My "bag of tricks"

Please share your experiences, successes, and failures in using non-drug therapies for RLS/WED (methods of relief that don't involve swallowing or injecting anything), including compression, heat, light, stretches, acupuncture, etc. Also under this heading, medical interventions that don't involve the administration of a medicine to the body (eg. varicose-vein operations, deep-brain stimulation). [This forum contains Topics started prior to 2009 that deal with Non-prescription Medicines, Supplements, & Diet.]
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Kimberly
Posts: 79
Joined: Wed Jul 20, 2005 3:06 am
Location: Columbus, Ohio

Post by Kimberly »

I'll throw all this out there. If it is helpful to just one person, great. Take what you like and leave the rest ;)

I may have posted this a long time ago, but my 'bag of tricks' includes the standards and some maybe not so usual. Hot shower, electric blanket on the bed, walking, beating on my legs, etc. I am also a 'rocker'. I sit with legs crossed on bed or in a stationary chair and I rock as if I'm in a rocking chair, usually rubbing very hard, the tops of legs from knee to thigh. The harder I rock (purposeful movement) the more my RLS is relieved and the longer I am able to keep PLMS (uncontrolled movement), which for me are quite violent (think turettes times 10), at bay.

Because of the severity of my condition, the rocking alone is not enough. In addition, I ABSOLUTELY MUST have visual and mental stimulation. (So much for proper 'sleep hygiene'). For whatever reason, it's the same as why I cannot be a passenger in a car, but have no problem driving.

A normal night for me includes simultaneous: 'rocking', lights on, television on (but only if it's something I'm engaged in watching), computer on and interacting on-line with others or reading, research, and a headset with music as loud as I can tolerate. Singing or following lyrics or drumbeat. YouTube has been a life saver for me. Oh, and none of the easy listening stuff. For some reason it has to be really intense music. I do all this in bed or at the dining room table. When my legs, arms, shoulders and back finally stop jerking, I usually just pass out.

Up til 10/08 this has all been a normal night for me. (I've just gone off 9 years of Mirapex and am only on Neurontin for Fibro pain - so everything's changing). Anyway, this has been my routine for more than 10 years. Also, and this will be quite out of the ordinary...on my very worst nights I've found that caffeine actually helps. There are some nights when none of the above works and the best thing for me is to start over, literally. Get as awake, eyes wide open as possible. I'll drink a cup of coffee, and for some dang reason, my body relaxes enough for me to go to bed and fall asleep. Go figure?

Even with all this, I haven't had more than 4 total hours of interrupted sleep a night for all these many years. fortunately I receive SSD now and do not have to work on top of it.

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