Restless leg syndrome?

Have you ever heard of it? Know anyone who has it? Do you have it?

I learned about it here in the hospital durring this stay. They put these things on my legs that fill up with air then deflate. It is to help with circulation and prevent blood clots for those after surgery, and who have to lay in bed for long periods of time.

The next morning after I took a walk I asked if they were putting them back on. They were a little surprised as most people dislike them. I personally loved the night long massage. I don't understand why anyone would dislike them.

I guess that people with Restless Leg Syndrome love them. I'd never heard of that before, so I looked it up on the net https://health.google.com/health/ref...s+leg+syndromeI read the symptoms and they don't sound like me.

For me, I rub my feet together, so did my mom. My feet like to touch and rub on each other while I am laying down sleeping, or going to sleep. Sometimes also when I am sitting. I don't reallly feel discomfort like what was described. My muscles almost feel a little viberatey, so my feet rub together. It doesn't disrupt my sleep at all, or anything like that. The nurse suggested I have a mild case of it... VERY MILD!! lol I've done this my whole life. Since I was a kid.

Such odd things one learns about.

Be safe.

I have never been diagnosed with it, but I have it or something similar. I have been having problems with it ever since I started going through the change. My legs ache and move involuntarily during the night. I usually take ibuprofen before bed and it helps. But if I forget, it drives me crazy until I take the meds.

Originally Posted by Catkiki

I have never been diagnosed with it, but I have it or something similar. I have been having problems with it ever since I started going through the change. My legs ache and move involuntarily during the night. I usually take ibuprofen before bed and it helps. But if I forget, it drives me crazy until I take the meds.

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For me I would call it more subconcious (OMG SP?) then involentary. I don't realize I am doing it, and I can stop it and NOT do it as long as I am thinking about it. As soon as I am relaxed and my mind is on something else, there they go, rubby lovey on each other, I swear my feet are in love with each other.

I like to have a blanket between my legs when I sleep (I sleep on my sides) but I MUST have my feet touching, skin to skin.


Be safe.

Both my brother and I have had Restless Leg Syndrome. It's not a fun experience, believe me.

Yes I do have it and I didn't know until recently that there was a name for it. I saw my symptoms on TV and then realized what I had. I only get it periodically but it does keep me awake at night. I never saw a doctor about it but if it persists, I will see what can be done about it.

I have it, and my dad had it. He called it "floppy feet" - drove my mom nuts!

I have restless arm syndrome. It's an awful thing to try to describe to someone. It's almost like when you keep your arms (or legs as the case may be) still for too long and they kind of feel like they are going to cramp up, but it's not a cramp that you get. The sensation just intensifies until you have to move the limbs. I find it's so much worse at night and I guess because my mind is distracted during the day I don't really notice it then. But at night I have a hard time finding a position to stay in long enough to fall asleep because as soon as I get comfy, I get that creepy sensation in my arms and I have to move them.

Other things can look like and even cause RLS - such as vitamin and mineral deficiencies. With any sort of GI problems deficiencies should be looked for.

I get that weird vibrate-y like feeling, too. In my case it's either caused my back or the poor circulation in my legs.


I had those on, too, after my surgery. They didn't bother me, did feel kind of nice - warmer. I always freeze when in the hospital, especially my feet and lower legs. I don't think it really means much.

The only thing I know about this is a commercial Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m always confused with that says it can help restless leg syndrome but side effects include becoming addicted to sex and gambling lol I always thought that was weird. Sounds like a fun drug lol.

My husband has RLS and it drives me crazy at night. He has kept me up many nights with his his leg flopping around.

I have Restless Leg Syndrome, and had the same experience as you did, with those inflatable leg things. I LOVED them, and the nurses were so surprised.

My antidepressant helps with the RLS. I know this because I have to go off the antidepressant periodically, and by the second week off the medicine the RLS comes back. It's always a great relief to go back on the meds!

I've had it most of my life, as far back as I can remember, in my teens, anyway. It can drive you insane.

Originally Posted by MyRage

Have you ever heard of it? Know anyone who has it? Do you have it?

