Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

Hi everyone,
Well went to pain manaIgement and they say the same thing RLS, but dont' know what else to do for you. Won't give me narotics because of substance abuse history in the past. Which my sleep doctor wanted to see if they can find out why I am having achy and throbbing in my lower legs. My sleep doctor says it's not a symptom of RLS or at least no that severe that I get it.

Is this a symptom of RLS?

I feel like I have wasted so much money on these doctors and they can't help me. I am on tramadol and gabapentin and it works great for everyday, but my problem lays down when that doesn't work when my RLS gets like extremely bad. I am talking about not sleeping for days sometimes, can't walk up the stairs because my legs feel awful (very extreme achy and throbbing) it's so unbearable the only thing that works is sleeping in the bath tub. Now how can a mom of 2 function this way.

Pain managemetn suggest I get an EMG, but he says its probably a 1% chance that they won't find anything. Now I have a high deductible so why would I pay $519 to get one done and have it say normal. It's like they are trying to find something else, but every thing is normal or comes out just fine. Why can't the sleep doctors accept it that it's all RLS and my body is different and I get the achy and throbbing extremely bad at times. Not all the time.

What does a mom do?

My legs also get achy sometimes and I'm sure it's part of the RLS. It tends to happen when I'm especially tired or stressed. I take a little extra kratom, which is what I use to manage my RLS. You are already taking some pretty powerful drugs, however, so I wouldn't recommend that you mix kratom in with them. I know it's very hard as a mother, but the more rest you can get, the less bothered you'll be, I think. I'm sorry you're having such a hard time.

How much gabapentin are you taking?

I had a doctor that put me on it as a preventative for my migraines. She was only giving me 300mg. Worked fairly well for the migraines but apparently it wasn't enough to address the sleep issues that I was having with my RLS. My RLS doctor increased me to 900 then 1200mg to give me deeper sleep than I was getting. Combining the gabapentin 30 minutes before bedtime with a hot shower has allowed me to fall asleep "normally" most nights. But I was having a couple of mild side effects at 1200 and have since backed down to 900. I don't sleep as soundly, but still fall asleep when I go to bed.

Given how you've described it elsewhere and that movement doesn't relieve it, I don''t think it is RLS. But I'm not a doctor!

If it were me and I could at all afford the $500, I'd spend it to see if that yielded any additional information.

If there is no relief of any sort from movement, i.e. actually getting up and walking around, I would be looking at other that RLS.

Whn my legs get achy and feel they have no power it is usually my fibromyalgia deciding to pop up and say hello.....