Restless Leg Syndrome

i get that every once in awile but not all the time i have to get up and walk around for it to go away no matter where im at haha even asleep hahaha

I have to disagree. I don't believe it is a syndrome. I might be wrong though. Takila gets that way, and I always ask her if she has to pee. She just gets restless.
You sure it's not just a twitch thing?
I think it's kinda like calling kids ADHD. Back when I was a kid, you were hyper and they just gave you a study hall. Today they want to throw a kid on Ritalin and label them.
Everything has a label today.

I agree with you Earthdog on the label thing, but it is real. Very real. For years, I thought it was something else. Like I said, I thought it was my running, marching, etc. It's something I've had for a long, long, time. It's definately not a twitch. This is something that doctors new nothing about until recently. Too many times, children are labled ADHD then put on meds. This can be bad, but for those that truly have it, it is real too, but since they are kids, adults tend to blow it off, and say they're just fidgity, hyper, brats, or worse. It is not in one's mind either. Yes, everything nowadays has a label, and too many times they are overused, but a label is what it is. Money is money, cars are cars, computers are computers, and so on and so forth. When the label is placed on them, you know exactly what it is. One dollar vs. one hundred dollars. Chevy vs. Ford. IBM vs. Apple.

Condor

I've had it once in a while but my sister has it really bad. One thing she does notice that makes it worse is alcohol. If she's had a few beers, she can almost be sure to be up all night with it. Yes, whether or not it's just a label, it definitely is very very real.

I have it on occasion, but I patterned it to when I'm tired or over-tired and I'm trying to stay awake. It seems to be mostly in the evening, which is the norm for being tired, but once I get to bed and go to sleep, it goes away. Once in awhile, a long car ride as a passenger will get me sleepy but if I fight to stay awake, my legs get that way or even sometimes at work when I didn't sleep good the night before and I get the afternoon sleepies, my legs will get that way. I've also noticed if I take the normal dose of antihistamine in the evening, I will wake up during the night and my whole body feels like I have it! And when I was pregnant it seemed worse.

"Certain medications may worsen RLS in those who already have it, or cause it secondarily. These include: anti-nausea drugs, certain antihistamines (often in over-the-counter cold medications), drugs used to treat depression (both older tricyclics and newer SSRIs), antipsychotic drugs, and certain medications used to control seizures. Some people find it is worsened by the consumption of diet soda, alcohol, or caffeine. Hypoglycemia has also been found to worsen RLS symptoms. For those affected, a reduction or elimination in the consumption of simple carbohydrates (for example, sugar, white flour, white rice and white potatoes) is recommended.

Both primary and secondary RLS can be worsened by surgery of any kind, however back surgery or injury is often associated with causing RLS. RLS often worsens in pregnancy."

My mom has it real bad, but I'm sure all the meds that she's on for diabetes, high blood pressure and heart problems doesn't help.

"There is Restless Legs Syndrome and then there's, "Periodic Limb Movement Disorder, which causes slow "jerks" or flexions of the affected body part. These occur during sleep (PLMS = Periodic Limb Movement while Sleeping) or while awake (PLMW - Periodic Limb Movement while Waking)."

I got this information from......... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restless_Leg_Syndrome

If people have never experienced this (or anything else, for that matter), and the medical world has not discovered why it happens, they automatically think it's in someone's head or it's a label. Granted, there are Hypochondriacs out there and it's hard to believe them once you get to know who they are, but don't just dismiss it because it's called a syndrome! I'm lucky that mine is mild and I've pretty much figured out what triggers it and what makes it go away, but for those that have it bad, I feel sorry for you!

Tonja, now that you mentioned caffeine, that is another thing that my sister tries to avoid as it does worsen it.

I think it's Requip that they advertise on tv as medication for this but I would never take it as it can cause lymphoma. Maybe Requip is the one for RA (but it also can cause lymphoma) and the one for RLS is something else, I'm not sure but I do know that when I first saw the ad, I thought ... finally something to help my sister, right up until they said it can cause lymphoma. I don't care how remote or rare the occurance is, I do not understand how they can promote a medication that causes cancer.

I guess I am bad. I thought I was good.

There's sooo much I wanted to say, but discretion got the better of me! ;D ;D ;D

Cher,

I have not seen anything where it says that Requip can cause lymphoma. Please show me a credible source because I take it, and now you have me wondering. Besides everything else in the world that causes cancer, where have you heard about this?

Condor