Restless Leg Syndrome Has it Got a Hold on You

By now, we've all seen the ubiquitous TV commercials featuring some poor soul writhing in bed, unable to get a decent night's sleep due to the irritating symptoms of restless leg syndrome.  Many of us do have occasional bouts with leg cramps, charley horses, or aching legs, and we wonder:  could this be restless leg syndrome? Where did this come from?How did I get it?And what the heck can I do about it? Let's start with the basics
Restless leg syndrome (RLS) is nothing new.  In fact, as far back as 1683, Thomas Willis, who was writing a medical book at the time, described RLS in a chapter he titled, "Instructions for Curing the Watching Evil".  Willis suggested the disease was caused by "convulsive distempers".   Luckily for you, things have been updated, and here is the modern criteria for RLS diagnosis:
You have a strong urge to move your legs which you may not be able to resist.  This is often accompanied by very uncomfortable sensations.
The symptoms become much worse when resting.  The longer you rest or relax, the worse it gets.
The symptoms get better when you move your legs; sometimes immediate relief is felt.  As long as you are moving, you feel better.
Symptoms are worse in the evening, especially when lying down.  Activities that bother you at night are not a problem during the day.
RLS affects an estimated 7-10% of the European and North American population.  Only a minority experience daily or severe symptoms.  It's twice as common in women, and white people are much more prone to RLS than black people.  Only 3% of individuals from the Mediterranean or Middle East have it, and an estimated 1-5% of those in the Far East.  Thus, researchers believe that genetic inheritance or environmental factors like diet may play a role.  It is more common in people who have an iron deficiency, end-stage renal disease, and pregnancy.  About 25% of pregnant women experience RLS during their third trimester.
Some people have mild symptoms and consider RLS merely an occasional annoyance; others have a major problem with it. RLS is a neurological disease; it's generally considered a lifelong condition with no cure.  Symptoms may worsen with age, although many people have remission periods where symptoms disappear for days, weeks, even months, only to eventually reappear.  A diagnosis of RLS does not indicate or foreshadow another neurological disease.
RLS causes a sensation most often described as uncomfortable, electrical, creeping, itching, pins and needles, creepy-crawly, or antsy.  It is sometimes described as a numbness or like a body part has "fallen asleep".
Movement of some kind usually brings relief, though it may be temporary and only partial.  Different activities may work to alleviate symptoms, among them walking, stretching, yoga and biking.  Often a continuous, rapid, up and down leg movement, or a rapid, scissors-type sideways leg movement can help.
Sitting down to watch TV or read, or lying down can often trigger the uncomfortable sensations that accompany RLS, with most people reporting the onset in the evening or at bedtime. RLS is much less prevalent in the morning for most people, although some suffer throughout the day as well.   Needless to say, this can bring great difficulty in sleeping, with resultant problems such as being late to work or school, missing appointments or events due to drowsiness or impaired driving.  Many people report their worst symptoms when forced to sit for long periods of time, such as on an airplane or taking a long car trip, attending a lengthy meeting or watching a performance.
An increased level of mental awareness may help.  Working a crossword, doing Soduku, or playing a game of cards or Scrabble before bedtime may help.
About 60% of cases seem to be genetic.  No one knows the exact cause.  The most commonly associated medical condition with RLS is iron deficiency, accounting for about 20% of all cases.  Other associated conditions are varicose veins, folate and/or magnesium deficiency, fibromyalgia, sleep apnea, uremia, diabetes, thyroid disease, peripheral neuropathy, and Parkinson's disease.  Auto-immune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, celiac disease, and Sjogren's syndrome may also play a part.
Certain medications may also worsen RLS:
Antiemetic (used to treat naseau)
antihistamines (including over-the-counter cold medicine)
 many antidepressants
antipsychotics
anticonvulsants
RLS can be an unpleasant side effect from discontinuing tranquillizers, sleeping pills, or withdrawal from opioids.  Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) seems to worsen RLS symptoms.
A note of caution: while some RLS sufferers have low iron levels, many do not.  Never take an iron supplement without first speaking to your doctor and having your iron level tested. Taking iron when it's not needed can cause iron overload disorder, a potentially fatal condition.  While uncomfortable, RLS is in itself not a fatal disease.  Educate yourself, keep a sense of balance about it, and speak with your medical professional.   Above all, don't stress!   That definitely only makes it worse, and that's absolutely the last thing you need, isn't it?

