopathy in L5 and S1, but the doctors said that it is too light to cause such intense symptoms.

Munroist profile image
Munroist in reply toRLSquest

My MRI showed that there was "abutment" of the disc with the nerve but it was "just" touching and not pressing and they also felt there was sufficient space in the spinal canal for it not to be dangerous. They were right about the second point (so far!) but I am pretty sure that in certain circumstances and positions the pressure on the nerve is greater and over the last 6 years and after working with some very good therapists I have realised that there is a problem but it can be managed with good exercise and care and pacing myself.

MRI's are normally done when lying down so you don't have the weight of your torso pushing down on the disc to squash it and your spine is also in a relatively good position as you are not bending or twisting so what they see is best case scenario. Most doctors will also openly admit that what they see is not necessarily the same as what you feel. Many people have said to me that they see scans with problems but the patient is fine and they also see scans which look clear and the patient does report a problem. MRI's will spot the worst case problems but are not infallible.

I found over time I became more aware of what is going on with my back, what makes it good and what makes it worse. Certain chairs are better and certain mattresses help. Remember our bodies are always trying too heal so what you feel now is not necessarily how it will always be. Good posture and careful core exercise from Pilates combined with supportive chairs have enabled me to return to the active life I enjoy. Good luck.

Merny5 profile image
Merny5

It’s a shame that you are suffering and the cause hasn't been diagnosed!I personally don’t think that it is RLS either. For your sake, I hope it isn’t.😬 It does sound like some type of neuropathy. Good luck to you and let us know what it is when you figure it out.

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