I believe that our own observations and theories-- carefully recorded and considered and gotten to the "powers that be"-- COULD be very important in the eventual increase in knowledge about and treatment options for RLS. So at this point, I think anything that shows any pattern is well worth discussing, even if it means nothing to US at this particular time.
I have mentioned before that I have periods of a.m. RLS symptoms. Usually they seem to go in cycles. I'll have morning RLS for several days one week, and none or almost none for a week or maybe a month, then have troubling a.m. symptoms again. I have also mentioned that I think sometimes when I wake up early for no other known reason, that it seems the RLS discomfort might be part of the reason (though diet, perimenopause and some other factors might indeed cause unexplained early awakening.)
The past two mornings, however, I've noticed a pattern that I feel is vaguely familiar, though I don't remember ever consciously making the connection before. Both mornings I was awakened early (3 yesterday morning, 2 this morning), and did not have any RLS discomfort. I had had some before I went to bed last night, but it was better once I got into my bedtime rituals. Night before, I don't RECALL specifically RLS (but you know, when you're having it at least 3 or 4 nights a week, sometimes one individual night doen't stand out in your memory.... you just take it for granted and improvise, adapt and overcome your way through, and then move on.
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At any rate, I don't do well when I face the day from a wake-up time before at least 4 am minimum, so the last two mornings, I have tried to get back to sleep for at least a little while before "normal" wake-up time. Both mornings, I was successful in getting myself back to sleep by reading, but it took some time each time, so I didn't get a LOT more sleep. Yesterday morning, I got 45-60 minutes before the alarm went off, and I noticed that when I woke up for the day at 6, I had some pretty bad RLS symptoms, even though I'd had none durign the time I was awake in the middle of the night (and may or may not have had mild ones the night before.)
THIS morning, I was awake for a bout an hour with no symptoms, was awakened AGAIN at 4 am, with obvious RLS, fell asleep for 15 more minutes and was awakened again, with worsening RLS, couldn't get back to sleep for about an hour, and finally woke up a half hour after that... and now my feet are going NUTS!!!!!
Soooooooooooo.... has ANYONE ELSE noticed anything like this (and my apologies to those of you who can hardly get to sleep ONCE a night for even ONE or two hours!!!
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AND... does anyone have any theory as to why I wouldn't have RLS after sleeping 3-5 hours (with or without troubling RLS that evening), but when I went BACK to sleep for a short period I WOULD have a.m. RLS???
Like I mentioned initially, I never consciously considered this pattern before, but I'm pretty sure it's happened just this way in the past, too. It doesn't make obvious "sense" (at least to me) on the face of it. But it SEEMS like something that means something in the genesis of symptoms. It shouldn't be "just" that "I'm tired", because when I am awakened at 2 am, I'm TIRED... but don't usually have RLS. It's if I'm able to go BACK to sleep for a short time that something triggers the symptoms.
Just thought I'd throw it out for folks to "chew on"...
Take care-- Sara
(Hope my feet give me a break later this morning! Yikes!)