Is this RLS or just hypochondria?

[Rustsmith]

The statistics of PLMD and RLS are that 85% of RLS patients also have PLMD but only 15% of PLMD patients also have RLS. Therefore, a diagnosis of PLMD in a sleep study does not confirm or deny the presence of RLS. There is not direct medical test for RLS, only a questionnaire that you answer can be scored. Some of the questions on the questionnaire address the issue of onset of symptoms and your experience of them not occurring during the evening or night.

[ViewsAskew]

Posting back, as promised:
My deepest sympathy and admiration to everyone afflicted with RLS. I don't think I could go on living with this condition, yet you somehow manage.

I think we all tend to believe that about something....yet the people with that something manage. It's an incredible urge the body has to stay alive!

Per the anxiety - do you have any methods you can use to help when you become anxious - such as about medical conditions, as you may have about RLS? I have family and friends who've had to deal with anxiety disorders, and others with OCD. It's tough to feel so overwhelmed by these feelings. I have to chuckle wryly - my confession about what I think I could never deal with ....anxiety . I do anything I can to avoid it - sort of like nausea, lol! In the Enneagram world, I'm a 7 - happily avoiding all painful and anxious things(through busy-ness, work, play, eating, drinking, whatever, lol).

[ShunterAlhena]

Per the anxiety - do you have any methods you can use to help when you become anxious - such as about medical conditions, as you may have about RLS? I have family and friends who've had to deal with anxiety disorders, and others with OCD. It's tough to feel so overwhelmed by these feelings. I have to chuckle wryly - my confession about what I think I could never deal with ....anxiety . I do anything I can to avoid it - sort of like nausea, lol! In the Enneagram world, I'm a 7 - happily avoiding all painful and anxious things(through busy-ness, work, play, eating, drinking, whatever, lol).

Anxiety is a fun little condition, characterized by loops. You become anxious about a health condition, then because of the physical effects of anxiety you actually FEEL something like the condition, which in turn intensifies the anxiety, which intensifies the signal... and so on. Applies not just to health anxiety but all sorts of anxiety disorders.
It can be broken out of, however. Exercise, regular sleep habits, relaxation (such as autogenic training) etc all help, they slowly chip away at the block of terror within. But this is sluggish work and if something traumatic happens, you might go back to Square One (as I just did).

The most ironic thing is that even if you're aware that you're probably just anxious and it's all in your head, there is always a chance that you really are sick, which keeps you within the loop. Just because someone is paranoid, it doesn't mean someone isn't out to get him. Just because someone is hypochondriac, it doesn't mean he isn't also physically sick on top of the anxiety.

In the Enneagram world, I'm a 7 - happily avoiding all painful and anxious things(through busy-ness, work, play, eating, drinking, whatever, lol).

How do you find the strength to do that? If I had RLS, the threat of sleep disruption and its ruinous consequences would be the only thing I could think about right after waking up. I don't think it would take more than a few weeks to go absolutely insane and do something really stupid.

[ViewsAskew]

Anxiety is a fun little condition, characterized by loops. You become anxious about a health condition, then because of the physical effects of anxiety you actually FEEL something like the condition, which in turn intensifies the anxiety, which intensifies the signal... and so on. Applies not just to health anxiety but all sorts of anxiety disorders.
It can be broken out of, however. Exercise, regular sleep habits, relaxation (such as autogenic training) etc all help, they slowly chip away at the block of terror within. But this is sluggish work and if something traumatic happens, you might go back to Square One (as I just did).

The most ironic thing is that even if you're aware that you're probably just anxious and it's all in your head, there is always a chance that you really are sick, which keeps you within the loop. Just because someone is paranoid, it doesn't mean someone isn't out to get him. Just because someone is hypochondriac, it doesn't mean he isn't also physically sick on top of the anxiety.

My hubby's family all have a relatively high level of anxiety. One member, who is on the autistic spectrum (old diagnoses was Asperger's, but that is no longer a diagnosis), also has OCD. It certainly is a tough condition (anxiety) to deal with. What you describe reminds me a lot of the OCD - so easy to reinforce yourself because often there is a component that is part of is that could harm you!

How do you find the strength to do that? If I had RLS, the threat of sleep disruption and its ruinous consequences would be the only thing I could think about right after waking up. I don't think it would take more than a few weeks to go absolutely insane and do something really stupid.

Our brain makeup is so different - not you and me so much, but humans in general - aren't we? I've been avoiding things that are painful for so long that I have to work hard NOT to. I have the opposite problem - I start avoiding things microseconds after I think of them and immediately start the avoidance. When I catch myself doing the avoidance behaviors, I sometimes cannot tell what I'm avoiding. Makes it very hard to solve when you can't even identify it.

[jul2873]

Hi Shunter,

I have a couple of comments that might help. One is that at this point, if you have RLS, it is almost certainly the mild, intermittent type. I had this kind of RLS for years, and it is really not that big a deal. And I think many, many people suffer with it. It means that occasionally when you've been sitting for a long time, you have to get up and walk for a few minutes. Not a big deal. You might have to get up occasionally at night and take a little walk, if it flares up. You might save a little chore to do if that happens--like emptying the dishwasher or folding laundry. Then, after the RLS quiets down and you go back to bed, you feel a little virtuous. But keep in mind that this mild, intermittent type is nothing like the severe RLS most people on these boards suffer. It's like the difference between a mild tension headache, and a migraine. So don't let their stories scare you.

My other comment is a tip I learned from my mother, years ago. She suffered from panic attacks, and they were severe enough, and frequent enough, that they almost ruined her life. There was little in the way of medication for her, or understanding of the disorder, so she worked out some coping skills herself. The one I loved, and that I use all the time with RLS, is the "escape" one. Any time that you're in a situation that might cause anxiety (or RLS) to flare up, be sure you can immediately get out of it. So when she would have to go with my father to a dinner where he was the speaker, she would drive her own car and he would take his. Then if she became anxious, she could just get up and leave. She said that often because she could escape if she had to, she was able to relax and stay.

That's one of my coping mechanisms with RLS. On airplanes, in movie theatres, etc. I always sit on an aisle, so I can get up and walk around if I need to. Also, when I know I'm in a difficult situation, I give myself permission to take as much medication as I need to handle it. With me, that means kratom, and rather than the one gram dose I usually take, I take two to three grams, as often as I need to. We just got back Sunday from Barcelona, and it was a nine hour flight to Newark. I was perfectly comfortable the whole flight, in my aisle seat (with extra leg room) and with my supply of kratom. So be kind to yourself.

[Polar Bear]

Jul2873 - I agree with your comments regarding travel, I occasionally have a 9 hour flight and always book what people consider the worst seats on the plane i.e. furthest back right at the toilets. The seats don't go back. But !! I can get up and be in noone's way. I can stand up (as much as one can actually stand up) and there's noone behind me. I can step out into the little space at the toilet area/galley area and move out of the way if anyone needs to pass. I also carry the RLS Card from the RLS Foundation. If you're half way up the plane and you need to get out and pace there always seems to be the tea trolley, the duty free, the food, folks heading to the toilets.

Oh, and yes, I also allow myself as much medication as it takes, within reason.