Restless Legs Syndrome What Your Doctor Doesn't Know

If you have restless legs syndrome (RLS), you know how emotionally and physically aggravating it can be. Annoyingly, this terrible affliction can rob you of your sleep and keep you awake long after you should have fallen into a peaceful night slumber. Those creepy crawly compulsive leg movements affect not only your nights but extends throughout your entire life. Loss of your precious sleep decreases your enjoyment of life and affects not only your nights but your waking hours also because you are tired, cranky and struggle to stay conscious. You can’t even focus throughout the day exhausted from lack of sleep. The tormenting twitching and need to kick your legs affects not only you but your spouse also. Either your spouse has moved to the couch or you have. Likely, your doctor has prescribed you Mirapex or Requip for your restless leg syndrome (RLS.) These medications don’t work for everyone and may have unpleasant side effects.  The most common Mirapex side effects are nausea sleeplessness, constipation, involuntary movement, dizziness upon standing and hallucinations. You've may have tried liniments, herbal remedies, acupuncture, and special teas to no avail. So what causes restless leg syndrome (RLS). The cause of restless leg syndrome is unknown but let’s see if by looking at conditions associated with restless legs syndrome we can find a common factor and clue as to its cause. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke states some conditions associated with restless legs syndrome (RLS) are pregnancy, obesity, smoking, iron deficiency anemia, hypothyroidism, and kidney disease. Caffeine and alcohol have also been associated with restless legs syndrome (RLS.) Hypoxia is where the body or part of the body is deprived of adequate oxygen. Iron deficiency anemia is where there is a lack of iron. Iron is an important part of hemoglobin that carries oxygen in the blood. A lack of oxygen is again, hypoxia. In pregnancy there is almost a 50% increase in blood for the baby. Many times there is not enough iron available to keep up with this increased need and therefore approximately 20% of women end up with anemia. Anemia equals hypoxia.

There is also an association between obesity and hypoxia although it is not well understood.  Do I need to tell you that smoking can cause hypoxia?  Iron deficiency anemia is also more common with hypothyroidism.  Kidney disease and patients on dialysis are also carefully evaluated for, you guessed it anemia. Did you know that the use of coffee and tea (caffeine) reduces the non heme iron absorption of a meal by approximately 50% and thereby once again causes anemia.  Alcohol in addition to being associated with anemia can cause clumping up of erythrocytes (red blood cells.) As the blood vessel get smaller and smaller the red blood cells can clog up and thereby cause a diminished oxygen delivery to the cells (hypoxia.)  Well, we have looked at several conditions or factors that can cause anemia and thereby cause hypoxia. Is there any scientific literature to more directly to support the issue of restless legs syndrome (RLS) and hypoxia. An article entitled “Outcome of restless legs severity after continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) treatment in patients affected by the association of RLS and obstructive sleep apneas” from Sleep Medicine April 2006 concludes: Our findings suggest that not only fatigue and sleepiness but also the severity of RLS show a favorable response to CPAP in the group of patients with OSAS and RLS.  CPAP stands for continuous passive air pressure and OSAS stands for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Although a CPAP machine does not produce oxygen enriched air, it does produce more oxygen than not getting enough air of any kind at all as in the case of sleep apnea. Here RLS is seen more frequently with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease COPD (HYPOXIA?) A Sleep Medicine November 2008 article entitled “Increased frequency of restless legs syndrome in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients” concludes: RLS is a frequent cause of disabling sleep disturbance in patients with COPD and should be specifically investigated in these patients. This time from the Canadian journal of neurological science July 2008. Conclusion: we conclude that RLS is frequent in COPD, particularly in patients with severe hypoxemia/hypercapnia and in late stages of the disease. Hypoxemia is low oxygen in the blood. One more time! Sleep Medicine November 2008.  Conclusions: RLS is a frequent cause of disabling sleep disturbance in patients with COPD and should be specifically investigated in these patients. How about lung transplant patients do you suppose they might be oxygen deficient? Journal of Heart Lung Transplant January 2007. Conclusion: There was a very high prevalence of RLS in our lung transplant population and most patients had moderate or severe symptoms. Although the exact cause of restless legs syndrome (RLS has not been found I think the above has made the case for at best an association between hypoxia and restless legs syndrome (RLS.) In my office we attempt to address all neurologic conditions with our Neuron Fuel Program, which includes supporting the nervous system with oxygen.   He has additional sub-specialty training in electro diagnosis, vestibular disorders and CNBD. He is one of the few chiropractors in the country board certified in both chiropractic neurology and chiropractic orthopedics. In 1989 he was one af 11 doctors out of 60,000 chosen by the American Chiropractic Association to start the first Chiropractic Neurology Board.  For information regarding the oxygen concentrator that Dr. Mane recommends visit www.neuronfuel.com. To learn more about Dr. Mane, D.C., P.A. and his practice go to www.manecenter.com

