I feel very lucky after hearing some of the other stories here on this board. I've also had RLS ever since I can remember, but didn't have a huge problem with it until the past 5 years or so. When it first started getting really bad, I didn't have insurance, so I never went to the doctor about it, but doing my own research I learned what the official name for my "twitchy legs" (and occasionally "twitchy arms") was.
Finally last year, I got a new PCP and brought it up to her. First she told me to do these silly leg stretches before bed (which didn't help a bit). Then on my 2nd visit to her, I found out her nurse has RLS too. She was told by another patient that taking Vitamin B6 helps a lot. I tried that, and it didn't help enough to make a difference in my (lack of) sleeping. Finally I went back and said I couldn't take it anymore, I needed something that would actually help. That's when I first got Mirapex. I've been on Mirapex for just over a year now. I take .125 mg twice a day and as long as I take it when I'm supposed to, I have no problems at all.
Right away, I learned the hard way that taking your doses too close together can cause awful side effects. I had hallucinations and extremely vivid dreams on 2 separate occasions. I learned quickly though, and am extremely careful to let 8 hours go by before taking a 2nd dose.
Also missing 2 doses causes my RLS to come back in full force. I find that when this happens, it's worse in my arms than my legs. So of course, I try not to miss a single dose.
I'm so glad to find this forum, and to see I'm not the only one.