I’m the Wife, and It’s Driving Me Crazy!

My husband has had RLS for 20 years, initially it was intermittent and mild. The last 10 years, he has been on Sifrol (pramipexole), which has made the RLS manageable.

His symptoms got worse

Two months ago, his RLS became so severe, he was surviving on 1-2 hours sleep per night. He spent most of the night pacing the house, showering, walking around the streets at 3 am. His mental health began suffering, with my husband telling me he felt anxious all the time and as though something terrible was going to happen! My husband had never experienced anxiety or depression in his life. We have been married for 50 years and here was a man I didn’t recognise anymore!

I made doctor and specialist appointments, physio, acupuncture, I tried everything I could think of. Meanwhile my husband was slowly deteriorating before my eyes! The only way we got through the worst of the RLS was for me to sit up with my husband, talking through what he was experiencing, plus massaging his legs in the early hours of the morning, making hot drinks and watching middle of the night TV, when all I wanted to do was go to bed!

Adapting to a different schedule

Eventually, we realised that trying to fight what was happening, wasn’t helping him or us. My husband decided that he would go with the flow. He sat up for several hours while his legs were bad, pacing, taking showers etc. When the RLS settled he came to bed. What we changed was his usual routine of getting up at 5:30 a.m. for a morning walk. If he slept later, he accepted this, and sometimes he would sleep until 10 or 11 a.m. If he was tired during the afternoon, while his legs were ok, he would sleep!

We eventually saw a sleep specialist, who has started my husband on pregabalin 75mg. So now we have to wait and see what happens. Wish us luck! Will keep you informed!