Symptoms of Restless Leg Syndrome - What To Look For

Since restless leg syndrome affects up to only ten percent of the population, a person would often not know that they have it. Restless leg syndrome is actually a disease where you experience an uncomfortable feeling in your legs. This can range from a mild to a painful feeling.Here are some symptoms to watch out for that could possibly be ruled as a restless leg syndrome.
Do you feel the urge to move your legs when you lie down or sit? Chances are you have restless leg syndrome. Most people that have this disease have this feeling to move their legs since they would experience an uncomfortable feeling in it. The feeling would usually disappear once the legs are moved.
Does your leg move involuntarily even when you are awake? People with restless leg syndrome often do not have control of their leg movements. It has become an involuntary action due to the brain already conditioned to move your legs whenever it gets an irritating feeling.
Are you unable to sleep at night due to your constant leg movement? Restless leg syndrome is more evident at night when a person is at rest. During this time a person with this disease would constantly move their legs as soon as they feel something irritating. This would often keep you awake all throughout the night.
Do you feel drowsiness during the day? People with restless leg syndrome often have little sleep at night since this disease strikes the most when you are at rest. In the morning, you would often feel sleepy due to lack of rest.
Does your medical checkup show nothing? Restless leg syndrome is often not detected easily by the doctor. When you go to have a check up the symptoms would strangely not appear thus a doctor cannot  immediately conclude that you have a restless leg syndrome.
If you answered yes to most of these questions then chances are you have restless leg syndrome.

The Dancing Doberman Disease Syndrome

 Dancing Doberman disease (DDD or Distal Polyneuropathy) - also known as Dancing Doberman Syndrome - is a disease only seen in Doberman dogs, primarily affects their gastrocnemius muscle. A simple description of DDD is one of a progressive disease, usually first involving the holding up of one rear leg while the dog is standing. Over several months the condition advances with a wasting of the rear leg muscles and a more constant shifting of weight on the rear legs that resembles a dog "dancing". Frequently these dogs will knuckle over with their rear paws and ultimately prefer to sit or lie down rather than stand. No known cause of this disease and the presumption that genetics must play a role in this syndrome.  The disease is similar to hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathies in humans. In some cases, there is a sensation of burning soles or discomfort with pressure on the feet. A similar sensation might cause constant lifting of the feet in dogs with Dancing Doberman Disease.Dancing Doberman Disease symptoms normally appear when the dog is 6-7 months old, but the age of onset can vary from just 4 months to up to 10 years. Both males and females are affected. Most affected dogs have normal findings on other tests, including blood counts, biochemistry, x-ray, and thyroid function. When the dog is standing, one of its rear legs will suddenly flex. Over the course of the following months, the problem will usually start affecting the other hind leg as well. A dog with Dancing Doberman Disease can end up alternatively flexing and extending each rear leg and this behaviour is the reason behind the name of this health problem. Many dogs will start knuckling over their rear paws and some dogs will eventually avoid standing all together; they will prefer to lie or sit. They can however still be perfectly capable of running around. There is no signs of pain associated with Dancing Doberman Disease.  Dancing Doberman Disease can mimic many other conditions such as lumbosacral disc disease, cervical vertebral instability (CVI), inflammation of the spinal cord, spinal arthritis, cauda equina syndrome, some nervous system maladies, and spinal tumors. Hyperactive tendon and muscle reflexes with gastrocnemius muscle atrophy are early clinical signs, followed by more extensive pelvic limb muscle atrophy as the disease progresses. Proprioceptive deficits are seen occasionally. It is likely the condition is more prevalent than previously recognized because there is a general lack of awareness on the part of veterinarians and breeders, and therefore, the condition is often overlooked as a diagnosis. On different diagnosis, lumbosacral stenosis, intervertebral disc disease, and discospondylitis of the lower lumbar spine are usually painful. Also neoplasia of the lumbar spinal cord or nerve roots progresses more rapidly and can be painful. At the moment, there is no know cure or treatment for Dancing Doberman Disease. On the positive side, most dogs with DDD live to be as old as any other Doberman and the condition appears to be completely painless for the dog. A majority of the affected dogs can still walk. Dancing Doberman Disease is however a progressing disease that will cause increasingly weak legs and muscle atrophy.

What Causes Restless Leg Syndrome - Things To Know

 If you constantly move your feet around to get rid of that irritating feeling that occurs most of the time then chances are you have restless leg syndrome. This disease has been known for quite some time now but its cause is still not clear. It was thought that certain abnormalities in a persons blood or nerves that controlled the legs caused this disease but was soon found to be untrue. There is an ongoing research right now linking abnormalities in a persons neurotransmitters to this disease but no conclusive evidence is yet available.There are however some underlying factors that may cause a person to have restless leg syndrome.

