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RAF478 - Restless Leg Syndrome · Running: A FEVER

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  Running: A FEVER Episode 478, Restless Leg Syndrome.
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  Welcome to Running: A FEVER.
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  My name is Michael
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  Davis and this is a show about fitness,
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  diet, and medicine. It's all about livin' long
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  and lovin' life and my goal is to
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  live a long, healthy, happy, active life right
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  up to the
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  very end.
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  I had heard about Restless Leg Syndrome and
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  never knew exactly what it was.
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  Simultaneously,
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  at least in recent times, I had been
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  experiencing sometimes a hard-to-describe feeling when
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  I
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  was laying down. A sort of edginess that
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  could only be relieved if I moved my
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  arms
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  or legs. Because it was so hard to
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  describe, it was hard to self-diagnose.
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  Turns out,
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  I have Restless Leg Syndrome.
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  What is it exactly? According to the Mayo
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  Clinic, Restless
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  Leg Syndrome, RLS, is a condition that causes
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  a very strong urge to move the legs.
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  The urge
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  to move is usually caused by an uncomfortable
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  feeling in the legs. It typically happens
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  in the evening or at night when sitting
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  or lying down. Moving eases the discomfort
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  for a short time. Restless Leg Syndrome can
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  begin at any age and tends to get
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  worse
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  with age. It can disrupt sleep which interferes
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  with daily activities. RLS is also known
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  as Willis-Ekbom disease. Simple self-care steps
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  and lifestyle changes may help relieve
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  symptoms. Medicines also may help many people with
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  RLS. What causes it? Nobody knows.
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  Some
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  scientists believe it may be caused by an
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  imbalance of dopamine in the brain because
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  dopamine sends messages to control muscle movement.
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  Some women have RLS only during
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  pregnancy, but it is temporary and usually goes
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  away after the baby is born.
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  It also
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  may be genetic, especially if it starts before
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  age 40. Though they don't know the cause,
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  there are some risk factors associated with RLS.
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  This is not believed to be because other
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  conditions cause RLS, but some conditions seem to
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  co-exist with it. 1.
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  Peripheral Neuropathy,
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  which is damage to nerves in the hands
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  and feet, sometimes due to chronic diseases such
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  as diabetes and alcoholism. 2.
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  Iron Deficiency. This can cause RLS or cause
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  it to get worse.
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  You may have iron deficiency if you have
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  a history of bleeding stomach or bowels.
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  It can also affect women who have heavy
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  menstrual periods or people who donate blood often.
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  3. Kidney Failure. This is often associated with
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  iron deficiency or anemia. The iron deficiency
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  can cause restless leg disorder or make it
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  worse. 4. Spinal cord conditions.
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  Having a damaged or
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  injured spinal cord may cause or worsen RLS.
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  I wonder if my spinal stenosis has anything
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  to do with this. 5.
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  Parkinson's Disease. This can also cause an increased
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  risk of developing RLS.
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  One of the big problems with RLS is
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  that it can make it hard to fall
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  asleep. So,
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  not only are you having trouble sleeping at
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  night, you may also not be able to
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  take a nap
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  and make up for it, unless you can
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  sleep standing up. My inability to describe the
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  feelings
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  associated with my restless leg syndrome are not
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  uncommon. People sometimes describe them as
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  crawling, creeping, pulling, throbbing, aching, itching, electric.
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  I think I would describe it
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  as, you know, when people say something makes
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  their skin crawl, that's how I would describe
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  it.
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  Some drugs can also worsen symptoms of RLS,
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  including some anti-depressants,
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  antipsychotics, and anti-nausea medicines, and some cold
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  and allergy medications. Treatment.
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  If you are iron deficient, fixing that by
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  taking an iron supplement may make the RLS
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  symptoms go
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  away. You should only do so under the
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  supervision of a medical provider.
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  Another prescription method
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  is using an electrical stimulation device on a
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  nerve on the side of your knee.
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  If none of
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  these are appropriate, there are some lifestyle changes
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  that you can make, which include reducing
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  caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine, establishing a cool and
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  dark sleep schedule, and engaging
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  in moderate daily exercise. There are some medicines
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  that can help. Some affecting calcium
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  channels, including gabapentin enacarbil and pregabalin.
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  Be aware of the side effects such
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  as dizziness, unsteadiness, mental fog, and weight gain.
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  My vet once prescribed gabapentin
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  as a sedative for my cat pre-surgery.
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  Some medicines that increase dopamine levels may
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  be helpful. Some examples are rotigotine, pramipexole, and
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  ropinirole. These are probably
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  the most risky and unreliable, as well as
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  unpronounceable treatments. So beware. Occasional
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  RLS may be treated with carbidopa-levodopa, but
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  daily use can cause the spread of RLS
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  to other parts of the body.
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  As a last resort, sometimes opioids are prescribed.
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  In low doses,
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  according to the Mayo Clinic, addiction is rare,
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  although I would be wary of that.
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  Some examples include oxycodone, hydrocodone, and buprenorphine.
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  As you can see, there are
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  many options for treatment, and you may have
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  to go through several to find the right
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  formula.
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  I would try to lifestyle changes first, as
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  you can do these without a prescription
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  without a doctor and they don't have side
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  effects. Well, I can tell you from personal
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  experience, restless leg syndrome is kind of a
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  pain, even if you are not in pain.
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  But there are options to make it better,
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  and hopefully some of this information will be
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  helpful to you if you suffer from RLS
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  now or sometime in the future.
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  Until next time, if you have got the
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  fever, keep it burning, if you don't catch
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  the
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  fever, and I will talk to you next
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  time on Running: A FEVER.