hi all im ann
glad i found this site first started with funny sensation in both legs awke allnight figetting then started getting the feelins all day to went docs he put me on 300mg gabapentin 3 times aday wow sleep all night now, and used to flap feet back and forth to get to sleep thats stoped. but still get a strong feeling in legs all day and it so strong it hurts . my walking has slowed down by half and my legs get heavy . my doc dosnt think it rls now but something else or both can any one help at my witts end just want it to stop thanks ann
have i got rls
Been there
Hi Ann (guest)
Well if they tell you something different let me know.
After a month straight of high stress, I was attacked this weekend by my own body. The muscles felt like I had tried to do a Gumbie move, trust me I don't try those moves anymore. The back of my thighs were so tight that I was in floor more times than I counted trying to sooth them with small strecthes. My hips feel out of line and don't want to hold me or sit on my legs right. My legs are heavy and ache deep inside.
Sat. night I must have torn up that bed. Not in a good way. This will sound silly, but I got a new bedspread. A lighter one, it the old fashion cotton chenille. I needed one that I could put into my washing machine. As I have pets that are often on my bed and it's been raining.
Anyway, the new spread is much lighter than I have had in years. I must have run up a mountain all night trying to find the heavy stuff. At one time we have talked about weight and the right amount at bed time, had no idea I'd react this way to a bedspread.
Heavy, achey legs is what I have during the major attacks that leave me unable to walk normally. It has happen because of stress, plane trips, car rides, bad food or drink choices, over worked my legs.....you name it, it's an outright attack to me.
Tell me, does your family have a history of RLS? Did you have growing pains as a child? For those of us with genetic RLS it's just a tad sifferent than the others. HA, it's different for everyone. No across the board anything happens around here.
Look forward to your answers. Don't give up, you've got all the support you could ask for here.
Welcome.
Well if they tell you something different let me know.
After a month straight of high stress, I was attacked this weekend by my own body. The muscles felt like I had tried to do a Gumbie move, trust me I don't try those moves anymore. The back of my thighs were so tight that I was in floor more times than I counted trying to sooth them with small strecthes. My hips feel out of line and don't want to hold me or sit on my legs right. My legs are heavy and ache deep inside.
Sat. night I must have torn up that bed. Not in a good way. This will sound silly, but I got a new bedspread. A lighter one, it the old fashion cotton chenille. I needed one that I could put into my washing machine. As I have pets that are often on my bed and it's been raining.
Anyway, the new spread is much lighter than I have had in years. I must have run up a mountain all night trying to find the heavy stuff. At one time we have talked about weight and the right amount at bed time, had no idea I'd react this way to a bedspread.
Heavy, achey legs is what I have during the major attacks that leave me unable to walk normally. It has happen because of stress, plane trips, car rides, bad food or drink choices, over worked my legs.....you name it, it's an outright attack to me.
Tell me, does your family have a history of RLS? Did you have growing pains as a child? For those of us with genetic RLS it's just a tad sifferent than the others. HA, it's different for everyone. No across the board anything happens around here.
Look forward to your answers. Don't give up, you've got all the support you could ask for here.
Welcome.
hi becatt
thank u so much for your replie feel bit better now.Ithink my mum had something wrong with her legs i can remember when little she got up a lot in night saying her feet legs hert. i cant remember having any growing pains,but can remeber once when i was 16 went for a drink and i couldnt move my legs untill the next day.when i was pregnant with my last child i used to get a strong urge in my legs at night and kick out. then after the birth was ok used to stick me feet out of the bed flap them back and forth and was ok . But 3 months ago it just came on with a vengance up all night paseing the kitchen fidgeting alot even in the day went docs said rls tabs seemed to work with the figeting but not with me walking . i took my daughter to the zoo yesturday it was cold aswell so duno if that made it worse got home was in agoney .im finding it really hard to cope with it i used to be really active now im not . im going docs on wednesday he gonna do a pvd test presher of me legs iwrite back and let u no what happens thank u so much for your reply annxx
thank u so much for your replie feel bit better now.Ithink my mum had something wrong with her legs i can remember when little she got up a lot in night saying her feet legs hert. i cant remember having any growing pains,but can remeber once when i was 16 went for a drink and i couldnt move my legs untill the next day.when i was pregnant with my last child i used to get a strong urge in my legs at night and kick out. then after the birth was ok used to stick me feet out of the bed flap them back and forth and was ok . But 3 months ago it just came on with a vengance up all night paseing the kitchen fidgeting alot even in the day went docs said rls tabs seemed to work with the figeting but not with me walking . i took my daughter to the zoo yesturday it was cold aswell so duno if that made it worse got home was in agoney .im finding it really hard to cope with it i used to be really active now im not . im going docs on wednesday he gonna do a pvd test presher of me legs iwrite back and let u no what happens thank u so much for your reply annxx
Hi Ann
Hi Annxx,
I'm so glad you feel better. Funny thing about RLS is that support is a wonderful thing. I'm glad to be here for you, anytime.
