My reality with restless legs
Good morning!
While it hasn’t been the first time that i’ve been diagnosed with restless legs, as I did got it years ago, I just realized that my symptoms had suddently changed- something that I had put on the back of working on my feet all day, and my bestfriend (being a phamacy assistant), reminded me of it after I’ve tried stretchy socks aswell as taking calcium magnesium pills supplements everyday & that it didn’t really do anything..
* Reminder that i’m no health professional; what’s being said in this post is coming from a google research mixed with my own experience only. *
What are restless legs, or Willis-Ekbom disease?
This chronic illness takes two forms, PLMD (periodic limbs movement disorder), Having their legs moving constantly within their sleep without their control; that usually result as still feeling tired in the morning, as their body are burning energy doing the legs twitches instead of completely recharching their internal batteries.
The second form, RLS (restless legs) is having their legs bothering and/or pain flaring up in situations of rest, again usually right before sleep. Synonym to the name, the incomfort gives the person the need to move their legs around to momentally get rid of the annoying feeling. Depending on the cause, PLMD frequently progresses into RLS; both being into the sleeping disorders category, as you can imagine they both have a flagrant impact on someone’s sleep- either by incapaciting somebody to fall asleep, or simply lowering the lenght/qualiy of the sleep with the constant movements.
While they still don’t really know what causes it, but so far they’re thinking it could be within the brain not making enough dopamine. There’s 3 possible schenarios:
- Having it in your family’s genes
- Having taken too much of “old” anti-allergies meds (antihistamines), anti-nausea or some types of anti-depressants (SSRIs, Selective serotonine reuptake inhibitors)
- being attached to another condition such as anxiety or depression, kidney failure, diabetes, neurologic incidents, etc.
(I’m a bit fucked here, as I do have both PLMD & RLS, and all 3 possible schenarios can imply to me.. no matter which one it ends up being. My dad & his dad always complained of pain in their legs, I need to take seasonal allergy meds constantly or else I can’t function and ofcourse I have anti-depressants. Finally… I do have depression and anxiety)
How it went for me;
About a decade ago, when we were trying to find the right mix of anti-depressant & contraception to help stabilize my head (my hormones plays a role in mine, where every end of months affect my mental health), I got diagnosed with PLMD. My mother was the one to tell my doctor, as I was sleeping and obviously didn’t noticed. I was working daytime at the time, and well- I was constantly overtired because my energy went into making my legs move as I sleep.. so he gave me some muscle relaxants to help me sleep, and hopefully keep my legs from moving. Eventually, I start getting better and we removed that one (that I don’t quite remember the reason why).
Fastforward to now, about a year or two ago – again I don’t remember the exact moment this started.. my legs started being painful. My calves and/or my thighs, depending on the days, started to trouble me where I couldn’t fall asleep. I had to do what i’m calling “flipflopping”; putting my legs over/under the blankets, and trying to find a position that doesn’t bother me too too much. unsuccessfully.
It feels like some kind of pressure, a constant tightening within my legs (some days it’s the lower leg, often time the higher leg). Upon consulting my bestfriend, she recommended me the streching socks, that did sorta help with my lower leg.. but doesn’t reach my thighs, aswell as some magnesium/calcium vitamins that while I take daily, I don’t see any changes. That’s when she suggested I might have RLS- and I clued in that I did had my dr telling me that, and upon researching the interwebs, saw that I had both PLMD & RLS (Mother still says I move my legs quite alot in my sleep, so that one stayed within the years.. I just bleed onto the second one too)
Sometimes it’s more mild where the feeling completely dissapear upon waking up in the morning.. other cases I do have the pressure in my legs last all day; which slightly drives me crazy 😬 Even taking a warm bath, aswell as massaging my legs with some hydrating cream (that make random bruises appear all over my legs).. nothing that I can do makes it go away.
Ofcourse I’m gonna address the changed of my RLS to my doctor, but I just called for an appointment at the beginning of June- and the only spot he had was on June 29th … trying to hold on until then, where he will hopefully gives me muscle relaxants again, or something that can help me sleep/relax the muscles that I could take as needed.
* While not diagnosed, I suspect i’ve also had bad legs circulation since very young.. because when I used to drink, upon getting drunk I can’t feel my toes. Like- yes I can move them & all, but I don’t feel them.. which isn’t normal. *
Had you heard of restless legs before?
Any ideas of what can possibly help me until I can get something?