Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a disorder which causes distressing or irritating feelings in the legs through an irresistible desire to move the legs. These kinds of symptoms commonly happen in the late afternoon or night hours and are frequently more serious during the night while relaxing, such as sitting or lying down in bed. For this reason it may turn out to be hard to go to sleep or return to sleep soon after awakening. Moving the legs or going for walks generally eliminates the symptoms but the sensations quite often reoccur as soon as the movement stops. This will have a substantial influence on the quality of life that can bring about attentiveness and work productivity concerns mainly because of the insufficient sleep. Approximately 10% of the population have been predicted to probably have got restless legs syndrome. This impacts both women and men, but it is more common in women. The reason for restless legs syndrome is not clear. Even though this problem can be quite miserable, most cases of RLS is treatable with non-drug treatments and if needed, medications.
There are several underpinning disorders, for instance a deficiency of iron, that are connected with restless legs syndrome and improving that deficiency of iron with iron supplementation can appreciably decrease the symptoms. When there is no underlying condition, then your treatment will at first focus on changes in lifestyle and when those may not be very helpful various medications is often tried.
A number of the things that really should be tried such as things like soaking in a warmer bath and also rubbing the legs to relax the muscles. The application of hot and/or cold packs could lessen the limb feelings. Because stress and fatigue will probably worsen the signs and symptoms of Restless legs syndrome, therefore it is essential that people do aim to get adequate sleep. Commencing mild and regular physical exercise can also help to relieve symptoms of restless legs syndrome. However, overdoing it or working out later in the day may make the symptoms worse. Occasionally lowering coffee may also help restless legs, therefore stay clear of these products if possible, such as dark chocolate that contains caffeine. There are some unique foot wraps which puts pressure around the foot that has been claimed as helping some people. Some people report respite from using heavier covers on the bed.
When these steps do not help, then a number of drugs can be trialled. It might take several trials to get the appropriate medicine or combination of medications at different doses to seek out the things that work ideal for every individual. One list of drugs are the ones that increase dopamine within the brain such as Ropinirole (Requip), rotigotine (Neupro) and pramipexole (Mirapex). An additional class is the medicines affecting calcium channels for instance gabapentin (Neurontin, Gralise) along with pregabalin (Lyrica) which do work well for many people that have restless legs syndrome. Narcotic drugs may decrease moderate to serious symptoms, but they could be addictive if used in higher levels. This can include tramadol as well as the codeine medicines. Muscle relaxants and sleep prescription drugs could be tried to help improve sleep, however they will not likely modify the experience with the symptoms.
Restless legs syndrome generally is a long term condition, therefore coping with it requires developing coping methods which work for each person. Support communities have become helpful for sharing ideas and getting help.