I was wondering what medication your doctor put you on, if you don't mind sharing that information with me?
And by the way, yes being pregnant can induce RLS as well. There is something to the thought that iron can be a problem. So when you go to the doctor you could have your blood ferritin levels checked as well. For RLSers a blood ferritin level of 50 mcg/L is what the docs like to see. But remember that for most people a normal ferritin level can be much lower. the RLS experts like for us to have this higher iron count. Also B12 levels should be checked, but I'd have to ask for someone help (who knows this one) about what they should be. These are not usually test that are done on blood work, so ask for them. I will find out what the b12 level should be and post again.
About coping with this. Yes, I think are some of us that do not respond well to things like weather changes, altitude, etc. The walking at the zoo and the cold may have some effect on your RLS. But I promise that with the right medication or even non-pharm things you can still keep active. It's not to say that you will feel like doing as much. Your energy levels are dropping with the lack of sleep. You may have to learn to medicate before you go to the zoo, do alot of walking, or have an extended type day. Heck, I had to premedicate to do my Christmas shopping this last year. And a ton of mental tricks to get through the walking and standing in line.
That's what you'll get from hanging out here and reading the different post. We all share in order to learn new tricks and educate one another about this life style. I hope you know that if you have questions or comments, post at your will. We'll be here for you and you never know what your words will do for someone else.
Here's to good luck with the doctor. Hang in there and do let us know how it's going.
I'm so glad you feel better. Funny thing about RLS is that support is a wonderful thing. I'm glad to be here for you, anytime.
I was wondering what medication your doctor put you on, if you don't mind sharing that information with me?
And by the way, yes being pregnant can induce RLS as well. There is something to the thought that iron can be a problem. So when you go to the doctor you could have your blood ferritin levels checked as well. For RLSers a blood ferritin level of 50 mcg/L is what the docs like to see. But remember that for most people a normal ferritin level can be much lower. the RLS experts like for us to have this higher iron count. Also B12 levels should be checked, but I'd have to ask for someone help (who knows this one) about what they should be. These are not usually test that are done on blood work, so ask for them. I will find out what the b12 level should be and post again.
About coping with this. Yes, I think are some of us that do not respond well to things like weather changes, altitude, etc. The walking at the zoo and the cold may have some effect on your RLS. But I promise that with the right medication or even non-pharm things you can still keep active. It's not to say that you will feel like doing as much. Your energy levels are dropping with the lack of sleep. You may have to learn to medicate before you go to the zoo, do alot of walking, or have an extended type day. Heck, I had to premedicate to do my Christmas shopping this last year. And a ton of mental tricks to get through the walking and standing in line.
That's what you'll get from hanging out here and reading the different post. We all share in order to learn new tricks and educate one another about this life style. I hope you know that if you have questions or comments, post at your will. We'll be here for you and you never know what your words will do for someone else.
Here's to good luck with the doctor. Hang in there and do let us know how it's going.
Hi, Ann and welcome!
Becat covered a lot of the bases with you, already. But I wanted to comment on one thing you mentioned. The trip to the zoo. A long, busy day (whether specifically hard on my legs/feet or just more "busy" than usual) is a very typical trigger for my RLS.
For example, I was out today to do my big twice-monthly shopping down in the city, so I shopped six stores, stopped at two post offices, drove almost a hundred miles, and loaded and unloaded some rather heavy purchases-- on top of my normal weekday driving and cooking and light work-out and such. Tonight I was falling asleep on the couch before 7:30 pm, and I have the worst RLS I've had all week (so far, thankfully the "worst" isn't too bad lately-- but tonight's symptoms are quite strong.) I DID wake up at 4 am, too, so I guess that's the other reason I'm extra tired, and extra RLS-y.
