RLS and Flying

[Lewis21403]

Hi all. Hope all is well with everyone. I had an experience with flying that I wanted to share and get some feedback. A week ago I flew to Florida for a vacation and it's about a 3hr flight. I made sure to take my T3 before I got on the plane and about an hour into the flight my legs just went crazy. They started to hurt like never before. I didnt wana take another T3 because god forbid the government wont allow you to have a few extra for reasons like this so I just bit the bullet. I stood up with the flight attendants and told them why I needed to walk around and they were cool with it. I think a few passengers were gettin a little edgy. The big problem I had was for a couple days after the flight my legs were really hurtin. It did mellow out but I never had that type of attack before. Any one have any experience like this and any advice on what to do? I only fly once a year so it's not something I do all the time...Thnx....Lewis

[Polar Bear]

I did have a very bad flight experience but can't say it was pain or hurting. I was on a 9 hour direct flight from London to Edmonton Canada and had just started DA medication for rls so was not awfully familiar and certainly did not know that it took up to 2 hours for a DA to become effective. I wept and cried and walked on the spot at the back of the plane with the flight attendants. The other passengers slept and I was so sorry for myself.

On the return journey I took extra medications and made sure to take them early enough so they could be as effective as possible, also took quite a bit of codeine. The flights were delayed..... so I took more medication.... all I can say is that on the return journey which was Edmonton/Toronto and later Toronto/London... I did it comfortably. But at this stage 4 years later, I couldn't be certain on how much medication I had taken, nor would I wish to recommend it for anyone else, but at that time I was driven by desperation.

[SquirmingSusan]

Lewis, you're going to want to talk to your doctor about getting extra meds for flying, if you're sure that the leg pain was RLS.

When I hear about leg pain and flying, I think DVT, Deep Vein Thrombosis. Somehow the altitude along with the dehydration that flying causes contribute to blood clots in the legs, which can break off and get stuck in the lungs or heart. So if you're not sure it was RLS, please get that checked out.

We just went through the DVT thing with my dh, whose clot broke loose and filled both lungs with clots. It's nothing to mess with.

[rlswife]

Hi,
My husband suffers severe RLS, but needs to (at long intervals) travel internationally. Just some thoughts that might help:

1. Get a letter from your doc stating that you need to be able to stand/move around because of RLS. It may make flight crews somewhat more understanding.
2. Tell airlines about RLS when you make reservations.
3. If crossing multiple timezones and worried about when to take another dose of meds, keep your watch set to your home time throughout, so that you know when you took your previous dose. Change your watch when you arrive at your desitination.

Just my .02 from sitting next to him all these years.