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restless leg syndrom
By Barbara Schreiber
The restless-legs-syndrome symptoms started whilst I was pregnant with my first son - who is now 14 years old.
It was the typical "crawling, itchy" feeling in my legs, a feeling which is very difficult to describe, and which can drive you up the wall. In case you have never heard of this neurological disease, the sensations in your legs (or arms) are so extreme, that you have to move them: flex the legs or arms, walk around. Since these symptoms appear mostly late in the afternoon or at night, whilst the legs are either horizontal or at rest, it means getting up and walking around to relieve the tension. Which results in lack of sleep, as the tension does not disappear with a five minute walk; it can take hours till the tension leaves. A few years ago, this disease was not well known, not even by doctors. When I described the sensations in my legs to my gynecologist, he was at loss. It was only a few years later, whilst reading a magazine, that I finally could identify the disease.
Even today, the origins and causes are not well known. It is a neurological disorder. It can be caused by lack of iron - something which a doctor can check via a blood test.
This was not the case with me. Another thing which has me baffled, apart from what causes this disorder is the fact that the symptoms are more extreme in my right leg - which was operated on, after a sports accident. I don't know if the fact that nerves were severed has anything to do with it. When I finally found a doctor who had heard of RLS (as restless-legs-syndrome is more often called) he prescribed homeopathy medication - which only relieved the tension minimally. As that did not work, he prescribed mild antidepressants, which worked only slightly, and had the side effect of weight gain. I then went to a neurologist, who took extensive tests.
He then prescribed "restex" a medication which contains levodopa, and which normally is used by patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
Side-effects: weight gain, tiredness, lack of concentration, lack of energy. But for a couple of hours, my legs do not twitch about. I'm still looking for the perfect medication against RLS which will not have such serious side effects, but at the present time, such medications do not exist. Hopefully in the future. As I am an artist, feeling tired during the day because of the side effects and due to lack of sleep hinders my creative flow. I often have a thousand images I would like to paint, but lack the energy to do so, which is very frustrating.
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May, 2012
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