I learned about it here in the hospital durring this stay. They put these things on my legs that fill up with air then deflate. It is to help with circulation and prevent blood clots for those after surgery, and who have to lay in bed for long periods of time.

The next morning after I took a walk I asked if they were putting them back on. They were a little surprised as most people dislike them. I personally loved the night long massage. I don't understand why anyone would dislike them.

I guess that people with Restless Leg Syndrome love them. I'd never heard of that before, so I looked it up on the net https://health.google.com/health/ref...s+leg+syndromeI read the symptoms and they don't sound like me.

For me, I rub my feet together, so did my mom. My feet like to touch and rub on each other while I am laying down sleeping, or going to sleep. Sometimes also when I am sitting. I don't reallly feel discomfort like what was described. My muscles almost feel a little viberatey, so my feet rub together. It doesn't disrupt my sleep at all, or anything like that. The nurse suggested I have a mild case of it... VERY MILD!! lol I've done this my whole life. Since I was a kid.

Such odd things one learns about.

Be safe.

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I can't believe you actually liked those things. They were the bane of existence after my last c-section. They made my legs super hot and talk about annoying...grrr.

Well at least you enjoyed them and they helped you get as good of rest as you can in a hospital.

I don't have RLS, but I have had a few cases of drug induced akathisia from Reglan. I'm under the impression that RLS is kind of like that, but only in your legs? Am I wrong? Those of you with RLS can elighten me. Out of curiosity, does anybody know if RLS and PLMS/PLMD are caused by the same mechanism? It's a dopamine issue right?

I have obstructive sleep apnea which supposedly often goes hand in hand with RLS and/or PLMS, but fortunately I've never gotten symptoms of either of those that I know of. I wonder if I will though now that we're messing with my dopamine levels to see if it helps me lose weight because I'm going to need spinal surgery.

Sorry to go off topic. I was intrigued by the thread because I've had sleep problems ever since I could walk and have been asked a million times the set of questions that docs use to see if a patient has RLS (boy does that get annoying).

Are you guys managing to find relief from RLS? I honestly don't know what the treatment is for it as I've never had the disorder.

I can't believe you actually liked those things. They were the bane of existence after my last c-section. They made my legs super hot and talk about annoying...grrr.

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I absolutely hate them too. I can't remember what they're officially called. Leg compression pumps or something? Whatever. One time in the hospital I lost my patience and got rid of it myself. I think I hid it in the closet for my personal belongings and figured they'd find it after I was discharged. They actually start to cause pain for me after a few days.

what is PLMS?

I have RLS - have had it since at least age 10. It is getting worse as I age and got worse when I quit smoking. Surprised? nope - smoking increases dopamine and I do believe RLS has to do with dopamine in some way.

I take a parkinson drug - mirapex. It was prescribed off label for years but finally the fda approved for RLS. Depending on the severity, it might drive me insane (so I take the drug) or just be bothersome. Mostly as it gets later if I am up reclining it makes me go jogging at midnight or to bed to get relief. The mirapex does work but of course it is a trade off (makes me so sleepy I cant function. I take it at 7-8 becaue my symtoms get worse around then. If I take it right before bed then I have a hangover and sleep about 9-10 hrs. Something that is not good on a work night.

My mother has it so early on I knew it existed. She called it 'racy legs' when I was a kid.

wow... I didn't know there were so many people who had it. I've never heard of it. I really don't think I have it, I just can't really leave my legs and feet still for long.

The kind of buzzy feeling isn't like when the circulation is cut off, that is extremely uncomfortable. The feeling is different. I personally thing that my feet think has to do with the inability to sit still.

Someone did once tell me, (when I was staying at their house) they checked in on me cuz I had been sick, and my legs were moving like I was running a marathon. I had no idea, I was completely asleep. Sometimes I wake up and my legs feel like I'd walked a hundred miles!

I'm sorry for all of you effected by this, I have no idea what it would be like. They always thought I was adhd growing up but never diagnosed. I was always called a space case, and being told to sit still. It's cool though, I don't mind.


Be safe.

Yeah I wish I had a pair of them for myself at home. LOL They are so nice, night long massage(sp?)

Originally Posted by CDubbie

what is PLMS?

