Restless Legs

MichelleFirestone
MichelleFirestone Posts: 212 Member
edited September 30 in Health and Weight Loss
Does anyone else have problems with restless legs? I'm trying to figure out what triggers it, and what can help avoid it.

I got restless legs with both of my pregnancies, but then it went away after I had them. I'm not sure the reason behind it. Weight gain, or pressure from baby on something. I was just happy once I had the babies, it was gone.

Well my daughter is going to be 2 in October, and the past few months, on and off, my legs have being giving me problems again. Its the calves. I read to cut back on tea. So I usually have a glass with dinner, and that's it. I read drink Milk, before bed. no luck there. for awhile taking tylenol PM before bed, was working, but now that doesnt seem to help either. and its not every night. but a few weeks ago, it was 4 nighs in a row. Then your tired for work.

It only happens at night. I walk, stretch, run in place. but as soon as I lay down and start to fall asleep, it wakes me up again.

Any suggestions are welcome. do I need vitamins or sleep a perticular way. I don't think its bad enough for medication, since its very random, and only at night. But I read it can get worse the older you get. and I"m only 26.

Replies

  • RhonndaJ
    RhonndaJ Posts: 1,615 Member
    I've had this, but not for a while now. At the time it coincided with an larger than normal intake of sugar
  • tlems
    tlems Posts: 104 Member
    I get it when I am overly tired. :)
  • thefreemans28
    thefreemans28 Posts: 267 Member
    Hi there,

    I developed this problem during pregnancy as well, and it stuck around long after! I went to my doctor for it, and she said that if it sticks around after pregnancy, it is typically due to an iron deficiency. So, she put me on an iron supplement and they went away! I would definitely try that!
  • nehtaeh
    nehtaeh Posts: 2,849 Member
    I have no personal experience, but my step-dad has this and he puts a bar of soap by his legs when he sleeps. It sounds funny but apparently works for him. It's worth a shot especially if its only occassional. I think its just a normal bar of soap - his was ivory I think. You might be able to google it if you want to know more particulars about the soap and how it works.
  • nph1960
    nph1960 Posts: 57 Member
    YES! It is really like a cruel form of torture - just when you are getting drowsy and ready to nod off to sleep, the crawlies start and no sleep for you!

    I also developed it after pregnancy. "They" think it is somehow related to the dopamine levels in your brain; low iron in the brain somehow contributes.

    I limit caffeine, and had to give up black tea for a while, as I thought this was exacerbating my symptoms.

    However, I have found that my symptoms virtually went away since I've been jogging every day (instead of 2-3 x per week; I "jog" on an elliptical machine).
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    Assuming that tea has caffeine, I would say stop drinking it with dinner. I don't think that's helping at all. (I'm very caffeine sensitive and have leanred to avoid it past noon or my mind and body are very restless).

    Do you exercise? I know when I first started working out, my legs were kind of crampy and would bother me at night. Not sure if was the same as Restless Leg Syndrom (RLS) but I found that taking Ibruprofen before bed helped ease the irritation of the sore muscles and therefore helped me sleep.

    On the other hand, if you don't exercise, I wonder if getting a nice walk in every day would help you.
  • Brandie6004
    Brandie6004 Posts: 87 Member
    Me too... w pregnancy #1 it didn't happen too often and only once in a while after having my son (now 9 1/2 yrs old). Then w pregnancy #2 it happened sevearal times aweek and didnot stop after having my daughter (now almost 5). It got much worse a couple of years ago, almost nightly and not always at bed time, sometimes just sitting on the couch watching a movie. I think mine is somehow related to my weight and not being active.

    Over the years the heavier I got, the worse it got. Over the past few months, as I've starting excerising more and dropping some weight it hardly happens; it was one of the very first things that I had noticed to change with in weeks of excerising! If I go too long (a week or two) w/out working out, it flares up. I have also started taking a one-a-day, so I don't know if that has been helping or not.

    Good luck! I hope you find something to help!
  • nph1960
    nph1960 Posts: 57 Member
    One more thing: avoid taking antihistamine (like Benedryl). It is known to exacerbate RLS.
  • samcee
    samcee Posts: 307
    YES! It is really like a cruel form of torture - just when you are getting drowsy and ready to nod off to sleep, the crawlies start and no sleep for you!

    I also developed it after pregnancy. "They" think it is somehow related to the dopamine levels in your brain; low iron in the brain somehow contributes.

