My "bag of tricks"

[glfngrl]

Hi everyone,

Promised this a few days ago, but family matters have limited my computer time.

This is a compilation of "tricks" that have worked for me over the course of about 45 years of RLS, many of them learned through trial and error, and paying close attention to their effects on my legs. I do not make any claims that any of these will work for anyone else, but they are worth a try, if you have never used them.

First off, let me offer a list of diet, medicinal and life-style changes that most of you should already know about. Not everything applies to everyone.

1. NO caffeine, in any shape, form, or fashion. Carefully read OTC meds, especially headache remedies.
2. Beware of all cold/allergy meds...antihistamines and decongestants are triggers for many RLSers (I tolerate Loratadine well.)
3. Sugar, as well as some artificial sweetners, is generally incompatible with RLS. Use it sparingly, especially during the late afternoon and evening hours.
4. Many people cannot tolerate nicotine, or alcoholic beverages of any kind.
5. Learn about all the other medicines that are known to worsen RLS.
6. Moderate exercise is helpful to most people......too much is as bad as too little . Experiment to find your personal comfort level.
7. If you are on medication, it is best to take it BEFORE a full blown attack.....cutting if off at the pass is much easier than stopping it once it has started.
8. Some people find that taking half the medicine dose in the early evening (or before your customary attack time), then the other half shortly before bedtime is a trick to postpone upping the dosage. We all know that the least amount of medication, the less chance of rebound and augmentation.
9. Unless there is a medical reason why you shouldn't (check with your doc), explore the use of supplements like calcium, potassium, magnesium
10. Beware of regular use of things like Tylenol, and especially OTC sleep meds........they can cause rebound, also

Now, for my own personal arsenal of "tricks":

Before trying to relax, especially at night after the evening meal, remove anything that is binding, from shoes, socks, rings, anything with elastic. Barefoot, with only a loose robe works for me.

If you feel an attack coming on, try some of these things:

Hot tub bath (showers are good, but baths better.) A word of caution, if you are doing this in the middle of the night - be careful that you don't fall asleep in the tub. Once the legs are calmed, sleep may come suddenly.

Floor exercises, using all the leg muscles. Do them until the legs are somewhat fatigued. Then relax on the floor............you may find yourself waking up and being able to go to bed after a while.

Heel raises; deep knee bends; light yoga moves involving the legs; wall sits.

Try a product called "Ocean Potion", a lotion with lidocaine.....inexpensive, and can be bought at Wal-Mart, maybe other drug outlets.

Warming your bed with an electric blanket, or use a heating pad. Conversely, sometimes, just taking your legs out from under the cover and letting them get cold will help.

If you are trying to read or watch TV, lie on the floor, with a pillow under your chest. Or drape over a footstool, with your knees on the floor, and your book on the floor on the opposite end. (Sounds crazy, but works like a charm most of the time for me. Put a pad or pillow under your knees to cushion them.)

Try chamomile tea right before bedtime..........tasty and relaxing.

Don't take your meds and immediately try to relax...........do something mildly active until it has had time to work.

I hope these things bring new ideas to some of you..........I am always open to trying new things, and am constantly looking for different, non-medical things to try. I have accepted the fact that this junk will be my companion, and am trying to get by with as little medication as possible.

Good luck to all of you.

Jane

[Polar Bear]

Thanks Jane for making this compilation

[SquirmingSusan]

Yes, thanks Jane. You're setting a good example for the rest of us. I think it would help every one of us to list the things that work for us, so we don't just fly off into a panic when the crawlies attack the pain moves in.

[KBear]

Good list, it looks a lot like mine.

I would also recommend the following:

-throw some epsom salts into that bath (for a magnesium boost).

-apply a good moisterizing lotion on legs and feet.

-eat a balanced diet low in processed foods and artificial ingredients.

-an OTC homeopathic treament called "Restful Legs" (by Hyland) can provide relief after symptoms have started.

I also liked your advice

Don't take your meds and immediately try to relax...........do something mildly active until it has had time to work.

but I thought I would add that doing something mentally stimulating while you are waiting for your meds to kick in can be just as helpful. I like to do Sudoko puzzles because it keeps my brain active but allows my body to start relaxing.

Thanks for sharing!

[moonlight]

jane

some pretty good ideas there

ta much

moonlight

[ctravel12]

Jane good post. I know myself I take half of my meds around 4 pm to stop any onset of rls and then take the regular dosage about 1 hr before retiring. If I do have a bad night, I never up my meds as I do not want my body to rely on it. I just sometimes just have to ride it out and know it can be a long night.

I know that this may not work for alot but like I have said before what works for one may not work for another.

[Polar Bear]

Hi folks, I do exactly the same as Charlene. If it is a bad night, then I walk for a while.

Betty

[glfngrl]

Hey Folks,

Glad my post may have been some help.

