topic Re: Restless Leg Syndrome in Wellness

Restless Leg Syndrome

NickNack — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 15:55:21 GMT

I've had Restless Leg Syndrome for several years but didn't know what it was. I thought you had to kick your legs for it to be RLS. After having to get up every night and walk around for relief and then still having the symptoms when I got back in bed, I finally Googled my symptoms (tingling and crawling feeling behind my knees). I got many different articles about RLS.

I saw my doctor about it this morning, and she prescribed Requip. She knew a lot about it, and I have high hopes that this will help. She started me out on a very low dose, and told me to keep increasing the dose every few days until I reached the dose that would help (up to 6-8 mg.).

Does anyone else have RLS? Have you found relief for it? The doctor told me there really wasn't a natural remedy that had been found to help.

Re: Restless Leg Syndrome

colleena — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 16:01:29 GMT

@NickNack I've had restless legs for years & find that it is worse when my iron is really low - good luck on the requip.

Re: Restless Leg Syndrome

tends2dogs — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 16:15:29 GMT

@NickNack I have used NatraBio leg cramps for several years. It is a natural homeopathic medicine. I realize that what you are describing isn't leg cramps, but a crawling feeling. That is what I have and this works for me. If I wake up during the night with a recurrance, I just take another one. You can't take too much.

I hope you find relief. It is a terrible feeling and it can break up your rest at night.

Re: Restless Leg Syndrome

gtx — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 16:24:09 GMT

I take Andrew Lessan Circulation and Vein Support. No more restless legs!

Re: Restless Leg Syndrome

Travone — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 16:50:47 GMT

I take magnesium before I go to bed

Re: Restless Leg Syndrome

Mindy D — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 17:37:33 GMT

@NickNack wrote:
I've had Restless Leg Syndrome for several years but didn't know what it was. I thought you had to kick your legs for it to be RLS. After having to get up every night and walk around for relief and then still having the symptoms when I got back in bed, I finally Googled my symptoms (tingling and crawling feeling behind my knees). I got many different articles about RLS.

I saw my doctor about it this morning, and she prescribed Requip. She knew a lot about it, and I have high hopes that this will help. She started me out on a very low dose, and told me to keep increasing the dose every few days until I reached the dose that would help (up to 6-8 mg.).

Does anyone else have RLS? Have you found relief for it? The doctor told me there really wasn't a natural remedy that had been found to help.

This is one of the meds that is known to increase urges such as gambling and the big S. I’m just letting you know in case you see any new impulsive behaviors in yourself. This med should also be tapered to go off it. Avoid abrupt cessation and see your doctor before stopping. There can be withdrawal symptoms with this med. With this med it can take awhile before you reach an effective dose and it starts to work. Remember that pharmacists are great to speak with about medication questions.

Re: Restless Leg Syndrome

NickNack — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 17:38:40 GMT

@Mindy D wrote:
@NickNack wrote:
I've had Restless Leg Syndrome for several years but didn't know what it was. I thought you had to kick your legs for it to be RLS. After having to get up every night and walk around for relief and then still having the symptoms when I got back in bed, I finally Googled my symptoms (tingling and crawling feeling behind my knees). I got many different articles about RLS.

I saw my doctor about it this morning, and she prescribed Requip. She knew a lot about it, and I have high hopes that this will help. She started me out on a very low dose, and told me to keep increasing the dose every few days until I reached the dose that would help (up to 6-8 mg.).

Does anyone else have RLS? Have you found relief for it? The doctor told me there really wasn't a natural remedy that had been found to help.
This is one of the meds that is known to increase urges such as gambling and the big S. I’m just letting you know in case you see any new impulsive behaviors in yourself. This med should also be tapered to go off it. Avoid abrupt cessation and see your doctor before stopping. With this med it can take awhile before you reach an effective dose and it starts to work.

Thank you for telling me this @Mindy D . I'll watch for symptoms. My doctor told me it was generally well tolerated. She did say to take it at night, that it made you sleepy. I'll be careful and call her if I'm having side effects. I hadn't read those two, but just now looked it up again and see that it does say that.

Re: Restless Leg Syndrome

Luvtuna — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 17:47:05 GMT

I've had restless leg syndrome for years snd "knock on wood" it seems to have gone away. Once in a great while it comes back. What really used to help me was MagniLife pills and they seem to be discontinued. They were homeopathic and I guess someone might have determined that they were't. The cream did nothing for me. These were advertised in the Sunday Parade section. I tried Hyland's Restful Legs from Amazon and they did not work for me. Good luck - I hope it goes away for you also. Now it's the dry mouth that wakes me.

