All natural & quick results in pregnancy - possible?

RLS occurs more frequently in certain populations, including people with end-stage renal disease, women during pregnancy, and people with iron deficiency. Also, RLS/WED in the elderly and children brings other challenges. Sharing your experiences may be extraordinarily helpful to others.
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Pleo
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Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 7:19 am

All natural & quick results in pregnancy - possible?

Post by Pleo »

I'm currently pregnant and only have RLS issues about once every 2-3 weeks. I'd rather not take prescription medication, especially it is so seldom. Is there a natural, but quick remedy that has worked for you? I can "usually" fall asleep ok, but wake shortly thereafter with issues that keeps me up for 2-3 hours. Anyone know of something that works for middle of the night issues? Thank you!

Polar Bear
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Re: All natural & quick results in pregnancy - possible?

Post by Polar Bear »

Welcome Pleo.
Pregnancy and RLS is pretty difficult and I'm glad to see that you have symptoms only every 2 - 3 weeks.
You will I'm sure have done the walking bit, trying to walk off the symptoms until you can get back to sleep.

As for natural remedies, some of us get a little temporary relief from either a hot shower or bath. I actually found that icy cold water gave me a breathing space (prior to starting medication). Fill a bucket of water with really cold water and get the feet and legs into it, splashing the cold water up as far as possible. It would take about 15 - 20 minutes to achieve some relief which would sometimes be long enough to let me get back to sleep. This is counter stimulation.

Massage.
Leg stretches.
Wraps on the legs have helped some sufferers, also a TENS machine.
Heat using a hot water bottle or a heated blanket applied to the legs may help.
Mental activity may help some people as a distraction - it never helped me.
Also keep an eye on what you eat and drink, caffeine, sugar, ice cream, alcohol, nicotine have all been mentioned by some people as a trigger, but don't bother others.

Low iron can trigger symptoms so have this checked by your doctor and in particular Ferritin Serum Iron levels which is the iron stored in the brain. It should be up around 50/75, higher if you are on certain RLS medications. Doctors may consider 20 normal, but this is not so for an RLS sufferer.

We are a strange bunch, not everything helps everyone and it is very much a matter of trial and error.

If you put 'pregnant' into the search engine at the top right it will bring up a lot of posts. It is a very tedious task to wade your way through them.

Also consider any over the counter medication you are taking that could trigger symptoms, anti histamines, benedryl.

Anything mentioned above should be considered carefully as you are pregnant and if you have any doubts at all check with your doctor.
We are not medical folks, just fellow sufferers who want to help :)
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

Pleo
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 7:19 am

Re: All natural & quick results in pregnancy - possible?

Post by Pleo »

Thank you so much!

ViewsAskew
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Location: Los Angeles

Re: All natural & quick results in pregnancy - possible?

Post by ViewsAskew »

Welcome, Pleo. Polar Bear's provided many of the things that can help. As she noted, the good news is that many things do often help. The bad news is that you may have to try several...and there is no guarantee any will help. Here's hoping that one of more of these helps you.
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
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Location: Northwest Territories, Canada

Re: All natural & quick results in pregnancy - possible?

Post by badnights »

The key is to accept that you have to get up and do something... and just get up and do it. If it's intermittent, there's a good chance it's also mild enough to respond to a midnight set of squats or lunges or maybe even just stretches. But I would not trust stretches with the intensity of symptoms I get.

I have to work my legs til they're almost trembling, then go directly to bed. The hard part is not quitting too soon.

Also see the post on rubbing the bare sole of the foot on a rough cushion or towel - eliminated the sensations for this person : viewtopic.php?p=79407#p79407

However, see also viewtopic.php?p=4981#p4981 = = her WED/RLS goes nuts when she walks on gravel.
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.

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