Restless Leg Syndrome

Ask your doctor for a prescription for gabapentin. That has helped me enough so that at least I can sleep most nights.

I do leg exercises in bed. 20 leg raises, etc. four or five different ones, 20 times each leg. It helps tremendously.

My mother had restless leg syndrome and it made her miserable. There was a syndicated column in her local paper written by a physician. Occasionally he would ask readers for their home remedies to comment on them. There were two that stood out because so many readers claimed they worked. One was putting a bar of unwrapped soap under your sheets near your legs/feet to alleviate the condition. I laughed when I read it, but my mother was so desperate she tried it and said it worked.

R1, R2 thank you

R3 that is the weirdest thing I've ever heard! And...I'm totally willing to try it.

OP, I take mirapex, and it is a miracle.

Otherwise, apply Lubiderm lotion, wear socks, put on sweatpants.

Xanax or similar also helps, but Xanax withdrawal can cause RLS, so, wearer that.

Extra magnesium can help, whether through food or supplements. It made a noticeable difference for me.

No legs, no restless legs.

Chop chop.

Magnesium oil rubbed n the soles of your feet.

Just a few drops.

No home remedy worked for me. I marched down to gen doctor, asked for referral to neurologist, and told THEM i needed an RX for RLS. Been on 2.5 mg of Requip (ropinirole) for over ten yrs. couldnt live w/o it

Avoid otc sleep medx bc they contain an ingredient that worsens the symptoms. (Diphenoprine or somethung). Good luck OP. Feel you.

R8 Well smarty pants, I like the interaction with other people. It was a deliberate choice to ask my question here. You should be flattered. Sometimes people have folk wisdom that is pretty out there (soap under your sheets). It's fun to hear them.

R9 I never used to have this issue, but in my mid-40s it has sadly become a part of life. I will ask about an Rx on Tuesday at my wellness appointment. I did take a decongestant tonight, I wonder if that has a benadryl component to it.

Before going to bed, fetch one live chicken. Chop off the head with an axe. Collect all the blood. Put it in a sauce pan on the stove along with the beak (but do NOT include the eyes!!!) and 3 feathers plucked from the carcass. Slowly heat until it bubbles slightly but do NOT boil. It will turn to a paste. Rub the past between your big toe and the one next to it. Wait 47 minutes. Add the juice of 1 lemon to a gallon of distilled water and soak your feet in it for exactly 13 minutes. The water must be room temperature, NOT MORE THAN 75F. Then, pat your feet dry. Apply a generous amount of aloe vera gel to feed and legs. Wait 7 minutes. Then go to bed. Your problem will be gone!

That's an oldie but a goodie, R12. But I've been there, done that and it didn't make a dent. Gimme something I DON'T know.

If it didn't work R13 you didn't do something right. Maybe the water was 74F or something. Or did you BOIL the blood/beak/feather mixture? That will cause it to fail. It is a delicate process. But it WORKS.

I have Restless Clit Syndrome

You may think that I'm joking, but I'm not -- Vick's Vaporub on your feet and legs... and don't tuck your lower legs/feet under any covers. The camphor in the Vick's just calms down everything it down. The eucalyptus also helps with itchiness, softening foot calluses, and preventing toenail fungus. Really. Try it.

I find that sleeping with a cushion between my knees prevents rls.

… just calms everything it TOUCHES down...

Tonic water, OP. The Quinine in it is supposed to help, works for some.

r4

Which pretty much sums it up, if you had enough real problems in your life you wouldn't have to worry about made up diseases.

Here is the regimen I go through, sometimes the first thing works, other times I have to do everything: Take a walk between dinner and bedtime, take Tylenol, rub magnesium oil on legs and feet, try compression socks, add yoga/compression pants, use BioFreeze (or Vicks) on legs and feet, get out of bed and do yoga stretches (Google yoga for RLS), then inversion with legs on chair or up against wall. This is good before bed if you feel it coming on. Finally, if all else fails, I do tuning fork vibration on legs and feet. One thing I noticed was that sitting for hours with the laptop on my legs aggravated the RLS. As does alcohol. The bar of soap didn't work for me. Good luck, it's a bitch.

Have suffered from RLS since the movie Big came out. The reason I remember it is because I couldn't sit through the movie my legs ached so bad. The medications have lots of side effects that I can't tolerate. I was also so desperate. Then I heard about the soap under the mattress and i tried it. Commercial soap, not the handmade kind and viola! Don't know how, don't know why but it worked for me. Now I have occasional bouts but rarely and never as severe.

