RLS in My Life

My RLS began when I was around 19 years old. It wasn't constant in those days, just off and on. By the time I was 21, it was almost nightly.

Managing medication and sleep

I am now 79, and it's every night and starts around 4 PM. I am on ropinirole, which helps me to sleep through the night, but if I take it too early, I get very, very sleepy, so I try and wait until around 7-ish. I take 1 around 7, another around 8:30, and the last one around 10. I then can sleep through the night.

The older I get, the worse it has become

I only wish I could sit still and enjoy the evenings without having to constantly move my legs. When my husband was alive, I would have him rub them for me, and that always helped me relax a bit.

This disorder is really hard to live with, and for people who don't have RLS — and there are quite a few — it's impossible for them to really understand what we endure. And the worst part is that the older I get, the worse it has become.