Restless Legs, Restless Nights: Poetry and Art for RLS

I do this thing when my RLS is severe and before my medication kicks in, or if my medication isn’t strong enough. I think other people do it, too — not really sure. Since I have been using my lack of sleep insomnia as a great time of creativity, I am going to express it in a bit of art and poetry. Art and writing are 2 go-to midnight insomnia distraction methods for me. It can be a very creative time of day — well, night. And if you ignore the fact that it increases sleep deprivation, the creativity is awesome.

Shake, rattle, and roll

I know we all shake our legs to find some relief. I also do some rapid, annoyed kicks when I am frustrated. But when things get really nuts, I also sort of twist and contort the muscles to try and relieve the sensations — like twist the foot and my hands and arms into tight, stiff positions to see if the constrained pressure will relieve the sharp sensations somewhat. It does a little bit. Not a lot. But a little.

I suspect it is similar to the idea of wearing compression socks. That is what I am attempting to do — compress. But when my RLS is severe, it is in my feet, legs, arms, and hands, and even sometimes my torso. So there are a lot of areas to tangle up and put that pressure on.

'Restless Legs, Restless Nights'

Figure 1: Sometimes I will twist my foot or various appendage at an odd, uncomfortable angle but still have it able to have enough movement to shake... or rock.

Creeping, crawling, pulling, pain

Shaking legs and twitching toes.

Watch the clock, blink again, again

Figure 2: When I get that insane 'pulling' sensation in my feet, I will pull my big toe up and clench my other toes down, sometimes releasing and repeating over and over.

Contort the body, twist, and strain

Night stretching and time slows

Creeping, crawling, pulling, pain

Figure 3: I know from experience that these tricks just ease things a little bit. Make things just a bit bearable. However, I can never sleep that way. It is too electrical... too insane. Medication is a Must.

Tick tock driving me insane

Ebb and flow, it won’t let go

Watch the clock, blink again, again

Thankful for medication I can depend on

Before I had medication, the severity of my RLS was so painful and affected so many areas, sleep was just not possible. Even with contorting and compressing the affected areas, the relief wasn't sufficient to actually get any sleep that way.

I still would wrap myself up into a pretzel and then rock my entire body like that, just to get a tiny bit of relief. To just ease it a bit and make it somewhat bearable. But that didn’t mean I could sleep through those sensations. It was insane. And I am so very thankful I have medication now that I can depend on to help me.

Even if some nights, well, I have to endure this while I wait for those to kick in.