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New here: RLS while pg, suggestions?

Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2005 10:21 am
by tanvarine
HI Everyone,

I stumbled across this board looking for some 4 am relief. I am almost 34 weeks pregnant with my third child. I have RLS during this one, for I guess nearly 2 months now. Dr. has me on Ambien, which some nights it works great, some it doesnt work at all but just leaves me sleepy. I have not had a decent night sleep in a couple month and it is driving me nuts!

I am looking for any and all suggestions for some relief of this during the next 6 weeks. I am hoping and praying it goes away after I have the baby. Ive never had this with either of my other children so I am fairly new to the scene.

Anything someone suggests will be put to use if possible. It has to be safe for me and the baby of course. Thanks in advance for your help

Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2005 4:08 pm
by ViewsAskew
I'm sorry you are so miserable. Others have talked about it; have you tried a search for the term pregnancy? One link I know about is to this message:

http://beta.restlesslegs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=679

Hope something in there helps.

Ann

Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2005 2:14 pm
by dlsfipps
Hey Tanvarine,

My RLS was intolerable with my 1st child (18 yrs ago). This is when I thought I was just crazy. No such thing as RLS, and certainly not going to tell a doctor about it for fear of being told I was crazy. My relief was a jacuzzi. Not the whole body, just feet and legs (up to mid-thigh). My ob-gyn told me no jacuzzi, but said it would be okay if I just did my legs (I never told him why). Bad thing was I didn't have a jacuzzi. There was a place in Dallas called The Tub Club and I had nights when I would go there, by myself in the middle of the night, and pay $100 per hour to stick my legs in water. It was crazy but it helped. More recently I have tried something called "Tired Leg Gel" made by Montagne Jeunesse. I get it at Wal-Mart in the hair/bath section. It only comes in small, one-use packages and costs $1. It has given me some relief.

With my second child (3 yrs ago & still didn't know it was RLS), my worst episode was during delivery. I had a c-section with epidural. I was practically to tears and told my ob-gyn I had to move my legs. His assistant laughed at me and told me to go ahead and move them if I could. Then the anesthesiologist bent over & told me to calm down he would give me something as soon as I delivered. They couldn't get that baby out fast enough for me. :lol:

Thanks

Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 8:39 am
by tanvarine
Thank you the replies. I will try to find the tired leg gel at wal mart. Something has to be able to help I hope!

Only 5 more weeks of this grrr.

Did the RLS go away after you had the children or is this a lifelong thing now?

Thanks again.

Tan

Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 11:01 am
by dlsfipps
I've always had it. Though I don't think it is nearly as bad as most of the regulars on this site. I have small episodes daily, driving home from work (1+ hour drive time). I only have the bad episodes once or twice a month. My mom, grandmom and sister also suffer. Hope the gel works.
Good luck.

dlsfipps reply 4 you

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 7:06 pm
by antsatnite
You asked if the RLS went away after birth. For me no. Pregnancy brought the condition on and it decided to stay. I have suffered with it for 9 years now. I have tried a few medications to no avail. Neurontin is not the answer should it be discussed with you after birth. I am wrestling with the thought of trying quinine sulfate and am surprised that I have heard nothing of it on this site. It is one of the most widely used drugs for RLS. It has it's side effects though...thus my wrestling. There is also a new study that shows that RLS may be caused by an iron deficiency in the brain, not in your body but in your brain. Research this. The more information you get now the better off you will be after the baby is here and you really need the sleep.

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 8:30 pm
by ViewsAskew
antsatnite, the reason quinine is not discussed is because it is no longer considered to be a viable option, although is still prescribed by doctors that do not have much information on correct treatments of RLS. I've copied this from the rlshelp.org site:

"This drug rarely (less than 5%) helps RLS and is only included on this page to help avoid RLS sufferers from receiving this drug for their disorder. It is probably one of the most common drugs prescribed by doctors unfamiliar with RLS when they hear the RLS complaints of their patients. This inappropriate treatment occurs because the RLS symptoms are confused with leg cramps for which quinine is the correct treatment.

We have received several reports from RLS sufferers that quinine has helped them, but we cannot be sure whether they have RLS and leg cramps, or in fact only leg cramps. I have treated several patients who definitely had RLS and found that quinine helped (sometimes very significantly) their RLS, but this is still a very small minority of RLS sufferers. As with many of the treatments above, some remedies seem to help only a few RLS patients and therefore cannot be recommended to the majority."

Hope this information helps. Although some people are helped, they are in the minority. If I were ready to try drugs for the first time, I'd pick something that had a greater chance of helping. The Mayo Clinic Algorithm (http://beta.restlesslegs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=549) is the most current up-to-date thing we have to follow.

Ann

Worse with pregnancy

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2005 6:30 pm
by Guest
I have a strange situation. I had RLS very bad in college, I was miserable, then in grad school it got better and by the time I graduated I only had problems maybe once a month or every two months. I am now 23 weeks pregnant and it is back with a vengence. I keep praying it will go into what I call remission again after the birth.

I can't find anything to calm them anymore, I've tried so many things. I am now increasing my calcium and iron hoping that will make a difference.

Anyone every had it almost go away and then come back strong as ever?

Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 12:21 am
by ViewsAskew
In a word. . .yes. :( . Hopefully yours will go away after the pregnancy for a few more years.

Ann

Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2005 4:26 am
by srualo
I have had RLS now for 3 years...I had never heard of it either and then during my third trimester I started with the symptoms. Honestly I thought I was crazy! I researched it and it was such a relief to know I wasnt making it up! Sad thing was that even after my son was born, I still continue with it. It is not as bad as during my pregnancy, but it is pretty constant and I have periods where it is intolerable. I am not much on suggestions for helping get rid of the symptoms...but I am willing to try any that others may have!