Is Restless Leg Syndrome the same as cramps in the calves? And why does this happen at night?

Iron supplementation, preferably liquid iron.

I take 8-ounces of tonic water with a Calcium/Magnesium/Zinc tablet and 400mg of Vitamin E before bed, Sleep until morning.

OP take inventory of every medication you are taking. I had restless legs for a while, it turned out there was a cause. It was a prescription nasal spay (Nasonex) which had a small amount of steroids in it. If you take something like this, taking it in the morning may help. Or ask your doctor for a different one. I stopped taking that nasal spay and it was gone for good. Be aware, whatever you put into your body may have an affect of some kind.

Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) is a big cause of RLS. So are a bunch of Rx and OTC meds. Regardless, if RLS is keeping you up, try clenching/tightening all your leg muscles including ankles and toes as hard as you possibly can for 30 seconds or more - as long as you can at full capacity. Repeat a few times. Works on arms, too. The point is to get your muscles to the point (very briefly) of near exhaustion and for whatever reason, it helps stop that horrible urge to move. I used to laugh at RLS meds commercials because I thought, “Who the fuck has that stupid problem?” Me now? “RLS sucks.”

My stepmom uses the bar of soap method, and it works for her. She says you are only supposed to use Ivory soap, which I guess is good news because it's incredibly cheap.

I have a hot bath then use a foam roller on my buttocks, the sides of my thighs and calves. Then I'll do about 15 double leg raises with my bum resting on the roller before bed. It's basically grinding the nerves into submission and building up the core muscles.

I was told by a friend's aunt that taking one aspirin when symptoms occur helped with her RLS. I tried it and it has worked for me for the last 15 years. Since my RLS isn't chronic, I only take the aspirin when I experience the symptoms. One or twice a week. Though, it take about 30 minutes for the aspirin to work, so I just stay up for 30 minutes (reading DL) then go to sleep.

R30 mine is chronic ,can you take aspirin every day?

r14 [html removed]> I included the goddamn EYES with the blood/beak/feather mixture!!!!!!!!! DAMN IT!!!

Pilates, streching, yoga and walking.

It does miracles.

I take the low dose aspirin every day R31 for my heart. If I need any type of surgery I have to stop taking it because of the potential of too much bleeding.

R26 I take the lowest dose of Adderall per day. 5 mg XR. I wonder if its that? Like when it leaves my system?

Plus I have a double cappuccino on certain days. I know caffeine can exacerbate RSL. I should observe if the days I skip the cappucinno my RSL lessens.

Sorry I keep forgetting to put "OP" in the byline. But I really really appreciate everyone's input. Thank you so much! I'm still catching up with reading everyone's suggestions. I look forward to trying them.

R30 Would that be just one of those little low-dose aspirins?

R27 Same! I met Catherine Keener at a party once about 13 years ago and she was talking about her problems sleeping due to restless legs. I was like "What the hell is "Restless Leg"????? I just couldn't wrap my mind around it. I'd never heard of it. She had a prescription bottle she showed me and everything. It seemed bizarre.

Well, if I ever run into her again, we will have a lot to talk about.

Isn't this one of those diseases conjured up by attention-seeking fraus?

Do you take OTC sleeping aids, or benedryl? Because that CAUSES it.....

R20, lack of empathy is a mental disease. You have it. Please do whatever you think it is that others ought to do, to get rid of their “imaginary” illnesses, because you’re really annoying as you are.

No, R23. They are different.

R39, see R41.

OP, take NO caffeine after 4 pm. If you’re really suffering, try going caffeine free for a couple weeks. This includes cola. Stretching your legs and a warm bath might help. It can help if you get so much exercise in a day, that you fall asleep faster, despite the RLS.

Be careful about aspirin. I got ulcers from not drinking enough water, when I took it frequently. It presaged a lifetime of GI problems.

Best wishes!

Dr. Oz says the low-dose 81 mg should be doubled. A friend has been taking the standard 325 mg aspirin for ten yeas with no negative effects.

I am curious about how others experience RLS. In my case, it feels like a buildup of tension in my leg bones, ankles and sometimes toes. It’s pain without being painful, an itch on the inside of the skin, sometimes as though the bones themselves are expanding. If I ignore it, it builds up to the point that my legs will spasm. If I clench my feet and move my legs, it only builds up again and again.

I’ve heard that a weighted blanket might help. They sell them on amazon .

Yoga, especially "Half Pigeon," "Sleeping Pigeon," "Warrior 2," and "Candle" (shoulder stand).