    I limit caffeine, and had to give up black tea for a while, as I thought this was exacerbating my symptoms.

    However, I have found that my symptoms virtually went away since I've been jogging every day (instead of 2-3 x per week; I "jog" on an elliptical machine).

    Jogging is a good idea! I had my blood test last year and it showed I had iron deficiency. If its related than maybe topping up your iron is worth a shot?

    I discovered I had this about 4 years ago and it completely kept me up at night. I had to walk around the house for ages because I couldn't get rid of that horrible feelings in my legs but luckily it doesn't happen often. I only realized later that other people get this too :(
  • CelticDestiny
    CelticDestiny Posts: 61 Member
    I've had this too, although it has been very mild for the most part. I've taken Tylenol PM when i just couldn't stand it any longer, but I try not to take medicine since I take enough of it for migraines I get often. Anyway, I never found any correlation to diet or anything, I didn't even think about it, but I have two things that I did that works for me. First I tense all my muscles in my legs for about 30 seconds then relax, wait 30 seconds then repeat. I do that probably 5 times or so. If that helped but didn't fix it for the night then I just keep moving my toes up and down. Since I can move my toes without thinking about it I'm not focused on my legs and it keeps them moving which satisfies that overwhelming urge to have them move. I keep moving them until I fall asleep. No it's not the best solution but it helps me. Good luck.
  • katkins3
    katkins3 Posts: 1,359 Member
    A coworker told me to put a heating pad on my legs, because they did that for her in the hospital after surgery.
    It worked! I have since learned that two of my daughters also have restless legs and have bought them heating pads.
    (I also limit myself to one coffee a day.)
  • PrairieRoseNE
    PrairieRoseNE Posts: 265 Member
    My Dad (who needed a walker to get around) suffered with RLS and he found some relief by taking a warm soak in the bathtub before going to bed each night and then had Mom massage his calf muscles with some lotion. The combination of the warm water and the massage helped. Good luck!
  • MichelleFirestone
    MichelleFirestone Posts: 212 Member
    Thanks for all the suggestions. My iron has always been low. its been at almost 2 yrs since I had any blood work done. so maybe that is the problem. i don't eat much fruit. and don't take an vitamins. So I'll check into taking them. and some of the other suggestions about jogging before bed, or soaking in hot water, or heat packs.

    thanks hopefully it works
  • nehtaeh
    nehtaeh Posts: 2,849 Member
    I, being curious, looked up the soap thing. Apparently its worked for a lot of people. Some of the suggestions said it has to do with the magnesium (especially in ivory soap I guess). Maybe take magnesium to try it out.

    Here's a link if you wanna look into it, http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/restless_legs.html#ABAROFSOAP_58755
  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
    Triggers are different for everyone.

    Personally, I found that switching to decaf beverages after 11am and adding as much potassium as I can to my diet has helped (I try to have at least twice as much potassium each day as I do sodium). Even with those changes though... it's still pretty much unmanagable (for me) the week before TOM with all those blasted hormones.
  • marybsalmon
    marybsalmon Posts: 46 Member
    Triggers are different for everyone.

    Personally, I found that switching to decaf beverages after 11am and adding as much potassium as I can to my diet has helped (I try to have at least twice as much potassium each day as I do sodium). Even with those changes though... it's still pretty much unmanagable (for me) the week before TOM with all those blasted hormones.

    I'm having a hard time getting all the potassium that is recommended. Do you have any suggestions? I went to the health food store and picked up a potassium supplement but it's only about 250 mg...no where near the 3500 that is recommended! I also have some RLS and think this might be one of the reasons.
  • TS65
    TS65 Posts: 1,024 Member
    I'm sorry, I can't offer much help. My mom had this years ago (she died in '95). A little research came up with this:

    http://www.medicinenet.com/restless_leg_syndrome/article.htm

    I hope it helps!
  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
    I'm having a hard time getting all the potassium that is recommended. Do you have any suggestions?

    I'm getting most of mine from decaf coffee w/ almond milk and russet potatoes (the skins are CHOCK FULL of potassium. Another great resource is: http://nutritiondata.self.com/foods-000122000000000000000.html
  • RoseBudd85
    RoseBudd85 Posts: 49
    I get that a lot too...it's miserable and I haven't found anything that works for me. I also find that the worst nights are often when I'm hormonal.
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