If you are suffering from RLS or restless leg syndrome,
you will crave a good night’s sleep more than
anything else. This condition can be extremely frustrating
– you are tired, you long for sleep and just
when you get into bed and are ready to relax, you
get these symptoms of uncomfortable or even painful
sensations in your legs and a general urge to move
the legs to gain relief. Sometimes you have to get
up and move around to relieve the discomfort which
may even increase during the evening or the night.
Although no cure exists for RLS, different types
of treatment can be used to manage the condition and
relieve discomfort so that by trial and error, you
will get that good night’s sleep.
If your symptoms are mild, self help treatment at
home should be sufficient:
• During the day, develop an exercise program
that relieves the RLS symptoms.
• Wrap your legs in ace bandages or wear compression
stockings or tight pantyhose.
• If you have low iron levels, take iron supplements
to balance this deficiency.
• Reduce or even eliminate altogether caffeine,
alcohol and tobacco use as these substances often
actual increase the symptoms of RLS.
• Keep a diary of your sleep schedule to help
you pinpoint the ups and downs and the triggers.
• At bedtime, have a few minutes exercise before
you get into bed such as pacing, walking or jogging.
• You can also try stretching your legs, do
knee bends or rotate your ankles.
• Relaxing can be very helpful – trying
meditation, yoga or just deep breathing.
• Try applying heat or cold. Some people find
one or the other method helpful. Take a bath or soak
your feet in hot or cool water, use a heating pad
or hot water bottle or you may prefer a cold compress.
• Lie on one side with a pillow between the
knees can be helpful and soothing.
• Use a natural healing product (which is available
on line) to apply to and massage into the affected
area both during the day and at nighttime to bring
relief and help you to relax and to sleep.
If your symptoms are more severe, you can try applying
electrical stimulation to your feet and legs to help
reduce the nighttime leg jerking which you may be
experiencing. Using a portable, bedside TENS unit,
you can apply electrical stimulation to the area for
15 to 30 minutes at bedtime.
If none of the above helps and you are still not getting
a good night’s sleep, then it is wise to seek
the help and advice of your doctor. He will give you
a definite diagnosis and be able to help with medication.
But be very weary of all drugs and investigate the
side effects especially when used for the long term.
Some of the medications prescribed for RLS are:
• Hypertensive medications which, though generally
prescribed for high blood pressure, can be effective
in combating RLS.
• Dopaminergic agents which, though normally
used to treat Parkinson’s disease, can increase
the brain chemical dopamine that regulates muscle
movements.
• Benzodiazepines which are sleep medications,
or central nervous system depressants, but which also
suppress muscle contractions. These medications can
cause daytime sleepiness.
• Non-benzodiazepine sedatives which are sleeping
pills that can be helpful.
• Opiates such as low-potency Darvon or high-potency
Percodan which are pain-killing and relaxing drugs
that can suppress RLS in some sufferers. However they
can be addictive and should only be used in low dosages.
• Anticonvulsants such as Gabapentin or Neurontin,
which are used to prevent seizures, but will reduce
muscle contractions in some RLS sufferers so that
the sensory disturbances such as creeping and crawling
sensations in the legs decrease.
The problem with all of the above medications is
that they are actually prescribed primarily for other
conditions and their use for RLS has evolved over
time. One drug may be helpful to one individual but
even be detrimental to another sufferer. In addition,
medications can lose their effect over time so that
a change of medication is necessitated. There is a
lot of trial and error that can take place.
In the meantime, NINDS (the National Institute for
Neurological Disorders and Stroke) continually conduct
and support research on RLS so as to increase the
scientific understanding of RLS, to find improved
methods of diagnosing and treating the syndrome and
to discover ways to prevent it.
