RLS WTF
I saw an ad on TV last night for a “disease” known as “Restless Leg Syndrome.” RLS.
Apparently during periods of inactivity you feel like moving your legs. That’s a disease? That requires a “Restless Leg Foundation?” Are you shitting me? There’s a foundation for this? Like, people are getting paid to man the phone support lines in case your foot falls asleep?
Oh … look who sponsors these fine organizations to help the sufferers from this life-shattering ailment. Why it’s the big pharmaceutical companies. Our friends.
Hey, look. If your foot falls asleep, how about this: take a walk. Don’t sit on your ass all night watching American Idol. Walk around the block, ride a bike, do something. Hell, go down to the nearest Mall and window shop … at least you’d be moving around. Taking pills for this is idiotic.
And if that still doesn’t do it, here’s something that the medical profesion will never in a million years recommend: see a chiropractor. I can speak from personal experience that almost every medical “problem” I had from weak digestion to chronic head-colds have disappeared since I started seeing a chiropractor.
Partly because when your spine works then your immune system works, so your body can defend and repair itself. And partly because the spinal adjustments fixed pinched nerves which were causing the symptoms in the first place. Symptoms which The Medical Profession wanted to either cut me open to investigate, or get me hooked on pills to “cure.”
Becoming a doctor is a noble profession, and they do their best. But don’t confuse a doctor with the pharmaceutical companies. They will turn anything into a “disease” if it will sell pills. It’s shameless how many of these there are now.
So next time you see one of these ads and and start to wonder if you’ve got this “disease” ask yourself why they don’t have these problems which “afflict millions” in places like China and Japan? Then go see an acupuncturist, or chiropractor, or herbalist. Even seeing a psychic is better than taking more pills.
Gee-zuz.
I used to date a woman with RLS… Man, could she dance! But really, you have obviously no real clue how desparate MANY people are for a good nights sleep, or even a restful TV show. One second your are into some small, peaceful pleasure… possibly, fully awake, sitting or reclining, and then all of a sudden one of your legs kicks or twitches uncontrollably… usually several times… sometimes agrivating enough to provoke a short walk. Having said that, I agree that all medications should be prescribed by a personal doctor… and when it comes to suppliments… the rule, as always, is: BUYER BEWARE!
Mitch/peace
Oh I believe the syndrome exists. I had my share of symptoms of various kinds too. But I’ll wager that a lot of RLS could be resolved with chiropractic work. And seeing a chiropractor doesn’t have the same nasty side effects as these meds they want to prescribe.
And I fully understand the “good nights sleep” part. When my back went out about ten years ago, if I lay down on my back I could feel it throbbing. It was maddening. But it went away once the nerves got back to where they should be after seeing a chiropractor. And the strongest thing my chiro would let me take was Motrin … not muscle relaxers, not tranquilizers .. none of that … let the body heal itself, and it did.
I’m not a doctor, researcher, or associated with any drug company. I’m a lowly municipal engineer who has suffered with serious Restless Legs Syndrome for almost a decade. For me, the disease started about 15 years ago as a slightly annoying sensation in my legs that occurred at bedtime from time to time. As years went by, it got worse and worse. What used to occur only once or twice a month had become daily. What used to occur only at bedtime, would occur anytime of the day I tried to relax. What had been only in my legs, spread to include my arms. What used to be only a slightly annoying sensation became an overwhelming sensation that kept me pacing and flailing my arms continuously. It had become impossible to sleep for more than a few hours every couple of nights or sit for movie or a meal.
After seeing several doctors who had no idea what I had, I was finally diagnosed about five years ago. The diagnosis came not from a doctor or a deceptive drug company, but by my chiropractor who had an interest in sleep disorders. I remember how happy I was when I finally had a name for the demon that was haunting me. At first I tried the vitamin/mineral/herbal remedies my chiropractor recommended, but I didn’t get better and he told me to see a sleep specialist. When I went to the sleep specialist, we tried several different medications over the next year before finally arriving at one that worked. The drug was methadone, a cheap 60 year old generic narcotic that is much less expensive then the drug being advertised on TV today (the side effects are also well know for both short and long term use). I now get a good 7 hours or so of sleep at night, and I can sit down and relax with only a little bit of normal healthy fidgetiness (probably the kind of fidgetiness the drug companies want to “cure” healthy people of).
Restless Legs Syndrome is not a new, made up disease created by the drug companies to make more many. It first appears in medical literature in the 17th England by Thomas Willis and was formally diagnosed around 1940 in Sweden by Karl Ekbom (the disorder is known as Ekbom Syndrome in Europe). It occurs around the world, even in Japan and China. It was the second sleep disorder officially recognized in America (I think narcolepsy or sleep apnea was first). Opiates were the first medications used for treatment, but aren’t used to often now in favor of politically correct newer and more expensive (profitable) drugs.
There are several theories about the cause of restless legs syndrome. The main one is that iron isn’t penetrating the blood/brain barrier which screws up the dopamine system. Recent studies using MRI’s or autopsies have shown low iron levels in the brain. Also, people with low iron levels and have restless legs syndrome have shown improvement with iron therapy. My iron levels are normal but I still take iron supplements just in case.
In its mild form, restless legs syndrome is not too common (maybe 1%) and doesn’t need treatment. In its serious form, the disorder is fare more rare and makes people miserable. The commercial on TV about restless legs syndrome is misleading and gives the impression that a little fidgetiness is not normal and needs treatment. I’m really mad about it. I spent years wishing more people (especially doctors) knew know about how serious it. But now, it has become the poster boy of drug companies trying to make a buck selling pills to healthy (or near healthy) people.
