Sleep position

Please share your experiences, successes, and failures in using non-drug therapies for RLS/WED (methods of relief that don't involve swallowing or injecting anything), including compression, heat, light, stretches, acupuncture, etc. Also under this heading, medical interventions that don't involve the administration of a medicine to the body (eg. varicose-vein operations, deep-brain stimulation). [This forum contains Topics started prior to 2009 that deal with Non-prescription Medicines, Supplements, & Diet.]
JudithK
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2011 1:13 am

Post by JudithK »

I find that if I lie on my side and cross the top leg over the bottom leg above the knee I can sleep with little or no RLS symptoms. Don't know why this works but it does for me.

Wayne
Posts: 181
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2009 1:50 am
Location: Virginia (USA)

Post by Wayne »

It's been over a year since I first posted about being able to fall asleep lying on my stomach even with my legs buzzing. I'd just like to report that it still seems to be working and is actually getting easier to fall asleep.

My gabapetin was cut from 300mg 3 times a day to just one in the late evening (no more zombie-like days), and I will take a .5 cloanzepam at bedtime, except I will usually fall asleep before the cloanzepam, and, a few times I have come close to sleeping through the entire night!

Typically though I will wake up 2-3 hours later, wide-awake, and take the cloanzepam. But it seems I've found the working combination for the time being.
Last edited by Wayne on Thu Oct 13, 2011 3:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Polar Bear
Moderator
Posts: 8799
Joined: Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:34 pm
Location: United Kingdom

Post by Polar Bear »

Really pleased for you.
Brilliant that with a condition that keeps varying itself, that you have found something that has worked for a whole year.
Betty
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation

Laurachrissy
Posts: 123
Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 5:11 pm

Post by Laurachrissy »

Wayne, that's wonderful....I actually tried it after corresponding with you and I could tell a difference but then I got to where I could not lie on my stomach because of back problems.
I had a lumbar Epidural Steroid Inj. this afternoon and I'm praying that some of the worst paresthesias disappear.....I have been taken 1200mg. Neurontin daily and Requip 3x's/day and still had the problem; just not as bad but there nonetheless.

Maybe you and I have a back related condition that aggrevates RLS.

Have you had your back examined lately?
RLS sux

Wayne
Posts: 181
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2009 1:50 am
Location: Virginia (USA)

Post by Wayne »

Laurachrissy wrote:Maybe you and I have a back related condition that aggrevates RLS.

Have you had your back examined lately?


No I haven't. But I don't have any back problems. On three rare occasions that I can remember over the last 20 years, I have pulled a muscle in my back or something that left me in pain for a day or two, but nothing chronic.

stever
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2013 8:00 am

Re: Sleep position

Post by stever »

Hi, i'm new to site. Often find better on front also, maybe easier for dopamine to be released?

Wayne
Posts: 181
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2009 1:50 am
Location: Virginia (USA)

Re: Sleep position

Post by Wayne »

stever wrote:Hi, i'm new to site. Often find better on front also, maybe easier for dopamine to be released?


Hi Jim. Glad it works for you too. Still works for me. I'm getting really good at it now. My legs can be buzzing hard, and I can just roll onto my stomach and will likely be asleep within 20 minutes (unmedicated) I'll wake up anywhere from 2-5 hours later and take my medication.

ViewsAskew
Moderator
Posts: 16571
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 6:37 am
Location: Los Angeles

Re: Sleep position

Post by ViewsAskew »

stever wrote:Hi, i'm new to site. Often find better on front also, maybe easier for dopamine to be released?


Hmm - possibly!
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

badnights
Moderator
Posts: 6259
Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2009 4:20 pm
Location: Northwest Territories, Canada

Re: Sleep position

Post by badnights »

Wayne, I love hearing from people whose symptoms are under control and - wow - even getting better. It's so good to know that that's possible.

The only way I have a hope of falling asleep while symptoms are humming (as long as they;re not too bad) is on my stomach, but I always thought it was because I also bent my legs into the frog position which produced a stretch and also bent every joint from hip to toes, which lessens symptoms. Now stever you've made me wonder if there's something about the face-down position. I recall that my ex (who had mild RLS) used to deal with it by sleeping on his stomach with his toes hanging over the end. Hmmm. Interesting that it works even when people aren't stretching or squashing.