I have tried leg exercises and even going out for a walk...nothing helps.

R44 Yes, It's neurological. It's not pain as we know it but it's the most uncomfortable feeling ever. I've even had it in my arms and had to look it up to see if that's possible. I've been told I have even cried in my sleep. Drs only know what it is in the last 15 years. Before that when I tried to tell my doctor about it he had no idea what I was talking about and would examine my feet. Leg exercises don't work for me.

This board might as well be renamed "Frau Lounge." I don't want to hear about your imaginary frau maladies, so kindly go the fuck away.

I had a relatively mild form of it (Compared to some of you.) for several years and it only seemed to stop as my feet and lower legs got worse and worse as my diabetes kicked in and gave me diabetic neuropathy in both feet. But, I still prefer the uncomfortableness of the neuropathy as opposed to the RLS which used to drive me mad at night.

"Be aware, whatever you put into your body may have an affect of some kind."

Well, duh.

R49, see R41. You’re the sickest person here.

Check B12, folate levels, iron/ferritin levels, TSH, SPEP/IF. Get nerve conducton testing/EMG done.

Peripheral neuropathy (esp in diabetics) can mimic RLS, and often mistaken for the latter. The gold standard for clinching the diagnosis is presence of periodic limb movements on sleep testing (true RLS).

Yes, R44, exactly my experience, except..

[quote] If I ignore it, it builds up to the point that my legs will spasm.

I’ve found if I ignore it, I have a kind of convulsion, if that’s what you mean. I only tried that once.

Family docs and psychiatrists are notorious for throwing around the diagnosis of RLS, in many cases, in error.

Benadryl has always given me restless legs (even before there was a name for the condition), but my lifelong allergies and constant body itch were so severe, I used the Benadryl anyway. But when I started going to pain management prior to spinal surgery, my doctor's PA noted the issue on my intake form, and said their office manager had the same issue; she put me on Hydroxyzine (Vistaril) and in combination with the Gabapentin I was already taking for severe nerve pain, it was like a miracle. I used to have to do 20 minutes of leg exercises before bed, and every 2-3 hrs during the night, just to keep the deep muscle crawlies and zaps at bay. The Hydroxyzine/Gabapentin combo reduced it by 75-80%.

4-5 years ago I added Magnesium to my routine, and I never get RLS anymore as long as I have those 3 meds. I also try to avoid candies, pastries, and beverages that are straight sugar (e.g. Now & Later/taffylike candies, pecan pie, sugary sodas, etc.), as I found they trigger bad RLS episodes for me.

OP, even all magnesium supps aren't made equal, in my experience. Mag oxide alone works better than Mag citrate alone. But THE bomb-diggety mag supplement is CVS Triple Magnesium Complex. It has mag oxide, mag citrate, and mag aspartate. Even if I run out of both Gabapentin and Hydroxyzine, as long as I have the CVS Triple Magnesium (and take an extra capsule or two), my legs rest better than I do.

This one frau in my office constantly plays the RLS card to leave work early. Three guesses who has to pick up this faker's workload when she hightails it home "sick"? No sympathy.

"even before there was a name for the condition"

RLS has been in medical textbooks for fifty years.

Another vote for the bar of soap. Not that I’ve tried it, but I’ve heard about it since I was a kid.

It’s worth a shot.

Bananas have potassium. Do they have magnesium too? They didn’t help me, in any event. I did buy a nice banana stand for my kitchen, and there’s always money in the banana stand.

Okay, R58. I was aware of that, but my post was long enough without going into the details of my medical knowledge.

So I will rephrase for you: "Before the name was commonly known and discussed OUTSIDE of "medical textbooks.""

R57, I suspect you have RLS confused with something else. For one thing, it’s daily onset coincides with sundown. It is rare to get an attack of it during the day.

You sound like quite a loser to be both sore about this, and actually do this other person’s work without compensation. Why don’t you do something about your dismal life, instead of blaming others? It’s in your power to change, if you grew a spine. Tell your boss that you're spineless and have to go home early.

I do, R61. I like everybody!

My dad has RLS and has taken meds for it for years, with varying success. Whichever med he's taking now has helped him a lot, but deferred a diagnosis of Parkinson's because it calmed the tremors which are the telltale sign. He had all sorts of other Parkinson's symptoms (flat face/no expression, shuffle walking, loss of handwriting, slurred speech) but no tremors. He went through god knows how many tests, MRI's, CT scans, etc to see if he'd had a stroke or a brain tumor, etc. Eventually they figured out that his RLS med was a low dose of the tremor reducing med they use for Parkinson's and it ended up costing him a few years of Parkinson's treatment while they figured out what the hell was going on with him. Now he's on a higher dose and goes to the gym and does a Parkinson's workout routine. He's almost back to "normal" now (he's 80) and just has a tremor in his little finger.