Re: Restless Leg Syndrome

Catiele — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 17:48:42 GMT

I have had restless legs for years. I use Blue cream and take a Tylenol 8 hour pill. It works for me most of the time.

Re: Restless Leg Syndrome

NickNack — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 17:52:10 GMT

@Luvtuna wrote:
I've had restless leg syndrome for years snd "knock on wood" it seems to have gone away. Once in a great while it comes back. What really used to help me was MagniLife pills and they seem to be discontinued. They were homeopathic and I guess someone might have determined that they were't. The cream did nothing for me. These were advertised in the Sunday Parade section. I tried Hyland's Restful Legs from Amazon and they did not work for me. Good luck - I hope it goes away for you also. Now it's the dry mouth that wakes me.

@Luvtuna I tried Hyland's Restless Legs, too, and it didn't help. I'm glad yours went away,

Re: Restless Leg Syndrome

Mindy D — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 18:18:27 GMT

@NickNack wrote:
@Mindy D wrote:
@NickNack wrote:
I've had Restless Leg Syndrome for several years but didn't know what it was. I thought you had to kick your legs for it to be RLS. After having to get up every night and walk around for relief and then still having the symptoms when I got back in bed, I finally Googled my symptoms (tingling and crawling feeling behind my knees). I got many different articles about RLS.

I saw my doctor about it this morning, and she prescribed Requip. She knew a lot about it, and I have high hopes that this will help. She started me out on a very low dose, and told me to keep increasing the dose every few days until I reached the dose that would help (up to 6-8 mg.).

Does anyone else have RLS? Have you found relief for it? The doctor told me there really wasn't a natural remedy that had been found to help.
This is one of the meds that is known to increase urges such as gambling and the big S. I’m just letting you know in case you see any new impulsive behaviors in yourself. This med should also be tapered to go off it. Avoid abrupt cessation and see your doctor before stopping. With this med it can take awhile before you reach an effective dose and it starts to work.

Thank you for telling me this @Mindy D . I'll watch for symptoms. My doctor told me it was generally well tolerated. She did say to take it at night, that it made you sleepy. I'll be careful and call her if I'm having side effects. I hadn't read those two, but just now looked it up again and see that it does say that.

FYI. Cochrane, which is the most highly regarded group of scientists and doctors that publish reviews of the research literature has searched all the studies of iron in regards to RLS and reviewed the most appropriate studies. Their conclusion about this is:

“Overall, the studies showed that ✅iron is better than a placebo for reducing the severity of restless legs syndrome symptoms, although the benefit was low to moderate. This is mostly based on studies using injections of iron, rather than iron pills. Iron was helpful even if blood iron levels were normal at the start of the study. The quality of the evidence was moderate, because not all completed studies have been published, not all important outcomes have been measured, and not enough people have been studied. Side effects were not more common with iron than with placebo. Based on one study, side effects were less common with iron than with another commonly used restless legs syndrome treatment, although the certainty in this result is very low. More studies are needed to allow people with RLS and doctors to make decisions about who should take iron for restless legs syndrome treatment, using what type of iron, and for how long. The evidence is current to September 2017.”

Quoted From https://www.cochrane.org/CD007834/MOVEMENT_iron-treatment-restless-legs-syndrome

According to MEDSCAPE all RLS patients should be tested for iron deficiency. Medscape is a site for doctors which provides them with the most up-to-date treatments for medical conditions. It helps doctors keep up with diagnosing and properly treating their patients. Here’s what their site tells physicians. Their information is based on the most recent research based medical advice.

“All patients with symptoms of restless legs syndrome (RLS) should be tested for iron deficiency. [3, 4] At a minimum, a ferritin level should be obtained. A complete iron panel, including iron levels, ferritin, transferrin saturation, and total iron binding capacity, is preferable because the ferritin level can be falsely elevated in acute inflammatory states.” Quoted from

https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1188327-workup

Re: Restless Leg Syndrome

tends2dogs — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 18:05:50 GMT

@Luvtuna wrote:
I've had restless leg syndrome for years snd "knock on wood" it seems to have gone away. Once in a great while it comes back. What really used to help me was MagniLife pills and they seem to be discontinued. They were homeopathic and I guess someone might have determined that they were't. The cream did nothing for me. These were advertised in the Sunday Parade section. I tried Hyland's Restful Legs from Amazon and they did not work for me. Good luck - I hope it goes away for you also. Now it's the dry mouth that wakes me.

