[b] Hi everyone. I just registered today. I've had RLS for at least 16 years, since being diagnosed with clinical depression. From the beginning, I was prescribed one anti-depressant after another...by various doctors, at various doses, for various reasons, for various durations.
However, there was one thing in common, with all of them. I so vividly recall night after sleepless night, unsuccessfully struggling to sleep. I kept telling the doctors...'my legs feel l--o--n--g!' With that statement, they would either look at me as though I were crazy,
or patronize me. As a 'quick fix', I was grossly overmedicated and the mistreated condition worsened with time. And so, here I am. I'm living a virtual nightmare, without the benefit of being asleep. I have several theories, as to the origin of my RLS:
#1. Physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse experienced - for most of my life.
#2. Neglectful mismanagement of medications, by 'professionals'.
#3. Undiagnosed sleep apnea, strongly suspected by my psychiatrist.
#4. Constant stress.
#5. Overweight, by approximately 50 pounds.
#6. Racing thoughts, caused by my mental illness.
#7. The mental illness, itself.
#8. Heredity, as my mother and brother also suffer from RLS.
#9. Anxiety/panic attacks.
I'll stop at 9.
As you can see, it's a sort of 'crap-shoot'. Your guess is as good as mine. The only thing I'm sure of nowadays, is that I can't go on much longer. I'm tired, in more ways than one.
I'm currently taking Effexor, Atarax, Cymbalta and Carbidopa/Levidopa. (I recently went back to C/L, after a horrible four months on Requip. It, intensified my symptoms!) When I was initially taking C/L, I was RLS free! Then, my psychiatrist..in his infinite wisdom, urged my medical doctor to discontinue the C/L. He felt it was causing the paranoia I was experiencing at the time. I later ascertained it was the Lexapro the very same psychiatrist decided to prescribe, in place of the Effexor, which I had been taking (successfully), for years. Hey, they should teach THIS in medical school..."If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
Now, I'm on double the dose of C/L, I was last taking. I'm at a total loss though, as to why it's NOT working! I thought for sure, after I went back on it, restful sleep would once again become a happy reality. Instead, my symptoms are worse than ever. I take several Atarax (non-addictive) every night, just to 'knock me out' for a couple of hours. Nevertheless, I still find myself walking the floors, doing chores or going online in the wee hours of the morning. Television, is an alternative, but I don't want the sound to disturb neighbors. I've also rocked, swung my legs rapidly, rubbed them, wrapped them or put calf-supports on, cried, cursed, pigged-out on sweets, sat outside in freezing weather, or taken a long drive to 'nowhere'.
My comfort, is knowing that this 'l--o--n--g' feeling in my legs, actually has a name and I'm not the only one who's afflicted with it. Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to vent. Please feel free to e-mail me, if you wish. Gee, maybe I'll sleep tonight. Anyway, I can always hope...right!? God bless you all and keep smilin'!
P.S. Funny thing, I often wonder if any of those 'medical marvels' in my past, ever thought of ME, the first time they heard the term, "Restless Legs Syndrome"! Ya think
I'd like to think, the words bit them on their 'scholarly butts'!
