Restless Leg Syndrome

 I've started a group:  Suffers of Restless Leg Syndrome!

I am trying to get those of us who suffer from RLS together.  As a group we can help one another as we learn to live with this syndrome.  I have had RLS for many years, but it wasn't until late in 1997 that I learned there was a name for what I was experiencing.  Prior to that I just blamed the symptoms on my generally "hyper" self.  For years I had had difficulty in going to sleep - just as I would settle into bed I would have this undeniable urge to move my legs.  I had to move them, it wasn't something that I could ignore.  Many nights I would walk the house, quietly in the dark to try and relieve the sensation that I couldn't describe. As a nurse I had heard of Restless Leg Syndrome but like many thought it was "all in your head" and something that only old people experienced.

In November 1997 I had what started out as a minor knee surgery, the plan was to do an arthoscopy repair of a torn medial meniscus.  Well, the damage was much more than thought and I had an open repair of the meniscus along with other reconstructive work.  I awoke from surgery not with an ace wrap but a leg brace, crutches sitting by the bed and the directive of no weight bearing for a minimun of 6 weeks.  Far cry from the plan of 3 days at home and then back to work! 

It was during this time that my RLS really became unbearable and I sought medical help.  I literally wore holes in my sheets from the movement of my leg.  I was anxious because of the lack of sleep, pain from the surgery and the fact that I couldn't walk to relieve the horrible sensations I was having in my legs.  It was then that my doctor put a name on what I was going through.  It took months of adjusting medications to get some relief.

I continue to have symptoms, some nights worse than others.  I have researched RLS and my doctor is very supportive of my treatment ideas.  She admits that when it comes to RLS I am the expert not her.

 My hope with this group is that we can all help each other.  Sometimes we just need to vent, sometimes to share ideas and treatments and always we need one another to support us when the nights get long.