I'm New - RLS and Steroids

[elanorbreton]

Hi, I'm new and only just diagnosed with RLS, I live in the UK.

I used to just get 'jumpy legs' occasionally during the night but could go straight back to sleep. Then, maybe 6 weeks ago, if I didn't get to sleep within about half hour of going to bed, the RLS would start. But after getting up for about an hour I could successfully go back to bed and sleep the rest of the night. Over the last 2 weeks it has suddenly increased a lot, RLS stops me from getting to sleep, then when I do, I wake after about an hour or two and then finally manage a couple of hours sleep around 5am.

The thing is, a few months ago I had to start on a steroid (Beclametasone Dipropionate). I can't find any info about whether this makes RLS worse and wondered if anyone knew. I forgot to ask my doctor about it (my mind's gone squiffy from lack of sleep as I'm not used to this yet - do you ever get used to it, by the way?)

Is it usual for symptoms to get so much worse so quickly?

I don't know if I'm posting this in the right place, so sorry if I'm not.
Sleepy Elanor.

[Sojourner]

hi e, and welcome to the board. i typed in "steroids" in the search in Dr. B's Q & A on the rls.org site and a number of related pages came up. however, as the search word is not highlighted in the related posts it makes finding the post(s) referencing steroids quite difficult unless you want to wade through them all.

found this one bit of research which referenced steroids and rls but the type of steroid is not very specific while the research article is very specific:

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=16558409

the reference ("RLS was significantly less frequent In patients taking steroids than in patients not taking this medication (4% versus 9%, P < 0.05).") is about in the middle of the resume/abstract part--couldn't figure out how to highlight it.

i also found a post on the "we move" forum from someone who said their rls got better when they were taking steroids:


"Because I had an infection I was given an injection of steroids. After that for a week or so my RLS got much better. Was it just a coincidence or not?"

i know we have had posts regarding different asthma inhalers medications (also steroidal) that have had some positive and negative rls contributions.

are you still on the steroid? can you stop the steroids and see what it does for your rls? is there an alternate type of steroid that you can switch to?

I don't think you're rls progression could be called unusual or not. it varies so much from one person to another although i think a more gradual progression may be may "typical." i know mine developed gradually over 10 or 15 years before becoming a daily occurrence. That, also, may be unusual or not.

It could be very well that your seemingly intermittent rls has been exacerbated by a secondary involvement... perhaps the steroids. If you have not read the "managing your rls" sticky you may want to do so as it lists lots of things foods, medications, etc. that seem to make rls worse. not sure the steroids do anything to iron levels but low ferritin is also linked to rls. is your need for steroids related to an injury. back injuries, back surgeries, and surgeries in general sometime worsen rls.


thing is, this darned condition, is so mercurial and wears so many faces that sometime, from individual to individual, it can be baffling.

i think you are doing the right thing by educating yourself. if you do not already have one, finding a good rls provider would be your next step.

sorry to say that you are in the right place. i think your post would also be appropriate in the pharm. forum and/or the general topics forum. i'd be happy to past it to anyone if you like but we try to avoid duplicates. but as a first time poster, you are just fine. and, if you choose to stay with us a bit longer, you'll get the hang of it.

best of luck, my friend

m.

[SquirmingSusan]

Hi sleepy Elanor. Welcome to the forum. I have no idea whether steroids can make RLS worse, but it's probably like everything else we can take - maybe it does make it worse. I just went through a round of prednisone for my asthma and, while it didn't directly worsen my RLS, it sure made it difficult to sleep. Between that and the stimulant effect of the bronchodilators I didn't sleep well for several days. The doctor thought it would make me feel better all around with my chronic pain and all, but for some reason my legs felt like they were on fire the whole time.

So who knows. I hope you get feeling better.

[mackjergens]

If you go to www.google.com and type in RLS & steroids you will find several web sites about the effect or non effect of steroids on RLS.

Have you started taking any type of new med, like an OTC allergy med or cough med?? or even something like Tylenol PM or other OTC PM meds? If so those can make your rls alot worse. check out the web site www.rlshelp.org and click on meds known to make RLS worse, also check out foods know to make rls worse, as it could be something you are eating that is causing your rls to flare.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[elanorbreton]

Thanks for all your replies. I have checked out all the links and there's nothing that mentions my type of steroid, I guess I'll have to do a trial and error on it.

It is good to have other people to discuss things with - after I made my original post my RLS got worse than ever, I couldn't even sit down yesterday pm. Then we had to take my hubbie to the eye hospital only 19 miles away and the car journey was a complete nightmare. Needless to say, I was freaking out by bedtime, but then my legs seemed to calm down and, in all, I got about 5 hours sleep.

I have decided to keep a sleep and food diary to see if I can spot anything particular. But what about mental attitude? I'm sure that must have an effect, and I'm way stressed at the moment!

[ViewsAskew]

Stressed can definitely make it all much worse. That could be it in a nutshell. A hard nut to crack especially if there are things going on you can't stop or control (like maybe your hubby having his own physical concerns).

Hope the diary helps you find some correlation somewhere.

[Eternityroad]

I used to just get 'jumpy legs' occasionally during the night but could go straight back to sleep. Then, maybe 6 weeks ago, if I didn't get to sleep within about half hour of going to bed, the RLS would start. But after getting up for about an hour I could successfully go back to bed and sleep the rest of the night. Over the last 2 weeks it has suddenly increased a lot, RLS stops me from getting to sleep, then when I do, I wake after about an hour or two and then finally manage a couple of hours sleep around 5am.

This is how my RLS came on. I had had minor symptoms for 15 years but nothing so serious as to keep me awake. Then back in June, suddenly, I am pacing the floor from 11-4 am. Can't explain this sudden onslaught, but I am now on Requip and things are OK...when I remember to take the Requip. If I forget I take the dose ASAP and a Valium, then knock off.

Ken