@Luvtuna My sister wakes with dry mouth, also. It happens when she is eating too much sugar. Just thought I would mention this.

Re: Restless Leg Syndrome

NickNack — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 19:29:28 GMT

@Mindy D @colleena I had read about low iron being a cause of RLS and asked my doctor if she had tested my iron this time with my blood work. She checked, and it was tested two years ago and wasn't low. She said that insurance (I'm on Medicare) wouldn't pay to have it tested for RLS even though it was a known cause. I will see if the meds help, and if they don't will find out what it costs to test for it. It's obviously ridiculous that insurance won't pay for it when they know it's a cause.

Re: Restless Leg Syndrome

Mindy D — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 19:33:56 GMT

@NickNack wrote:
@Mindy D @colleena I had read about low iron being a cause of RLS and asked my doctor if she had tested my iron this time with my blood work. She checked, and it was tested two years ago and wasn't low. She said that insurance wouldn't pay to have it tested for RLS even though it was a known cause. I will see if the meds help, and if they don't will find out what it costs to test for it. It's obviously ridiculous that insurance won't pay for it when they know it's a cause.

Pay for the testing yourself. If you are anemic you need to know it. By the way, insurance will pay for testing if you happen to have the symptoms of anemia and you tell your doctor about your symptoms. Check online for the symptoms of anemia. If you have any symptoms tell your doctor. You might not realize you have some symptoms.

Re: Restless Leg Syndrome

Drythe — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 19:37:06 GMT

@NickNack

I’m sorry you are dealing with this.

Have no experience with RLS, but the MAYO Clinic Information web page has an article about it if you are interested. It mentioned several treatments.

Hope it is better soon.

Re: Restless Leg Syndrome

NickNack — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 19:39:04 GMT

@Drythe wrote:
@NickNack

I’m sorry you are dealing with this.

Have no experience with RLS, but the MAYO Clinic Information web page has an article about it if you are interested. It mentioned several treatments.

Hope it is better soon.

Thank you @Drythe . I read the Mayo Clinic article yesterday, and it was interesting.

Re: Restless Leg Syndrome

colleena — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 19:40:14 GMT

@NickNack I had a sleep study 2 years ago prior to my hip replacement & of the almost 6 hour study I think the test counted 620 times that my feet/legs moved, my iron count was 5 after surgery so they gave me iron supplements which didn't move the levels over 8 so I've had iron infusions every 3 months or so - long story short for me that the restless legs plus some other medical issues are considerably better which has helped me tremendously. Good luck with whatever works best for you.

Re: Restless Leg Syndrome

NickNack — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 19:53:59 GMT

@Mindy D wrote:
@NickNack wrote:
@Mindy D @colleena I had read about low iron being a cause of RLS and asked my doctor if she had tested my iron this time with my blood work. She checked, and it was tested two years ago and wasn't low. She said that insurance wouldn't pay to have it tested for RLS even though it was a known cause. I will see if the meds help, and if they don't will find out what it costs to test for it. It's obviously ridiculous that insurance won't pay for it when they know it's a cause.
Pay for the testing yourself. If you are anemic you need to know it. By the way, insurance will pay for testing if you happen to have the symptoms of anemia and you tell your doctor about your symptoms. Check online for the symptoms of anemia. If you have any symptoms tell your doctor. You might not realize you have some symptoms.

@Mindy D I had blood work done with my annual exam in March. She did tell me today that it showed I wasn't anemic. I don't understand how she knows that without testing my iron, but she must have done some type of iron testing that showed that.

Re: Restless Leg Syndrome

Bri369 — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 20:07:03 GMT

I was suffering from restless legs for months. I went to the doctor and right away he said I needed to get my iron tested. I was very low and was anemic. I started taking iron and within the first night or so, my legs calmed down.

Re: Restless Leg Syndrome

NickNack — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 20:08:48 GMT

@Mindy D @Bri369 Even though my doctor told me I wasn't anemic according to blood work I had done in March, I will call on Monday and find out how much it costs to have my iron tested. She told me she would test it if I wanted her to even though insurance won't pay for it.