Probably should post this in the "medication" forum, but know that most of you also use some type of medication, so here goes: Someone, not sure who, brought up the subject of whether or not Requip could be taken on an "as needed" basis. A couple of times here lately, I have felt the need to get an uninterrupted, peaceful night's sleep. It worked beautifully, with no side effects! In fact, last night, I split one, took half about 7 pm, the other half when I went to bed around 9. That also worked. I am willing to do whatever it takes to reach a happy medium between some really good nights, and not upping the darned stuff! I am not sure if the pills should be split, but only had the one strength (.05) By the way, since I am on Medicare Part D, I have my doctor write the prescrip for 2 a day....I never take more than one, so I get 2 month's for the price of one. Makes my monthly cost $12.50.

I, too, try a lot of the "tricks" before I resort to the Requip, now that I have d/ced it daily. I just do not want to get back into that "less than alert" feeling during the day that I had when I was taking it on a regular basis.

Good luck, everybody. Almost summer-like weather here in the Deep South right now.........more conducive to getting out and exercising more.....good for the waist-line, not necessarily for the RLS!

Jane

[pamhb]

I find that singing works really well for me, particularly if I can sing before the symptoms kick in. Otherwise I sing while I'm waiting for the meds to take hold. Sounds slightly bizarre, I know -- but singing has been shown to stimulate all kinds of chemical activity in the brain.

I began to notice the effect on evenings when I have choir rehearsal or a performance -- even if I was late with my meds, I wouldn't have any problems with my legs that night. So then I began to pay attention when I was practising my music at home -- same effect. I now have a karaoke machine, and when the legs are not settling down properly, I hit the karoake machine for about an hour.

[ctravel12]

Hi Pam so glad that this is helping you. Whatever works is wonderful and thanks for sharing.

[Aiken]

That's interesting, Pam. Music actually uses a different part of the brain from normal thinking and speaking. I wonder if it's at all connected to, or maybe just near, the part of the brain that senses (or thinks it senses) our RLS discomfort.

I think a lot of people have heard of one famous and very severe case of persistent amnesia, in which a man cannot form new permanent memories, and his short term memory is generally measured in seconds. What's interesting is that, while his brain is incapable of learning or memorizing new information in the normal way for more than a handful of seconds, there's a secondary form of learning or memorizing that uses a different part of the brain, and he is still able to use that. Specifically, he can make his way home to his assisted-living facility as long as you put him in a familiar starting point, in much the same way regular people can drive for ten minutes on autopilot while distracted, even though they can't remember doing it afterward. What I'm really getting to though is that he can pick up new music, and play/sing new songs. Apparently, when he's doing this, he's sort of normal, within the limited context of the song, because he's using a part of his brain that isn't broken.

That says to me that the part of the brain that handles music and singing is a totally different thinking center, a separate CPU so to speak, that we use instead of the usual one when we sing (or drive our car on autopilot). And, maybe this is the center that usually pays attention to our RLS, so when it's preoccupied with singing, it's too busy for RLS. Or maybe when we switch to it, that usual one that we switch away from is turned off and no longer able to pay attention to our RLS.

Come to think of it, walking is a sort of an autopilot thing for most everyone past the age of 3 or 4. We think "walk forward" and it just sort of happens. However, if you think about it, walking is an incredibly complex operation, involving dozens of muscles in the arms and legs and abdomen, and also monitoring the balance rings in our inner ear, watching where we're going, etc. Maybe that's why walking around suppresses RLS, as opposed to simply producing lots of familiar walking sensations in the legs that mask the weird RLS sensations. For me, when I get PLMW, imagining walking suppresses the jerks almost as well as actually walking. That sort of supports the idea.

Hmm, it's fun to hypothesize about this stuff...

[tazzer]

i definately agree with you on the antihistimine making it worse....i found that out taking tylenol pm before i was diagnosed with rls.....now i am stuck with one of those huge bottles of tylenol pm.........

dee

[Heidi]

Hello,

I am very new here. Just came because I found something that works for me and I am wondering if it helps anybody else. I have a large dog(great dane) that one night I let sleep with me. Now there was not much room for that big dog me and my husband so we were squished together and she layed on my legs just right and I fell sound asleep with no problems. I thought it was just a coincidence however I have been letting her sleep on the bed with me now and I am having a much easier time with my legs. Now she has to lay just right but it really works for me.
My husband says I just want the dog on the bed but I swear it really helps my legs. Anybody else?

Heidi

[Sojourner]

H, Welcome to the board and thanks for the post. If my memory serves me correctly, I think others have commented that pressure or weight on the legs is sometime comforting. Anyway, being a dog lover it is just another good way to keep them on the bed! Hopefully, we'll all be "sleeping like a dog." Ouch!

Best wishes.

M.

[Momo]

Try a product called "Ocean Potion", a lotion with lidocaine.....inexpensive, and can be bought at Wal-Mart, maybe other drug outlets.

isn't this a sun burn reliever?