[Lind126]

Hello,
I've been having restless legs at night for the past 10 days, the constant need to twitch is driving me mad, specially when I really want to sleep. I try to ignore it and eventually I do fall asleep. Does anybody know if this is related to lupus or it there is anything I can do to lessen it?
Cris

 

[Lily]

Hi lind,

We've had a lot of discussion on this in the past, if you do a search using the term Restless leg syndrome you will come up with lots of threads about it.

Here's just one of them that states what some people use to relieve it

http://www.thelupussite.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65788&highlight=Restless

I don't think it's strictly related to Lupus, sure lots here have it but I know a fair few people who have it and have no autoimmune diseases.

Hope you can find something that helps.

love
Lily

 

[Lind126]

Thank you Lily, it's been so long since I've last been in these message boards, that I forgot to do a search!
The thread you posted to me was very useful. Thanks again,
Cris

 

[Karin1]

I have restless leg syndrom as well, drives me crazy when I'm so tired and need sleep. I talked to my doc about it last week, and he gave me a medication to try, I'm sorry I can't recall the name right now. **still in a brain fog this morning*. If it is really troublesome you can ask your doc, and this med I'm on isn't something I need to take every night, just the nights that my legs are bothering me. Sure helps me get the sleep I need.

Be well.

Karin

 

[erenae1974]

I too have been plagued by this & I know how awful it is....have you started any new meds recently? I figured out that one of the meds was causing those feelings & since I switched to a different one it seems to be gone.

 

[Lind126]

Thank you for sharing your experience with me. I'm trying herbal teas like chamomile hoping it might help and cutting out all caffeine consumption.
I'll mention it to the doc if it doesn't get better. It's just so hard to fall asleep with all the twitching!
Cris

 

[2cay2]

I get restless legs which seems to be made worse or triggered by eating in the evening. It's worse if I eat sweets.
It might be worth trying not to nibble on anything or have sugary drinks after tea. I avoid any food after 7pm if I'm getting restless legs and it helps me a lot!

 

[grbn8]

leg cramps and soap

Nobody knows why but apparently putting a bar of soap in your bed helps a lot of people with the restless leg problem. If you do a search on "restless legs" and soap a lot of articles come up. It certainly can't hurt to try it.

 

[peonyprincess]

Cris,

I do not know how on Earth you are able to forget about your leg pains and go to sleep. That is one thing that I could not do at all. When it first started really bothering me, I was in the hospital with another illness. At that time, I was in such pain, they gave me Morphine and I was able to relax and go to sleep. Once I got home, Morphine wasn't a choice. I finally took Xanax to relax me. Now, I am on a variety of meds and it seems that they all seem to help. I do take Lortab before I go to bed and there are some nights that I have to take two doses, four hours apart mind you, then I can finally get to sleep.

One thing to keep in mind is that Restless Legs is a recognized problem and they have medication for it. Prior to starting a new medication, and if you are like me, another pill, make sure that your physician does a blood test to make sure that your Potassium, Calcium, etc are at normal levels. If they are not, it can cause you problems similiar to what you are expereincing.