RLS
by Tamara McHatton

It's been a long day. You've managed to avert three major disasters, and that doesn't include your pre-teen daughter's meltdown because her flavor of the week dumped her for “her worst enemy in the whole wide world!”. You've put in a twelve-hour work day, finished with dinner, cleaned up from all the evening's catastrophes, made sure the three kids and hubby have all been bathed and banished to their rooms, and now it's your turn to sit down and unwind.

You grab a glass of wine and plop down on the couch, intent on watching the newest episode of your favorite television show. The wine is almost finished, you feel the soft glow of sleepiness settling over your tired body when all of a sudden your leg begins to ache and jump. You have the uncomfortable sensation of creepy-crawlies running under the skin of your lower legs. You twist your ankles around a few times and the feeling subsides, only to be replaced by the uncontrollable urge to get up and walk around. Sighing, you get up and make a circuit around the couch. You sit back down, hoping to relax, but the same thing happens over and over again. Fed up, you go grab another glass of wine, hoping to numb the aggravating ruckus you go through almost nightly, and know it will be a long night indeed.

Sound familiar?

Don't fret, or think you've gone crazy.

What you're suffering from is known as Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), and I do sympathize with you. Along with you, I am one of the 12 million Americans who live with this medical condition, although these numbers are probably not accurate. According to the RLS Foundation, there are probably millions more affected who have not consulted with their doctors or health care providers for fear of not being taken seriously. RLS is also generally under diagnosed or misdiagnosed; s ome physicians wrongly attribute the symptoms to nervousness, insomnia, stress, arthritis, muscle cramps, or aging.

RLS occurs in both genders, although the incidence is slightly higher in women. Although the syndrome may begin at any age, even as early as infancy, most patients who are severely affected are middle-aged or older. In addition, the severity of the disorder appears to increase with age. Older patients experience symptoms more frequently and for longer periods.

Restless Leg Syndrome usually begins gradually, creeping up on you so slowly you usually don't even realize it until it has overtaken your life. Over time, the legs become more affected. Less frequently, RLS can affect the arms (of which I'm now going through).   more >>