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RLS, A Insidious and Evil Affliction

Fenton

Fenton

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Yep, I suffer from it time to time, and its not so much my legs as it is my right arm and upper body and it was kicking my ass last night

If you want to know what having RLS feels like, imagine the moment where you're just about to slip into REM sleep and then BAM !!

Electrical pulses shoot down your legs and arms causing them to jerk. This of-course wakes you up and the only way to stop it is to get out of bed and stand

They subside, so you try to go back to bed and just when you're starting to slip back into REM sleep, BAM !

This cycle goes on for HOURS, to the point where youre too exausted to stand anymore, but thats the only way to get relief.

You cant sit in your favorite chair and sleep, RLS will have none of that. Its for a lack of a better word torture and after 4 hours of it your begging God to put you out of your misery

Sure, a hot shower or bath helps, but its only temporary.
 
Fenton said:
Yep, I suffer from it time to time, and its not so much my legs as it is my right arm and upper body and it was kicking my ass last night

If you want to know what having RLS feels like, imagine the moment where you're just about to slip into REM sleep and then BAM !!

Electrical pulses shoot down your legs and arms causing them to jerk. This of-course wakes you up and the only way to stop it is to get out of bed and stand

They subside, so you try to go back to bed and just when you're starting to slip back into REM sleep, BAM !

This cycle goes on for HOURS, to the point where youre too exausted to stand anymore, but thats the only way to get relief.

You cant sit in your favorite chair and sleep, RLS will have none of that. Its for a lack of a better word torture and after 4 hours of it your begging God to put you out of your misery

Sure, a hot shower or bath helps, but its only temporary.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear that, maybe you can get some rest during the day, nothing really breaking until tonight anyway. Is there no treatment that helps?
 
Fenton said:
Yep, I suffer from it time to time, and its not so much my legs as it is my right arm and upper body and it was kicking my ass last night

If you want to know what having RLS feels like, imagine the moment where you're just about to slip into REM sleep and then BAM !!

Electrical pulses shoot down your legs and arms causing them to jerk. This of-course wakes you up and the only way to stop it is to get out of bed and stand

They subside, so you try to go back to bed and just when you're starting to slip back into REM sleep, BAM !

This cycle goes on for HOURS, to the point where youre too exausted to stand anymore, but thats the only way to get relief.

You cant sit in your favorite chair and sleep, RLS will have none of that. Its for a lack of a better word torture and after 4 hours of it your begging God to put you out of your misery

Sure, a hot shower or bath helps, but its only temporary.
Click to expand...

Fenton, please don't take this as a troll attempt or anything of that nature, we all know how you feel on the subject. Just wanted to bring a possible remedy to your attention. On a hunch, I hit google and came up with a lot of "anecdotal" type (I hesistate to call it evidence) support for...... ( I bolded parts for emphasis)

Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation Blog: Medical Marijuana and RLS


Although there are no studies examining the use of marijuana for
treating RLS, there is some clinical experience available based
on its anecdotal use by many patients. Typically, ingested marijuana
(through brownies or cookies, for example) does not seem to benefit
RLS very much, while inhaled marijuana (through a
marijuana cigarette or vaporizer) works very quickly and effectively.
Most RLS sufferers report that after only a few puffs of a
marijuana cigarette or a few inhalations of vaporized medical
marijuana, even very severe symptoms are relieved within minutes.
The relief does not last very long, wearing off after one or two hours.
Therefore, inhaled marijuana works best for RLS symptoms
that occur mainly at bedtime. Patients have reported that a one month
supply of medical marijuana may last three to four months
when used to treat bedtime RLS symptoms.
Click to expand...

Again, I know you probably don't consider this an option, but it is for many, and many feel it works, especially with RLS that flares up when your trying to get to sleep.
 
shagg said:
Fenton, please don't take this as a troll attempt or anything of that nature, we all know how you feel on the subject. Just wanted to bring a possible remedy to your attention. On a hunch, I hit google and came up with a lot of "anecdotal" type (I hesistate to call it evidence) support for...... ( I bolded parts for emphasis)

Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation Blog: Medical Marijuana and RLS




Again, I know you probably don't consider this an option, but it is for many, and many feel it works, especially with RLS that flares up when your trying to get to sleep.
Click to expand...

Im against legalization except for medical purposes and haven't touched the stuff in over 30 years.

I rarely drink and then only good Scotch and Im careful not to over do it. I hate taking anything that affects my mental acuity. i dont even like taking cold meds that cause drowsiness

But last night, after 4 to 5 hours of RLS I would have tried anything including a hot brownie spiked with hydro. I would have smoked heroin, snorted crushed Oxy, anything to get some relief.

Its torture and thank the heavens that its a intermittent and not chronic condition
 
Casper said:
Sorry to hear that, maybe you can get some rest during the day, nothing really breaking until tonight anyway. Is there no treatment that helps?
Click to expand...

Dr's prescribe Benzodiazepines ( Xanax ) for it sometimes but I wont take it. I heard people taking muscle relaxers too but that doesn't make much sense.

Its a neurological disorder so they wouldn't be effective
 
Fenton said:
Im against legalization except for medical purposes and haven't touched the stuff in over 30 years.

I rarely drink and then only good Scotch and Im careful not to over do it. I hate taking anything that affects my mental acuity. i dont even like taking cold meds that cause drowsiness

But last night, after 4 to 5 hours of RLS I would have tried anything including a hot brownie spiked with hydro. I would have smoked heroin, snorted crushed Oxy, anything to get some relief.

