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The dreaded restless legs syndrome

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trudie37132
trudie37132

So guys you will see me pop up all over these forums as I have so many different health issues, however, the Restless Legs is enough to drive a person crazy.  I have had this since I was a child (I am now 58).  In the last 18 months it has gone beserk.  I currently work full time and the minute I get home and sit down to rest it begins and the RLS just keeps going, growing in intensity, until around 4 to 5am.  Sometimes I have it all day.  I am constantly having to move and jiggle about and moving and having to literally sit on the edge of my seat.  I no longer sleep in an actual bed, partly due to this and partly due to pain from osteoarthritus.  I actually have to try and sleep sitting up on the sofa.  I drift in and out of sleep probably getting up to 20 minutes at a time if I  am lucky.  On a good night I might get about 3 hours sleep spread over the whole night, but on a bad night, I get no sleep at all.  I have had to stop working after nights like this as I find myself falling asleep at the wheel and drifting off of the road.  This terrified me and I have to be really be careful about when I am able to drive.  I am now finding that when I take my partner shopping and I am waiting for him in the car the RLS is starting to come on and I am feel like I am going demented.  I have tried so many different things to help with this including, magnesium spray, irion tablets, drinking tonic water, using a tense machine, drinking chamomile tea, taking calms pills, using muscle relaxants and pain killers and finally, something that does seem to give me some kind of relief, wearing anti nausea wrist bands at night.  I now constantly use a mixture of all of these things and sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.  Distraction helps, so when my arthritus pain is really intense the RLS decreases, or watching tv, listening to talk radio, but these things do not allow you to sleep, although they take the edge of it.  The Doctors simply put their head to one side, smile patronisingly and say, there is no  cure and nothing that they can do.  Any more ideas guys?

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  • kathy00483
    kathy00483 trudie37132

    Posted

    2 most effective things for me, soaking in a hot bath and using a bean bag as follows:  I make my bean bags with flannel and the cover with fleece.  8 inches by 20 inches, fill with approximately 6 cups of winter red hard wheat berries (so when laying flat about 1 inch high).  Heat in microwave for 2-3 minutes, take out and move around to mix wheat berries, and heat another 2-3 minutes.  Lie in bed face down with rear end up (looking cute:-), and bag at back of knees, between both legs, touching thighs and calfs.  Instant relief.  The wheat berries will stay warm for up to 30 minutes. Adjust legs to what is comfortable over time. 
  • kathy00483
    kathy00483 trudie37132

    Posted

    2 most effective things for me, soaking in a hot bath and using a bean bag as follows:  I make my bean bags with flannel and the cover with fleece.  8 inches by 20 inches, fill with approximately 6 cups of winter red hard wheat berries (so when laying flat about 1 inch high).  Heat in microwave for 2-3 minutes, take out and move around to mix wheat berries, and heat another 2-3 minutes.  Lie in bed face down with rear end up (looking cute:-), and bag at back of knees, between both legs, touching thighs and calfs.  Instant relief.  The wheat berries will stay warm for up to 30 minutes. Adjust legs to what is comfortable over time. 
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