Lack of vitamins : When a person lacks vitamins such as iron and folic acid the chances of getting restless leg syndrome increases. Pregnancy : Pregnant women usually need lots of iron than they normally would have needed. Because of this most pregnant women develop restless leg syndrome during their third trimester.Hereditary: If you come from a line of family that suffers from restless leg syndrome then your chances of getting it increase as well.Damage to nerves: Certain conditions arise that leads to restless leg syndrome when your leg nerves are damaged.Kidney Failure: This condition may trigger restless leg syndrome in a person.Arthritis: When the joints in your legs have arthritis there is a great chance that it can trigger restless leg syndrome as well.Parkinson's disease: This is a serious condition where a person's muscles move involuntarily.These are just some of the causes known to trigger restless leg syndrome. Since scientists are still finding the exact reason it is best that we gather all information we can get regarding the cause of this disease. Although this is no a life threatening condition it can seriously affect a persons way of life.

Requip Can Treat Disorders Like Parkinson's Disease And Restless Leg Syndrome

Parkinson's disease or PD is a disorder where there is degeneration of the central nervous system that damages the patient's motor skills, speech and various other actions. It belongs to a particular group of ailments called the 'movement disorders' and is often typified by inflexibility of the muscles, tremor and slow movements of the limbs. The Restless Leg Syndrome or RLS is another disorder which is characterized by the urge to move one's body to arrest uneasy and strange feelings. It generally affects the legs but can also affect the arms and torso too. Making some sort of movement of some part of the body offers stop-gap relief to the sufferer.Requip that is manufactured by the pharmaceutical giants Glaxo Smith Kline is said to be one of the most efficient drugs to treat both these disorders. It is in a class called the dopamine agonists. This medication that contains Ropinirole hydrochloride is a drug that is available only by prescription is said to enhance the amount of dopamine in the brain to make the nerves in the nerves believe that there is more dopamine in the brain than there really is, so that they function better. This aids in reducing the symptoms of both PD and RLS.Requip is generally available in the form of tablets that are taken three times daily for Parkinson's disease and once daily for Rest Leg Syndrome. It is advisable to take this medication along with some meal so as to reduce the feeling of queasiness. Taking the drug as per the prescription will produce the best results.Most of the patients who have been on Requip have adjusted well to it though there have been cases of side effects like giddiness, tightening in your chest, tremors, hallucinations etc. If any of these symptoms persist ensure that the patient sees the doctor. It would be a good idea to refrain form consuming alcohol when you are on Requip.Requip is a well known drug and at the same time it is widely considered as the best option for most of the strange diseases that you might come along. It is always advised to buy these drugs at a Canadian pharmacy, as you can save a lot of time and money.

PAD Disease Just One of a Handful of Serious Vascular Diseases

Vascular diseases cause blockages in blood vessels and/or cause plaque buildup on the sides of the blood vessels. These blockages and plaque buildup restrict blood flow to the heart and brain causing heart attack, stroke, and even death. Let's take a look at the different types of vascular diseases.
Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) Peripheral arterial disease, also known as PAD, is being recognized by more and more cardiac professionals. It afflicts as many as 10 to 12 million Americans and is a condition of the peripheral arteries, the blood vessels outside of the heart. Plaque from fat and cholesterol accumulate on the vessel walls, in turn narrowing the passage through the artery and significantly slowing down blood flow. Symptoms are often reported as leg pain, toe pain, tiredness in the legs, color or temperature changes in the lower legs, ulcers, numbness, and sores.
To screen for PAD, a simple test called ABI (ankle-brachial index) is performed. The test measures blood pressure in the arm and ankle while resting and then again after exercise. The ABI can determine if blood pressure is lower in the legs which can indicate PAD as well as risk for other vascular diseases.
Venous Disease  Comprised of varicose veins and chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), venous disease occurs when the valves inside the veins become damaged and do not open and close properly. The result is pooling blood or swelling in the veins which can slow down blood flow and cause blood clots.
Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) DVT is a blood clot in a deep vein, usually in the leg. Symptoms are often swelling in one leg, pain or tenderness in one leg, increased warmth in one leg, or changes in skin color in one leg. DVT is considered an acute medical condition as opposed to a chronic one. Acute medical conditions appear and change or worsen rapidly. With DVT a blood clot can travel to the heart, brain, or lungs causing a heart attack, stroke or pulmonary embolism. DVT is caused by extended sedentary positions including long plane flights or extended hospital stays. The best prevention against DVT is to minimize risk factors for developing the blood clot in the first place.
Minimize Risk Factors for Vascular Disease You can reduce your risk of vascular disease on your own through healthy changes in your lifestyle. These changes include stopping tobacco use, controlling your blood sugar and cholesterol levels, reducing saturated fat consumption, along with weight-bearing and cardiovascular exercise.