Its torture and thank the heavens that its a intermittent and not chronic condition
Click to expand...

If the RLS is that bad sometimes, you might consider trying it at least. Again, no research, but a ton of personal/clinical experiences saying it helps a lot (if for only a few hours), especially at night. Whatever you end up doing, I hope it works out for you. I saw a few pharmaceutical drugs in the search results, but I didn't see any that are FDA approved, and probably come with a few side effects.
 
Fenton said:
Yep, I suffer from it time to time, and its not so much my legs as it is my right arm and upper body and it was kicking my ass last night

If you want to know what having RLS feels like, imagine the moment where you're just about to slip into REM sleep and then BAM !!

Electrical pulses shoot down your legs and arms causing them to jerk. This of-course wakes you up and the only way to stop it is to get out of bed and stand

They subside, so you try to go back to bed and just when you're starting to slip back into REM sleep, BAM !

This cycle goes on for HOURS, to the point where youre too exausted to stand anymore, but thats the only way to get relief.

You cant sit in your favorite chair and sleep, RLS will have none of that. Its for a lack of a better word torture and after 4 hours of it your begging God to put you out of your misery

Sure, a hot shower or bath helps, but its only temporary.
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear you're going through that!

I never knew what RLS is, and never thought of that you described.

We've all felt that from time to time, but this sounds hideous. I once suffered this after being medicated for a substantial period of time pre & post major surgery - it was a rebound effect during the subsequent drug withdrawal. Truly sucked. I would drift-off into deep sleep - then BAM! It was like a gun going off in my head, jolting me awake. Was so bad I feared going asleep! I believe they're technically called myoclonic jerks. Yes, they suck.

Could there be something in your life-style exasperating this? Like some stimulant your ingesting, or a recent period of drug or alcohol use? Just tossing thoughts out there.
 
shagg said:
If the RLS is that bad sometimes, you might consider trying it at least. Again, no research, but a ton of personal/clinical experiences saying it helps a lot (if for only a few hours), especially at night. Whatever you end up doing, I hope it works out for you. I saw a few pharmaceutical drugs in the search results, but I didn't see any that are FDA approved, and probably come with a few side effects.
Click to expand...

I've done a lot of research and marijuana's come up quite a bit.

Nothing else has been effective and I wouldn't hesitate to try it, even if it took the edge off I could at least get some sleep in my chair.

Getting only 2 hours of sleep also effects my mental acuity.

I like having a sharp mind but to be honest thats not the only reason Im hesitant to try marijuana or anything other drug for that matter.

I learned a long time ago that I have quite the addictive personality and the only way I could get out of the cycle of addiction I struggled with as a young man was to swear off anything and everything that could tempt me back into that self destructive lifestyle.

Ive been told Im a street smart Conservative and there's a damn good reason for that.

Sure, Im older and wiser but Im still me. That being said Ill definitely think about it and I thank you for your sincere interest and your advice
 
Fenton said:
Dr's prescribe Benzodiazepines ( Xanax ) for it sometimes but I wont take it. I heard people taking muscle relaxers too but that doesn't make much sense.

Its a neurological disorder so they wouldn't be effective
Click to expand...

The advantages of marijuana over Benzodizepines is the THC is not physically addictive. (mentally yes). I personally see nothing wrong with marijuana in moderation myself. I would not mind it being legalized, so I could have it as an option for aches and pains. One thing I noticed they had in Colorado is gum that is labeled with the doses of THC and CDB. If it was legal in my area, that probably would be my preferred method of use.
 
Fenton said:
Yep, I suffer from it time to time, and its not so much my legs as it is my right arm and upper body and it was kicking my ass last night

If you want to know what having RLS feels like, imagine the moment where you're just about to slip into REM sleep and then BAM !!

Electrical pulses shoot down your legs and arms causing them to jerk. This of-course wakes you up and the only way to stop it is to get out of bed and stand

They subside, so you try to go back to bed and just when you're starting to slip back into REM sleep, BAM !

This cycle goes on for HOURS, to the point where youre too exausted to stand anymore, but thats the only way to get relief.

You cant sit in your favorite chair and sleep, RLS will have none of that. Its for a lack of a better word torture and after 4 hours of it your begging God to put you out of your misery

Sure, a hot shower or bath helps, but its only temporary.
Click to expand...

I have RLS from time to time. I don't get the shocks you're describing, but I simply cannot CANNOT hold my legs still. Keeps me awake until I finally get up and sleep in a recliner. It doesn't seem to happen unless I'm lying full down.

I have noticed that I simply don't drink enough water/liquid during the day. Since I have purposefully had 16 oz of water about an hour and a half before bed, the episodes are much less frequent.

I feel your pain...
 
Fenton said:
Yep, I suffer from it time to time, and its not so much my legs as it is my right arm and upper body and it was kicking my ass last night

If you want to know what having RLS feels like, imagine the moment where you're just about to slip into REM sleep and then BAM !!

Electrical pulses shoot down your legs and arms causing them to jerk. This of-course wakes you up and the only way to stop it is to get out of bed and stand

They subside, so you try to go back to bed and just when you're starting to slip back into REM sleep, BAM !

This cycle goes on for HOURS, to the point where youre too exausted to stand anymore, but thats the only way to get relief.

You cant sit in your favorite chair and sleep, RLS will have none of that. Its for a lack of a better word torture and after 4 hours of it your begging God to put you out of your misery

Sure, a hot shower or bath helps, but its only temporary.
Click to expand...

CRAP !!! :eek:
 
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