New To The Forum

[SueNYC]

Hi,
I'm new to the forum but I've had RLS for at least the past 10 years (I'm 35). It doesn't bother me every night, but enough for me to know I've defintely got it. I had severe "growing pains" when I was kid. The doctor told me it must be all in my head because they couldn't find anything wrong. My symptoms are pretty much what you'd expect. I'll be in bed or sitting on the couch with my laptop and get that insatiable urge to get up!
I get a weird tingly/pressure/tightness feeling...very hard to explaiin. I have very bad allergies and benadryl makes it even worse. Last night I was up from 12:30 to 5:30 before my legs finally calmed down. Sometimes I get the feeling in only one leg. It's always from my knees downward. The only thing that makes it stop is to get up and do laps around my coffee table. I have two cats and they've often stared at me with quizzical expressions as they watch me do lap after lap around my coffee table at 2am! Unfortunately I have no medical insurance right now so I am dealing the best I can. Thankfully my fiance (we live together) is understanding. He's got PLMD (he'll jerk around ever so often while he's asleep) so we make quite a pair! I am glad I found this place..good to know I'm not alone!

Sue

[trevb]

Hi sue,
a big welcome, sounds like youve had rls more than 10 yrs?.... my parents were told i had "growing pains" when i was young too!! (i know now it was rls) did your rls return brought on by something.. ie opregnancy or an injury?
good that you have a partner who understands... you two must be a right sight at night!!
i assume you have found the 'new to rls' stickys full of info for you if you need it

[Justcuz40]

Hi there,
I am also new to this... the doctors have determined now that I've had RLS all my life, I'm 48. So called growing pains as a kid, noone would sleep in the same bed with me because I kicked them all night long, and the constant 'creepy, crawly' feeling in my legs. I wasn't diagnosed until recently when I visited a Rheumatologist to find out what my all over body pain was from. Turns out I have Fibromyalgia and Osteoarthritis too. In physical therapy for that, it was suggested that I might have sleep apnea because of the way I breathed when laying down on the table. hmmm so off to another doctor and a couple of sleep studies. I am now on a CPAP machine which helps me sleep and actually helps the pain from the Fibromyalgia... BUT.. the RLS is still there and waking me up, usually between 2am and 3am and when I reviewed the sleep study reports with the doctors that's the time it was at it's worst. Like a seizure almost. So now they are trying me on Clonazipam (Klonopin?) It doesn't seem to be doing anything but I've only been on it 4 days so I don't know. I've read some nasty things about the drugs they use to try to treat this... so I'm a little hesitant to keep trying them but I have the 'creepy crawly' feelings all day long and worse at night. sigh what to do?

Oh well enough babbling for one day.. I'm glad this is here to at least get some advice from people that have been dealing with this for awhile.
Thanks for being here.
*Judy

[ocean]

Hi
I can get RLS at anytime, but I find when I eat turkey or any turkey product it is worse. I don't eat turkey anymore and that has helped a lot. I take ReQuip as needed because I get RLS periodically and never know when it is going to happen. That has helped and I take the lowest dose until it goes away which is only about two or three nights. Never eat turkey ever.