But he still can't sit through a movie in a theater without complaining about his damn legs.

Let's see. R61/56 has RLS and gets offended easily. Fibromyalgia, perhaps? Or just a delicate flower? Very frau-ish nonetheless.

Parkinson's workout routine sounds like an SNL comedic sketch.

People with Parkinson's are more likely to have leg motor restlessness (LMR) than true RLS. Both disorders (LMR and RLS) affect the dopaminergic nigrostriatal pathway.

R49 The thing is...you didn't have to click. Just scroll on by, Kemosabe.

R56 Thank you. It's important to know which Magnesium because there are several

Ripinirole. Had RLS for several months. Got a prescription for ripinirole, and all symptoms gone immediately. Stopped taking it after a month, and haven’t had any issues since. That was 4 years ago.

I came across this product and was desperate so I thought I’d give it a try. I forgot how wonderful it was to actually go to bed at night without RLS. My mother used to complain about her leg’s at night and I thought she was crazy. Well, I now know she was far from crazy. Is it hereditary?

I have just discovered this and it really works for me after years of misery. Just make sure that your bladder is REALLY empty before you go to bed. I mean, like every last tiny drop you can squeeze out. And if it starts up later in the night, get up and pee every last drop out again. No idea why it works, but for me it does and the change to my quality of life us incredible.

Two questions R72, what is the product and why do you need an empty bladder? If it makes you pee a lot sounds like there is a diuretic in it.

R73, he means, there is no product. Simply having an empty bladder solved his problem.

Horizant is delayed & sustained release gabapentin for RLS. You take it around 6 if you go to bed at 10 (something like that). It works well, but it may not be covered by insurance depending on the plan because it's a brand drug with no generic.

It's made by a small company, xenoport, so it's hard to get samples.

Two words sum up this thread: Munchausen syndrome

R76 Oh go fuck yourself. Just because you haven't experienced something doesn't fucking mean it is a figment of the imagination. Is someone as a rule lying when they get a headache and you don't have one? People like you are pathetic. You get your kicks being a jerk to other people.

Get off my lawn, fucker.

RLS was THE trending affliction about fifteen years ago. It was replaced by fibromyalgia, which was followed by gluten intolerance and other food sensitivities as the popular condition. Are food sensitivities played out? Is it time for an RLS reboot?

R78 What's your point?

It is quite, obvious R79.

Chronic lyme never seems to go out of style, r78.

He’s an asshole, that’s his point.

R77, that's exactly what my fibromyalgia-ridden coworker said. Except she doesn't have a lawn.

Please ignore the assholes. It's real, very uncomfortable and can profoundly impact sleep. I also recommend Biofreeze and gabapentin.

Oh and I'd also recommend an anti-depressant and a good psychiatrist.

OP, at one point I was exercising a lot and started to get what I thought was RLS. It turned out I was sweating out magnesium. Once I started taking magnesium citrate the problem went away.

Good luck. I hope you find something that works.

I had it when I was anemic. I also get it if I'm too sedentary. This leads me t believe it has to do with muscles getting enough blood/oxygen. I have no idea if this is scientifically valid.

Why do only gay men and fraus seem to get these types of "maladies"?

Anyone can get restless leg. It's a very irritating condition and it's 1.50am here in Sydney and I'm off to grind my spastic bloody leg into submission so I can actually get some sleep. But no, I love doing half an hour of painful leg lifts and stretches at 2am because I'm an attention seeking hypochondriac.

My RLS is not chronic, so taking aspirin once, maybe twice a week probably wouldn't be a big deal. But you should probably consult your doctor if you have other medical conditions that might be affected. Maybe I'll try the soap remedy and see if that works. Certainly is safer than aspirin.

It makes you bleed, r89?

"This leads me t believe it has to do with muscles getting enough blood/oxygen. I have no idea if this is scientifically valid."

No shit, Sherlock.

I take two Tylenol PM, one 81 mg aspirin, and 5 mg of melatonin before bed. It usually works, unless my feet are either very cold or very hot.

Have tried a weighted blanket? Works like a charm.

Jerk off! Get your life source recentered on your penis!