Restless Leg Syndrome

NOTE: I had to copy and paste. I accidently unsubscribed.

Hello Ladies,

Another concern I have is due to Restless Leg Syndrome, which can be described as:

Restless Legs Syndrome causes creepy-crawly sensations in the limbs, primary in the legs (but occasionally in the arms and trunk). The sensations have the following features Occur during periods of inactivity
Become more severe at night
Are tied to an overwhelming urge to move the limb
Are relieved by movement of the limb
Often cause difficulty staying or falling asleep, which lead to feelings of daytime tiredness or fatigue
May cause involuntarily jerking of the limbs during sleep and sometimes during wakefulness
(Website: Restless Leg Syndrome Foundation)

For me, this has been passed on to me from my mom's side of the family, and the location of my RLS is on the right side of my abdomen. Mine started when I was 17 years old. Currently, the only way I can fall asleep is by sitting up, eventually I go down horizontal during the night.

I can’t even imagine what I’m going to do if it flairs up while in the hospital!!! If there are those of you who have experienced this please let me know. While talking to my GYN this past week, I made mention of this to him (I never had to before). He said there would be no problem of raising the upper part of the bead. I can’t even imagine staying put in bed for more than 5-10 minutes without finding someplace else to go lie down, or not moving about. Those of you out there who go through this nightmare know what I’m talking about!

Pinkie

Pinkie,
I'm glad you mentioned this to your doctor. Your doctor is right. You can raise and lower the head of your bed and the foot of your bed to a comfortable position. I, myself, do not have Restless Leg Syndrome.

I was so out of it after my surgery with the morphine pump and the anesthesia I did lots of sleeping. It's good that the doctor knows your situation and I would mention this to the nurses when you are admitted for surgery. You will be very sleepy the first day.

I too have restless leg syndrome and was not bothered by it AT ALL during my stay at the hospital - what a treat that was! I have been severely anemic, and read somewhere that anemia may play a part in RLS, so hopefully once my iron level is back up (I had a TAH due to excessive bleeding/large fibroids), I will notice a decrease in my "jumpy legs". Good luck to you!

I also have RLS. Had a TAH/BSO on 4-1-02 and did not have any problem at all in the hospital - probably because of the morphine etc causing me to sleep. I was concerned about the surgical stockings they use at my hospital to prevent blood clots - I had to keep them on first two days - but they didn't bother me at all.
I take Klonapin for RLS and have however had a problem since the surgery whereby it seems that for some reason the Klonapin has not been effective. I have been frustrated with the fact that I was able to sleep before the surgery but not well since. My Dr. is working with me on this by adjusting my HRT which may be part of the problem. I also think it may have to do with being so inactive during the day during my recovery. I hope to get back on tract with the relieve I was getting from RLS with the Klonapin - will keep you posted.