hi Kat
Sorry you're afflicted with this
. Different people have different tricks - walking should reduce the discomfort, otherwise it's probably not WED/RLS, as Steve and Holland have pointed out. Working the muscles in other ways should reduce the discomfort too - squats, toe raises, other exercises that you can repeat over and over until the muscles are tired out. That type of thing is the only thing that works for me when the symptoms are serious. Some people find a bit of relief from compression bandages, or (if you have money to spare) pneumatic compression devises. Very hot or very cold baths, as mentioned (if you're the cold type, probably just your legs, not your whole body). Electric heat blankets, even little ones, can help some people - if not stop the symptoms, at least help stop them from starting.
There are some things you should learn about, if you don't already know them, before you see the doctor. When we first decide to see someone about this, we are usually desperate for sleep. But beware - there is greater desperation possible. First, you should learn about augmentation - see the Foundations brochures on what it is, but briefly, it's a worsening of the symptoms caused by medications that become dopamine or stimulate the dopamine receptors. Those are still regarded as front-line medications for RLS/WED by lots of doctors, despite this problem. The worsening is more likely to happen the higher the dose you're on, so stay as low as possible, and don't try to cover off all the symptoms completely.
And the worsening is more likely to happen if the amount of ferritin in your blood is lower than 100 ng/ml. So be sure your doctor checks your ferritin. It is not part of the normal iron panel, you have to ask for it specifically. Get the actual number, not just "it's normal" because for people without WED/RLS, normal can be as low as 20. For us, 20 is a danger sign.
If your ferritin is under 100, but especially if it's under 50, you will probably need to take iron supplements (with vitamin C on an empty stomach).
Sometimes, JUST taking iron reduces the symptoms enough - so try that before you start any medications.
There's a very informative booklet made for healthcare providers, but it is best that every patient read it too - theMedical Bulletin for Healthcare Providers put out by the RLS Foundation - see the link in my signature line for instructions on how to get at it - you need to be a member but it's worth it, they have lots of publications and those things carry a lot of weight with most doctors (you may find, as many of us have, that most doctors don't know much about RLS/WED)
I hope this information helps, and that you can begin to see how you'll be able to deal with this. Let us know how it goes!