Nutritional supplements make a lot more sense than medications. And I’d still be very surprised if most RLS “sufferers” weren’t cured with either that, a trip to a chiropactor, or getting out of their Lay-Z-Boys.
What bothers me is the whole drift in advertising for med’s these days. “It’s not your fault - it’s a DISEASE!” or “Research suggests that this may reduce that.” But since Big Pharma is seeing record profits - more than Big Oil, even - I guess it’s working for them.
Russell,
While RLS is a real condition. You’re correct in thinking there are multiple ways that it can be treated without drugs or surgery. We have had many patients in our office get treated with chiropractic and or physical therapy who have been able to alleviate their symptoms.
I have been suffering with RLS for a while and have been reading up on many ways to treat it, from pharmaceutical to home remedies. As horrible as RLS is, I never want to resort to taking pills. This is the first place I have read about using chiropractics as a solution. It a very interesting idea that I should try out, especially having friends that are finishing up their degrees at chiro schools.
In a way, it’s common sense. If you’re fine until you sit or lie down - what has changed? Well, there’s pressure on some nerve someplace that wasn’t getting affected when you were in motion perhaps? Or maybe some muscles which are in bad shape start to fire oddly when they go back to rest again?
But, really, nothing has changed in as far as one’s actual leg muscles are concerned other than they aren’t supporting weight. And since the human body is more or less designed to spend a third of its lifetime in this state (8 hours of sleep a night), then there’s no organic reason for a change in response when at rest.
OK - so maybe in some cases there’s neurological issues. But if you’ve ever had your foot “fall asleep” from sitting wrong, just how different are those symptoms from RLS?
Anyone who compares RLS to a foot falling asleep has no idea what they are talking about. People who don’t have RLS underestimate how much it interferes with daily life. I almost wreck my car sometimes because I get RLS while I’m driving. It is the most uncomfortable, unrelievable feeling there is. Sometimes I just hammer my legs as hard as I can in an effort to get some relief. I don’t get a restful sleep EVER, so every morning of my life I wake up exhausted. I can’t watch tv, or go to movies unless I want to stand in the back of the room. I lay down to go to sleep and I have to keep kicking my legs or I think I’ll go mad. No…It’s not a foot going to sleep. I hope you never experience it.
I don’t wish physical pain on anyone (I myself have suffered far too long with back pain). But what I have learned is that the human body has an amazing ability to heal itself when given the chance - and the information it needs. Modern medicine is all too quick to label something as a “disease” or “syndrome” in order to (a) relieve you of guilt and (b) get you to buy something.
Sounds cynical, I know. But I know what I’ve been through and if I believed what “doctors” told me I’d have my belly cut open from exploratory surgery when all I really needed was chiropractic adjustment.
What an odd place to find posts about RLS.
Runs in our family… Sister who is the epitome of health and diet, and me, the not so diet conscious.
For her, pressure helps durring flairups (Ace bandage.)
For me… I have to stay clear of long term Benadryl usage… or at least be prepaired for the side effect. (Google THAT combo.)
The few times I smoked a joint did it… so I don’t do that anymore. Long periods without sleep will do it too.
Since DoK believes that RLS is a made up “disease” due to the current awareness, then I believe that DoK is a moron as I have just become aware of these posts. I have had my foot fall asleep, that is a circulatory issue, not a neurological issue. You appear to be attacking something of which you have NO experience. Hard to speak from experience when you have none. I do think the pharma’s are capitalizing on the popularity of the drug. My prescription used to be 20 dollars for a 90 day script through Medco, now it is 50 dollars. The popularity and awareness comes at a time when information is readily available through the internet and sufferers are able to put a name to the symptoms that they suffer from. In the late 90’s I started taking Requip and had instant success in relieving the symptoms. I felt like I had a new lease on life. I had tried sleep studies, herbs, vitamin therapies, Chiro, nothing worked.
I have now had RLS for 30 years now and was almost suicidal at one point. Imagine getting out of bed 7-10 times at night and doing squats beside the bed for 3-5 minutes each. This would take a few hours and finally after 3-4 hours I would fall asleep. Sleep deprivation made the condition worse. Exercise during the day has no effect on the symptoms at all, as far as I am concerned. I have ridden my bike till my legs felt like they were going to fall off and I still had symptoms. Same with skiing, I have skied aggressively during the day and will experience the symptoms at night. I have had symptoms off and on but gradually the sensation and frequency increased as I get older. I liken the symptoms to a muscular capacitor where potential energy(as opposed to kinetic energy.) builds up in my legs. Mostly my quadriceps, but also sometimes in my biceps brachii.
I do not think there is an issue with Pharma capitalizing on RLS sufferers. I have only ever seen one or two commercials on TV as I rarely watch TV, but for those who suffer, it is a godsend.
DoK, get off your soapbox and attack the things that you have experience with, that would be more fruitful for all of us.
Jennifer, et al,
Please find a Neurologist in your area who is experienced in RLS. They can help you with a treatment that will allow you some relief. I know, I wanted to end my life instead of getting in bed some nights. The drugs that are out there do alleviate the symptoms and if they stop working, discuss it with your Neurologist, they can prescribe another drug or dosage. I hate taking a pill each day, but it beats taking a whole bottle of sleeping pills at once.
Sorry you disagree, but I’ve seen too many “syndromes” and “diseases” and what-not end up being perfectly curable with things like diet, exercise, and meditation. Bottom line - at least in my experience - is that if you believe you need a pill, then you’ll need the pill.