Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

Have any of you had knee surgery and been concerned about involuntary leg movements during the surgery? I am scheduled for a laproscopic surgery for a meniscus tear and generally do not have leg movements that are involuntary during the day. Mine are mostly at night. I was just wondering if I should tell the surgeon any specifics regarding my RLS for this event. A lot of doctors will get very anxious about this kind of news. I do not want him canceling the surgery out of fear. Any advice is appreciated.

I made sure I went through the RLS Foundation's suggestions with the surgeon. Before I know all this, I had wisdom teeth out. They had to wake me up during the surgery because the doc thought I was having a seizure. They'd given me dipenhydramine. - well, that will do it!

I made the surgeon go over it twice with me - he assured me he would not give me certain medications and he must not have, as it went without a hitch.

What suggestions?is it posted somewhere? ViewsAskew, thanks

ViewsAskew wrote:I made sure I went through the RLS Foundation's suggestions with the surgeon. Before I know all this, I had wisdom teeth out. They had to wake me up during the surgery because the doc thought I was having a seizure. They'd given me dipenhydramine. - well, that will do it!

I made the surgeon go over it twice with me - he assured me he would not give me certain medications and he must not have, as it went without a hitch.

The list recommended by the foundation. I'm a member. Is it listed somewhere?

The list recommended by the foundation. I'm a member. Is it listed somewhere?

In the Member Portal portion of the Foundation's website is a list of publications. One of them is titled "Surgery and RLS for the Patient" and another is "Hospitalization Checklist for the Patient with RLS". There is also a Med Alert card that you should take a look at.

I've been thru numerous knee surgeries. The first one they gave me something that kicked my WED/RLS into overdrive. The rest were fine, because I had this information by then.

Print three copies of each document that Steve noted, & highlight the parts that talk about substances you should NOT receive. Make a list of all the medications you're on, giving dose, timing, and what condition it treats; plus allergies; plus any particular triggers you want to them to know about (immobilization, anti-histamines, aspartame, whatever); plus a short description of WED/RLS symptoms; also 3 copies.

You need to have a pre-surgery appointment with the anesthesiologist. They don't always schedule one if they think there's nothing to discuss, so tell everyone you talk to that there is information the anesthesiologist needs to have. The surgical nurse will interviews you, probably the day before but maybe sooner. Give him/her one copy.

Give the anesthesiologist another copy. Trust me, she/he won't have time to read it all, so go over the highlights with him right there, and explain the consequences if your WED/RLS is aggravated. They think it's a joke because you're immobilized so how can your legs move, but they need to understand that the problem is not just movement during surgery, it is also the sensations that you experience - pain, torture, whatever you call it; those awful abnormal sensations are still there when your legs are immobilized. Movement brings relief - but there is no relief because you're immobilized. (They will make sure you don't get the aggravating meds whether they understand the consequences it or not, but it would be nice if they understood it and didn't trivialize it.)

Give the third copy to the surgeon if you can.

Thank you so much

First I had meniscus repairs in both knees. Then 10 years later total replacements in both knees. I told the Doctors of my RLS and spasms before the surgeries.
Good luck.