Laurachrissy, if you have a bad lower back, you might still be able to lie on your stomach if you place a large cushion under your belly, and lots of pillows for the sides and arms and head, so you can find a comfortable position. I still have trouble getting my neck comfortable, but I can do it if I try.
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
Click for info on WED/RLS AUGMENTATION & IRON
I am a volunteer moderator. My posts are not medical advice. My posts do not reflect RLS Foundation opinion.

Wayne
Posts: 181
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2009 1:50 am
Location: Virginia (USA)

Re: Sleep position

Post by Wayne »

badnights wrote:I recall that my ex (who had mild RLS) used to deal with it by sleeping on his stomach with his toes hanging over the end. Hmmm. Interesting that it works even when people aren't stretching or squashing.


I do find it slightly easier with my feet/toes hanging off the end.

badnights wrote:I still have trouble getting my neck comfortable, but I can do it if I try.


Are you putting a pillow under your head? I don't put a pillow under my head, I'm completely flat on the bed. If you're using a pillow it would cause undo strain on your neck. I will tuck a pillow under my shoulder to provide a few inches of lift to take the strain off my neck.

Then again. I am a tall slender guy with a flat stomach, so it's easy and comfortable for me. (I'm not bragging there, It's not like I have six-pack abs or anything and women generally aren't attracted to me, they seem to prefer the football player or biker gang types.)

badnights
Moderator
Posts: 6259
Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2009 4:20 pm
Location: Northwest Territories, Canada

Re: Sleep position

Post by badnights »

I have found that there are a great variety of attractions out there, but also great social pressures not to reveal when you don't fit the norm.

my body shape doesn't interfere with my sleeping, except to deprive me of natrual padding. Since I have to have pillows under my abdomen, to ease my lower back, the neck problem is a little trickier to deal with than just eliminating pillows, but I can solve it with pillows under the shoulders and chest - i probably end up doing something similar to what you do, only modified to enable pillows under the belly.
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
Click for info on WED/RLS AUGMENTATION & IRON
I am a volunteer moderator. My posts are not medical advice. My posts do not reflect RLS Foundation opinion.

jakesmom
Posts: 353
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2013 11:01 am

Re: Sleep position

Post by jakesmom »

If my symptoms are mild to moderate, I lie on my stomach and scoot down to the end to the bed where my feet are hanging off and flex my feet, using the bed for resistance, doing calf stretches. Or I lay on my stomach and kick my feet like I am swimming. My bed sits high off the floor and my feet don't touch the floor when I sit on the edge. When symptoms are bad, I sit on the edge and shake my legs until I pass out from exhaustion.

peanut1
Posts: 363
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2011 8:06 am

Re: Sleep position

Post by peanut1 »

Lay on the one side. With a pillow between both legs move the legs in a rapid fashion. If that doesn't work, lay on the back and do a low version of the bicycle.

KDecker1612
Posts: 25
Joined: Sun Sep 01, 2013 2:26 pm

Re: Sleep position

Post by KDecker1612 »

I have had to go to sleep on my stomach for years. If my legs are quiet, lying on my back will get them going in minutes, guaranteed. So I lie on my stomach. If only one leg is bothering me, I stretch that one flat and crook the other. If it's both, I have to stretch both out and lie flat on my stomach, which does tend to make my back ache. Without medication it's not enough to allow me to sleep. I too tend to hang my feet over the edge. Sometimes if it's more severe, I put a balled up sock under my thigh to create a pressure point. I also will put a small pillow under my feet to elevate them, placing a bit more pressure on the thighs. I sleep with 2 pillows under my head. I know that's not a good thing for my neck, but I can't stand having my head down. So weird, what this disease makes us do!

Polar Bear
Moderator
Posts: 8799
Joined: Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:34 pm
Location: United Kingdom

Re: Sleep position

Post by Polar Bear »

On the stomach... great job. With knees bent and feet in the air.
No pillow at all makes it easier on the back.
This will sometimes let me lie a little longer in bed but usually I end up having to go walkabout.
Betty
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation

Post Reply