How would you describe how your Restless legs symptoms?
Mine feel like worms crawling thru my veins in my calves and thighs. It can drive me crazy. It happens at rest like when I am sitting watching tv or lying in bed. I take two oral medicines for it but I still tend to get another episode in the middle of the night if I am still up. (I tend to be a night owl.) What has worked for you to lessen the episodes?
My symptoms began with just the sensation of distress in the legs and sometimes arms.
Today after more than a year, they have sort of changed for the worse.
The typical symptom for me is a sort of pinching very deep in the muscle, accompanied by an urge to scratch.
The curious thing is that my RLS is caused by this itching, and unlike before, simply "shaking it away" does not work anymore so i have to "scratch it away".
Other symptoms that occur are:
Slight points of "electrical current" through the body, tingling in specific areas, legs contractions subsequent to the "pinching" and distressing feel, and at worse even a sort of electrical chills (not the cold ones).
Obviously not sleeping enough makes everything worse, since it is logical that the brain goes into a sort of "fatigue" so any distress that it has is amplified by its lack of regeneration.My sxs are an irresistible need to move my feet, mostly. Sometimes it’s hard to determine if it’s rls or neuropathy with its pin prickling feelings. They all seem to happen at the same time. I don’t take an oral medicine for these. I tried lyrics and neuro tin. Both gave me a feeling of chills, tremors and nervousness, so I had to go off those. I find it helps to put diclofenac gel on my feet and massage.
I am sorry to hear that you haven't been able to find a medication that works for you without causing bad side effects. I am glad to hear that you at least have found diclofenac gel to be a help
🥄🦄 Ray (Team member)
For me, there were times when my RLS symptoms felt like bugs crawling all over me. Other times it felt like my leg muscles were constantly tightening and relaxing. Then there were other times when both those sensations would happen at the same time. Now that I am on Pregabalin, I no longer experience those symptoms.
Heating pads and hot showers helped when I was experiencing those sensations. I even hunted for the perfect shower seat so that when I'm too tired to stand but my RLS symptoms were too aggravating, I could still soak them in hot water. You can read about my hunt here https://restlesslegssyndrome.sleep-disorders.net/living/shower-seat
Do you have other things that cause you to be a night owl?
🥄🦄 Ray (Team member)
