Got a case of the Jimmy Legs?
Some people believe Restless Leg Syndrome is one of those fancy new afflictions that people think they have because it's trendy and sometimes it seems that one must suffer from some kind of syndrome or other to belong!
I may have been one of those cynics until I became pregnant with my first child and suffered from it myself. I was unaware that Restless Leg Syndrome can be triggered by pregnancy. I still suffer ('suffer' being a bit dramatic in terms of my personal experience of it) from it now but not as much as when I was pregnant with all three of my children.
So what is Restless Leg Syndrome?
In my own words, it's a compulsion to move your legs, especially at night, while at rest. Some have the feeling that ants or spiders are creeping around their legs. I don't have this. Instead it almost feels like I have a tick. Not the bug kind, but an involuntary movement of my legs. I feel like I am getting minor electric shocks. The sleepier I get, the more I want to move my feet. My husband says he always knows I'm minutes away from sleep when my legs start jerking around. Sometimes a jerk will actually wake me up as I drop off. When I was pregnant, I absolutely HAD to move my legs. Always in the evening, always when I had my preggo legs up or was in bed. And I was almost always in a relaxed or sleepy state. Sometimes I'd watch a little TV and my legs would jerk around the sofa and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I just had to move them and it was always a jerk, rather than a soft movement.
It drove me mad at times. But I put it down to a pregnancy thing - like my sciatica and my heartburn. They both left but Restless Leg Syndrome remains, albeit now a milder case of. Those mini electric shocks remain too, but not being pregnant has taken some of the sting away.
Some medical professionals doubt that Restless Leg Syndrome (first identified in 1945) needs medication. Rather, they feel it's a natural part of the human condition. They don't feel drug companies should advertise medication to stop a condition that they deem harmless and pretty normal.
Last year, sales of almost half a billion dollars were recorded for the medication Requip (made by GlaxoSmithKline) that helps suffers of RLS.
Now that generic versions of Requip have been approved by the FDA, some believe sales of any kind of drug for RLS will go down, because advertising will too. Skeptics have seen a correlation between heavy advertising of this medication and greater numbers being diagnosed, and higher drug sales. Once generics are allowed in the picture, the drug company eases up on it's advertising for it's brand name equivalent.
Others are grateful that medication has eased a lifetime of terrible discomfort, particularly at a time when one is supposed to relax and rest.
For more information on Restless Leg Syndrome, visit the Restless Leg Syndrome Foundation at www.rls.org and for more information on this story, see http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24603237/
Tell Us!
Does anyone else have RLS? Or think they may have? Did anyone get it in pregnancy? Did it go away after birth? Is anyone taking medication for this and is the medication working?
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My daughter suffers from RLS, and so do I. It's not a myth, not fun and it keeps me up at night. So, I run. Running tires me out and seems to relive the symptoms a bit.
February 16, 2009 - 6:17pmThis Comment
I just read an article, published two days ago (Feb 13, 2008) about Restless Leg Syndrome, and its link to Estrogen.
Susan's story sounds like exactly what I would have written. I was a skeptic about RLS, as it sounded like a "created condition" from the drug makers to sell more drugs.
When I was pregnant, I had an awful leg soreness. It was like a fatigue in the muscles, which is common with the extra weight, increased blood volume, and swelling. During the sixth month of my pregnancy, I noticed a strong need to move my legs, and it happened only at night. Not only was my sleep disrupted from a huge belly and aching hips (and everything else), now my legs were keeping me awake! I felt a sensation of pulling or tugging at my legs; it was like nothing I had experienced before.
In this study, the researchers commented, "We, for the first time, have quite direct evidence that RLS in pregnancy ... is obviously directly related to hormonal changes (estrogens)...". In fact, according to the RLS Foundation, "Up to 25% of women develop RLS during pregnancy but symptoms often disappear after giving birth."
More information about RLS can be found at NIH National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke
Original source of study can be found in the Journal Sleep, February 2009
February 15, 2009 - 6:52pmThis Comment
I am the one that wrote earlier about the support groups.
February 12, 2009 - 1:16pmI do take meds for my RLS. I have tried all the "new" RLS meds from Mirapex, Requip to cymbalta, Lyrica, and a list tooo long to type. The only meds that stop my severe RLS are opiate pain meds. More and more, people are finding out that these Parkinson's meds that were pushed on to doctors and us by the drug companies, After a while they turn into a nightmare of their own. I am not saying that they never work, but It is looking more and more like they only work for a short period of time, as in the Carb/levo, too. Many RLS patients are finding they have to take a drug holiday from Mirapex or Requip, because they stop working.Then after a few days off from them, or up to 2 weeks, they can restart them. I am not happy with the side effects of them, which is why I cannot take them. The only meds that work for me are opiates or Tramadol, a synthetic opiate.
RLS is very hard to treat for a lot of people, and the TV commercials for these drugs make it look all too easy.
I heard today of a man who was in a mental hospital for 9 yrs, and it turned out his only problem was RLS, and when he got the right meds and the right doctor he was diagnosed and treated and released! This was in the 90's!! So, getting the word out to anyone who will listen is worth it.
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I am 59 years old and have had restless legs from the time I was about 7 years old. However, not until I reached my early 50's did it become an every day and night occurrence. I take a combination of carbidopa/levodopa, which treats the symptoms, but it also puts me to sleep. It affects every night of my life. I can't relax and sit outside and enjoy the beautiful summer evenings; I stand when I watch TV; my sex life has been destroyed because I either can't hold still or I'm asleep. I'd like to get off the carbidopa because it augments after a while and requires more and more of it to work. Does anyone have any natural remedies? I also visit the RLS web site often. Research is progressing but not fast enough. Help.
June 11, 2008 - 8:15amMR in Phoenix
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Well, I can certainly use the word suffer when it comes to my RLS.I have had it since I was a teenager. My sisters and my nieces all have it, which means my RLS is Primary. secondary RLS is, for example, when pregnancy brings on the RLS, or ay other pyysical condition that can bring on RLS. I own and moderate 2 support groups for RLS, and I can definitely say they saved my life. i take meds for it, and lois of them. What burns me is whn people think we are making it up, or it is all in our heads! Well, it is a neurological disorder,so it is in our heads, so to speak.yes, progress is slow with research.
October 11, 2008 - 2:07pmRead, read, read. go to the RLS Rebel's web site
http://www.rlsrebel.com She has lots of ideas a nd "tricks" on what to do besides meds. However is you are still being treated with carbidopa, you should get off of it. It is obviously not helping you.
Support groups are the best way of getting patient information out there. You also do not feel quite so alone when you read about each other's nightmares with RLS.
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Did you take medication for your Restless Legs Syndrome? Did you notice more frequently at some times over others? Besides before bed time?
May 15, 2008 - 10:30amThis Comment