IBTG81 Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 I should know better than this. But I guess not. For those of you who think RLS is a bunch of crap, please get your facts straight. If you are somehow mistaking this for ADD, or anxiety, or too much stimulant, or whatever, all I ask is that you recognize it for what it is, a real disorder. At the VA I've dealt with many older vets with RLS, and it can make your life miserable. It's not ADD. It's not typically a childhood disease. It's a neurological disorder that can drive people crazy, disrupt their sleep, and get worse as they get older. We have no idea what causes it or how to treat it. Decreasing caffeine may help, and then again it may not. Some medications or supplements may help, and then again they may not. Exercise, massage, heating pads...some may help, most won't, and what works for one person probably won't work for the next. Check it out for yourself if you really want. I will be the first to agree with the point of this thread, that our society has moved inexorably toward masking underlying problems with more and more medications, and that's not good. And the real problem of ADD highlights this issue. But if you're going to trash RLS at least know what you're talking about first. 620872[/snapback] What do you know Rubes?? You're only a Doctor... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HereComesTheReignAgain Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Symptoms include:Sounds like hyperactivity to me. Sounds like I have it, too. Oh, and symptoms can be exacerbated by: Imagine that. Stimulants can make you hyper. What a !@#$ing surprise. I sense a Nobel Prize for Medicine in someone's future. I also like where I just read: "calcium-channel blockers (used to treat high blood pressure and heart conditions)". If you choose to quit your blood-pressure meds because you feel like you have to move your legs, you deserve to stroke out. 620508[/snapback] My Grandmother had this condition brought on by very low sodium levels. It was very painfull and kept her awake most of the night. This was an extreme case, but it was a medical condition, not something she concocted in her head. If you have ever had to watch a loved one deal with something like this while confined to a hospital bed you might not be making fun of it. I suppose you would also consider early parkinsons disease hyperactivity because it just causes you to move around and twitch a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crap Throwing Monkey Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 I should know better than this. But I guess not. For those of you who think RLS is a bunch of crap, please get your facts straight. If you are somehow mistaking this for ADD, or anxiety, or too much stimulant, or whatever, all I ask is that you recognize it for what it is, a real disorder. At the VA I've dealt with many older vets with RLS, and it can make your life miserable. It's not ADD. It's not typically a childhood disease. It's a neurological disorder that can drive people crazy, disrupt their sleep, and get worse as they get older. We have no idea what causes it or how to treat it. Decreasing caffeine may help, and then again it may not. Some medications or supplements may help, and then again they may not. Exercise, massage, heating pads...some may help, most won't, and what works for one person probably won't work for the next. Check it out for yourself if you really want. I will be the first to agree with the point of this thread, that our society has moved inexorably toward masking underlying problems with more and more medications, and that's not good. And the real problem of ADD highlights this issue. But if you're going to trash RLS at least know what you're talking about first. 620872[/snapback] And that's the link I was using when I said earlier that I apparently have RLS. When I see my doctor next week, I'll ask him to do a formal diagnosis, and see if I can get medication for it. And then - no disrespect intended - I'll be sure it's BS, as there's no way my inability to sit still constitutes any sort of illness. (The flip side being, of course, that if I'm NOT diagnosed, I'll be sure to admit the possibility I'm wrong. I won't admit definitively I'm wrong until I see an actual RLS patient, though - either myself or someone else.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubes Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 And that's the link I was using when I said earlier that I apparently have RLS. When I see my doctor next week, I'll ask him to do a formal diagnosis, and see if I can get medication for it. And then - no disrespect intended - I'll be sure it's BS, as there's no way my inability to sit still constitutes any sort of illness. (The flip side being, of course, that if I'm NOT diagnosed, I'll be sure to admit the possibility I'm wrong. I won't admit definitively I'm wrong until I see an actual RLS patient, though - either myself or someone else.) 621194[/snapback] Well, so far all I've been able to gather from you is that you have an inability to sit still. Although the name can be confusing, this of course does not constitute restless leg syndrome. As alluded to in one of your posts and in the link I gave (although it's not always very clear), RLS is more than just an "urge to move the legs" like someone sitting in a chair with their knee bouncing around. The urge to move the legs is in response to completely unpleasant sensation throughout the legs, whether its paresthesias or dysesthesias, and often it's the only way to relieve the sensations. It's also almost always worse at night when lying down, such that people with RLS have a horrible time sleeping, and their daytime activities become intolerable due to exhaustion. Older folks can be tortured by this. As for you, I don't know. If you just can't sit still, then that's something different. If you can't sit still because you need to move your legs to relieve some uncomfortable sensation in your legs, and it's worse at night, and you're losing sleep because of it, then I'd consider it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crap Throwing Monkey Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 As for you, I don't know. If you just can't sit still, then that's something different. If you can't sit still because you need to move your legs to relieve some uncomfortable sensation in your legs, and it's worse at night, and you're losing sleep because of it, then I'd consider it. 621318[/snapback] Yep, pretty much. Although, the pain of what I think is torn cartilige in my knee right now is pretty much overwhelming the paresthesias. But...yeah, numbness and tingling in my legs will keep me up or wake me up at night on occasion. And I still can't elevate that to the level of "disease" (I particularly can't if the manner in which that site characterized it is accurate). Just as I never could elevate "I'm depressed" to the level of disease until it started to interfere with normal life functioning. As I said...maybe I have to see a real RLS sufferer (i.e. someone a LOT worse than me), then I'll admit I'm wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 Well, so far all I've been able to gather from you is that you have an inability to sit still. Although the name can be confusing, this of course does not constitute restless leg syndrome. As alluded to in one of your posts and in the link I gave (although it's not always very clear), RLS is more than just an "urge to move the legs" like someone sitting in a chair with their knee bouncing around. The urge to move the legs is in response to completely unpleasant sensation throughout the legs, whether its paresthesias or dysesthesias, and often it's the only way to relieve the sensations. It's also almost always worse at night when lying down, such that people with RLS have a horrible time sleeping, and their daytime activities become intolerable due to exhaustion. Older folks can be tortured by this. As for you, I don't know. If you just can't sit still, then that's something different. If you can't sit still because you need to move your legs to relieve some uncomfortable sensation in your legs, and it's worse at night, and you're losing sleep because of it, then I'd consider it. 621318[/snapback] Rubes you're right on this. RLS is an old person's condition that's only recently been classified. It is an agonizing reality for many - my father in law included. I admit when I first heard him talk about it I thought it was a bit off the wall dottering/complaining, but I learned it is a genuine issue. There is a limited pharmaceutical arsenal that can be applied to give symptomatic relief but none seem to work for long. I believe my father in law was taking some drug that is used in the treatment of Parkinson's. By the time most of these posters are old enough to have tardive dyskenisia they won't realize that the oatmeal's dripping from their chin yet alone that they used to mock Ralphie at 87. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crap Throwing Monkey Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 By the time most of these posters are old enough to have tardive dyskenisia they won't realize that the oatmeal's dripping from their chin yet alone that they used to mock Ralphie at 87. 625315[/snapback] First off, I don't mock Ralph for being old. Second...how'd this oatmeal get on my chin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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