I'm on my way to bed now, and shouldn't have to wake up until 5 or 6, which is normal for me. So I'll at least probably get a little more rested tonight than some nights. I have just a couple of errands to do in the morning, but then some heavy gardening. I won't be surprised if my RLS is pretty rough tomorrow night, too, after my second busier day than usual in a row. But we'll see.
Take care. Sara
Becat covered a lot of the bases with you, already. But I wanted to comment on one thing you mentioned. The trip to the zoo. A long, busy day (whether specifically hard on my legs/feet or just more "busy" than usual) is a very typical trigger for my RLS.
For example, I was out today to do my big twice-monthly shopping down in the city, so I shopped six stores, stopped at two post offices, drove almost a hundred miles, and loaded and unloaded some rather heavy purchases-- on top of my normal weekday driving and cooking and light work-out and such. Tonight I was falling asleep on the couch before 7:30 pm, and I have the worst RLS I've had all week (so far, thankfully the "worst" isn't too bad lately-- but tonight's symptoms are quite strong.) I DID wake up at 4 am, too, so I guess that's the other reason I'm extra tired, and extra RLS-y.
I'm on my way to bed now, and shouldn't have to wake up until 5 or 6, which is normal for me. So I'll at least probably get a little more rested tonight than some nights. I have just a couple of errands to do in the morning, but then some heavy gardening. I won't be surprised if my RLS is pretty rough tomorrow night, too, after my second busier day than usual in a row. But we'll see.
Take care. Sara
I'm not sure if I'm logged on or not so just in case this is Rubyslipper (Ruby for short). One thing that caught my attention was that your doctor didn't know if this was RLS or something else or maybe two things. It may be too late for you to ask him at this appointment, but do ask him what he knows about RLS. Make sure you educate yourself about RLS so you can ask questions and at least have an idea if he sounds like he knows what he's talking about. Becat and Sara are a couple of the best around to ask questions of. And Becat is right, none of us have the same symptoms. But it sure sounds like RLS to me. But I am NOT a doctor so take that for what it is worth. There are no tests to diagnose a person with RLS but a doctor who knows his stuff can check your medical history and ask four simple questions and know if you have it or not. I am a firm believer that if this doctor does not know enough about RLS to help you and is unwilling to learn, find another doctor. We have all learned that too often we have to get downright mean with our doctors to get their attention. And they don't always like it if we go in knowing more about RLS than they do. But it's your body and your life. You have to fight sometimes to get them to listen to you and help. Let us know how it goes.
hi all
thank u all for helping me get threw this i am really struggling with it at the moment.went docs today had presher cheched on me legs and arms said it was ok doctor is refering me to a nueoligist sorry about spelling mistakes ,he said he dosnt think its rls now because i get it in the day and since iv been on tablets i dont figet anymore but if i go shopping ect my legs really hurt just wanna curl up in a ball.im on 300mg Gabapentin 3 times a day they working at night , ruby i think your righht maybe he dosnt no enough about rls just hope me nurologist appointment comes threw quick. i felt so unsure when come home from docs feel like its all in me mind and im going mad. dont no what id do. with out u all thank u xxxann
thank u all for helping me get threw this i am really struggling with it at the moment.went docs today had presher cheched on me legs and arms said it was ok doctor is refering me to a nueoligist sorry about spelling mistakes ,he said he dosnt think its rls now because i get it in the day and since iv been on tablets i dont figet anymore but if i go shopping ect my legs really hurt just wanna curl up in a ball.im on 300mg Gabapentin 3 times a day they working at night , ruby i think your righht maybe he dosnt no enough about rls just hope me nurologist appointment comes threw quick. i felt so unsure when come home from docs feel like its all in me mind and im going mad. dont no what id do. with out u all thank u xxxann
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Ann, it sure can feel that way, can't it? It can be hard to remember that it's not in your head when you don't know for sure. But regardless of what they finally diagnose it as, something very real is causing it. It just may take some time to get it all sorted out. Hopefully your appointment with the neuro is coming soon.
Ann (too)
Ann (too)