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PLMS - Periodic Limb Movements while asleep

PLMW - Periodic Limb Movements while awake

both fall under PLMD - Periodic Limb Movement Disorder, which I've also seen referred to as PLMS, except then the acronym means Periodic Limb Movement Syndrome. At the same time, if somebody has PLMS (Period Limb Movements while asleep) and it isn't causing any problems, they have PLMS (Period Limb Movements while asleep), but it isn't considered a disorder, yet at the same time it falls under the umbrella of PLMD which has the word "disorder" in it. Confused? I am.

I don't know if it was RLS or not, but for years I had a problem with a muscle spasm in my lower back making my legs jerk abruptly during the night. When I agreed to give up half my caffeine and start drinking water it went away nearly completely. I'll still feel the muscles tense up but the leg jump doesn't follow.

Originally Posted by LawGuy

I absolutely hate them too. I can't remember what they're officially called.

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S.C.D's (Sequential Compression Devices)

From a nursing perspective I can tell you that nurses hate them too, especially when being used for ambulatory patient's who need to get up and walk to the bathroom.

They totally remove the person's independence because someone has to come in and remove them and then reapply them when they are back in bed. IMHO are make work project for the staff.

Luckily the place I used to work felt the same, so with only a few exceptions, the only patients that really got those were people who were too big physically to fit regular TED stockings.

http://www.upstate.edu/uhpated/pdf/tedsscd.pdf

The goal in surgery is to get people up and walking independently as soon as possible so that they are able to be discharged within the usual discharge guidelines set out for whatever procedure they had. With a Total Hysterectomy that was 2 to 3 days max. If there was bladder surgery involved, it lengthened the stay to 3 to 4 days max. Even cardiac bypass surgeries have most patients discharged in 4 to 5 days pending any complications that may arise.

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

S.C.D's (Sequential Compression Devices)

From a nursing perspective I can tell you that nurses hate them too, especially when being used for ambulatory patient's who need to get up and walk to the bathroom.

They totally remove the person's independence because someone has to come in and remove them and then reapply them when they are back in bed. IMHO are make work project for the staff.

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That is so true, I had to hit my call button every time I had to go, however, because of my low heart rate (from 55 to sometimes 72, with blood pressure to match) and the fact that I was pretty unsteady, they had to help me there anyway. Durring the day I don't wear them now, since I am more steady (even though my heart rate hasn't gotten better so they are thinking it's normal for me), so the nurses don't have to come in. Night however, they want me to wear them. Plus the bed is turned on and beeps if I get up without them shutting off the alarm. It's so nice to have my mobility back (to an extent, I have to drag my iv pole with me) lol



Be safe.

Originally Posted by BaloneysMom

The only thing I know about this is a commercial I’m always confused with that says it can help restless leg syndrome but side effects include becoming addicted to sex and gambling lol I always thought that was weird. Sounds like a fun drug lol.

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Yeah, I've heard horror stories about people who were on these medications before they knew about the side effect and it just triggered something in their brains that made them start gambling- one case I heard about, this woman blew through her family's savings, including her kids college funds, started stealing money from work....went through $400,000 before they figured it out. And she'd never been into gambling before- she'd gone to a riverboat casino once with some friends when it first opened and didn't like it.

I have RLS. To me, it feels like rubber bands in your legs, stretching and stretching and you have to move your legs to release the tension. I get it in waves, a few nights in a row, then I'll go a couple months without another bout of it. It's worse if I'm really tired and not going to sleep. There's been times where, if I'm not getting enough sleep for a few days in a row, I'll feel it in my arms!

It's awful. I have a friend who has it too; she started getting it after her second pregnancy. She's on the medication. Don't think she's become addicted to gambling, but it makes her really sleepy.

I've heard people doubt that it even exists, like it's just something people make up to get on drugs. I've set them straight on that!

ETA: Oh, and I had those leg compression things when I had surgery for my detached retina a couple years ago. I loved them! I wasn't in a bout of RLS at the time and they were so relaxing. It was only outpatient surgery, so I had them on while they were doing the pre-surgical screening and then during the surgery...probably about 10 hours total. I want a set to keep at home!