Okay, the first time I saw a commercial on TV selling a drug for people with restless leg syndrome (RLS), I laughed. What a crock?

Over the past few weeks, I have started to develop some pretty severe symptomes. I'll be seeing my doctor in a couple of weeks for my yearly checkup, so I'll ask about it then...in the meantime...

I've never, ever, ever had trouble getting to sleep. Lying in bed just before sleep overtakes me is usually my favorite time of the day. However, I've recently discovered that in the past, I used to "rock" myself to sleep at night by unconsciously twitching my legs (known as periodic limb movement disorder or PLMD). It seems that this involutary rocking has ceased for some unkown reason, and the result is that my legs feel an uncomfortable desire to be active. Sometimes, I'll wake in the middle of the night by my legs jolting (a strong involutary flex, which is another variation of PLMD)), and I'll be unable to get back to sleep because my legs feel restless.

Is anyone familiar with these symptoms?

I"m currently taking Zyrtec as well as Cymbalta, and I have always drank a lot of caffeine. None of this is new, though. I've been on this cocktail of meds for about six months now without change.

Bryan

Bryan
Zyrtec will casuse your legs to cramp and hurt, Or it did mine im unable to take it,nor can my wife.
gary

Well....they don't cramp up and hurt. That stopped when I realized I was extremely potassium deficient. They just twitch, and when they're not twitching, they feel like they should be twitching.

Thanks for the response, though.

Bryan

I've heard of leg cramps being caused by calcium deficiency.

Puffer

Well...I do take calcium supplements, and I drink calcium fortified orange juice at least every other day.

RLS is something I have experienced before, but it was a long time ago. It is nothing like a leg cramp. It feels more a like a "tickle" that only stops if you move around, hence the name.

It is not pain, nor is it pleasure. Although it feels like something closer to pleasure, which is why I use the word tickle. When you are being tickled, it overwhelms the senses and you desperately want it to stop.

My mom gets it from time to time as well, and it is usually due to a lack of iron supplementation.

I think "pleasurable" would be an adequate di>

My son has not been diagnosed with it, but he complains of his legs twitching at night(he is 8 going on 9). I don't know if it is a placebo affect or not, but a heat sock/pad seems to help him. We have a tube sock filled with un-cooked rice we heat in the microwave for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
Might be worth a try.

David

I haven't been professionally diagnosed, but heat/cold does seem to have an effect.

As I was thinking about this the last few days, I suddenly seemed to remember that, as a kid, I did have a lot of difficulty sleeping, and I think it was for the same reasons. The best way I can describe the sensation is how when you are interrupted halfway through a yawn and then feel a desire to finish the yawn without the ability. Stretching my legs before bed seems to help, doing excercises before bed seems to help. However, the problem now is that I wake up in the middle of the night unable to go back to sleep.

Cold seems to get rid of the restless leg syndrome part of it, but it makes my legs twitch. Warmth seems to stop my legs from twitching, but then they feel restless.

Lots of interesting takes in this thread. Thank you all for responding.

Bryan