Restless Legs?????

[donnia]

Does anyone else experience this?  Lately this has reallllly bothered me.  Anyone got any suggestions to releave it?

[keefer51]

Most people on dialysis get what they call "Restless leg syndrome" You have a tendency to shake you legs and feet till you tire. I was told that it is dialysis related. I take 300mg of Gabapentin. I only get a occasional feet twitch now. I can honestly say this drug helps. There are other drugs that help. I am sure you will get some good ideas from the rest of the IHD family.

[donnia]

Thanks!  The sad part is, I'm not even on dialysis yet 

[keefer51]

It doesn't appear that restless leg is just for dialysis patients. I see a commercial for "Requip" I'm not sure how good that works. There are other drugs too. I take mine at bed time.

[glitter]

http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=3325.0

http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=2484.0

http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=196.0

http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=381.0

there are mulitiple links about this that may give you an answer- don't forget there is a search feature at IHD that allows you to search past discussions...

[goofynina]

Thank you so much for pointing that out Glitter  

[Sluff]

donnia you can find those links under other medical conditions. Thanks glitter

[pierrat]

I use to have it but then i started bringing my own cushion to dialysis and prop it under my knee's and its all gone away. I think for me it was because they didnt have enough support in the chair for my legs to get comfortable. Anyhow, when I mean a cushion I dont mean a pillow, but something thats about a foot thick of foam, works like a charm.

[Rerun]

It is good to talk about things again and again.  With new drugs and technology coming out a fresh thread is always good.

     

[KICKSTART]

I take Co-beneldopa . its given to people with Parkinsons to help with the shakes , it works great for me on my legs!

[jedimaster]

I started having restless legs way before dialysis....they gave me a small dose of Clonazepam...that took care of it. Ask your neph....they KNOW that is part of the kidney failure deal...they will help you out!

[Chicken Little]

I have it.  Some days are worse than others.  I take so many pills now though, I hesitate to add another to the ever expanding daily cocktail.     

[LightLizard]

Bending and straightening the legs, one at a time, while in bed, is what I find useful.
Lift the foot off of the bed as high as you can, bend the knee and hold for a few seconds. Do it several times with each leg, and you might find relief.
Adding more meds is always the quick fix, but it sure is nice to find a more natural solution, if you can.

love

~LL~

[Sara]

Yup, Joe has it really bad.  When it's acting up during dialysis, he'll have to sit on the edge of his chair or stand up.  It's also bad at night, and he moves from bed to chair several times a night.  He takes Requip for dialysis and at night and it helps, although it doesn't completely make it go away.

[donnia]

You know, I never noticed the search option... thanks for pointing that out!!


Thanks for your ideas on how to lessen the restless leg symptoms naturally... I take so much medication (like all of you) that I reallllly don't want to add to it.  I will try y'alls ideas!

Thanks again!

[kianhu]

Neurontin is also a suggestion. 

[Sluff]

Thanks for your ideas on how to lessen the restless leg symptoms naturally... I take so much medication (like all of you) that I reallllly don't want to add to it. 

When it gets bad enough you will, trust me.

[luckaholic]

I used to get it so bad I barely slept a wink at night and I kept my partner up all night shaking the bed. I also get awful tingling crawly feelings in my feet and quite a bit of pain. I take gabapentin 300mg (post dialysis only, as it dialyses off) and I honestly have never been better. The restlessness has drastically reduced, I can get to sleep without creating an earthquake, and the pain and tingling is under control as well. Before I started this drug I honestly dont know how I coped with it for nearly 2 years with no treatment.

I tried clonazepam but it only helped for a few weeks and it can be habit forming.

I spoke to my doctor about this a few weeks ago and he said Gabapentin is the most effective, the only downside is it is the most expensive. The only reason why they may try you on things like clonazepam, is the lower cost. The good thing is, if you are on hemo it is alot cheaper as you only take it between dialysis sessions.
I am always reluctant to add anymore medications, but like Sluff said, this is one medication you will not want to do without if the symptoms get bad.

[skyedogrocks]

Rob has this.  Since he started home hemo (Nx Stage), it has basically disappered.  When he was in-center, his restless legs would eventually turn into cramping.  He is prone to cramping as a diabetic, add in dialysis and it was a painful combination.  One of his nurses who is a 25 year long veteran said it was the worst cramping she had ever seen.

Rob took off too much fluid last night and had the restless legs and slight cramping.  I had to give back saline in order to stop it.  But overall, the home hemo really does help it, alot.

Larraine

[Sara]

Joe's RLS has gotten really bad the last few weeks.  He went to some kind of specialist the other day and that Dr. said he can take up 8 - yes, 8 - Requip's per day.     I guess we don't have to worry about his kidneys, but how about his other organs?

[Stacy Without An E]

The Restless Leg Syndrome attacks me when my phosphorous gets too high (too many Mountain Dew's at work)  I also have been diagnosed with sleep apnea and one of the reasons I was waking up is because my legs kick.  He prescribed ReQuip with good results.  I take it about a half hour before I go to bed and it seems to help so the commercials are true.

[larry781]

Hi!
Don't know if anyone is still following this thread, but restless legs is a problem I have battled. It becomes especially tiresome during treatment, when, of course, you have to sit still for 4+ hours.

Here is some of the (drug free) things that have helped me:

>Bicycling both on my street bike and my stationary bike (I realize that this solution can not be used by everyone)

>Wrapping ace bandages snugly (but not tightly) around my calfs, with special attention given to the area just below the back of the knee.

>Massage in the same areas

>Runner's style stretching exercises just before treatment.

If you give these a try, I hope they work for you!

Larry from Long Island

[Sluff]

What I thought was RLS turned out to be Neuropathy.