The great thing about lots of physical health issues is that it balances my neuroticism. Balance soothes my OCD. Balance doesn’t soothe my restless legs.
The restless leg syndrome (RLS) emerged after I stopped taking benzodiazepines. It’s a not-uncommon problem related to benzos that nobody mentions. Thank God I was just starting in-patient treatment for my eating disorder and wasn’t under any particular stress.
The first benzo-free days were sheer misery: the RLS wasn’t confined to evenings and nights early on. The burning pain and imperative movement happened 24-7. I learned that pounding my fists into my thighs in a vicious massage helps. So do calcium-magnesium supplements (they help chronically, and also as an immediate pain killer when things get bad).
On the bright side, even without withdrawal I’d probably have inherited RLS from my mother. Her type one diabetes aside (it was caused by an infection in the pancreas), we seem to be twins in the negative health happenings. Bad news for me: our osteoarthritis gene is thrilled. Mine appears to be winning. I’m so glad to be adding to the restless legs base.
Thus ends my introduction to an excellent read on the subject.
“Ayurvedic Treatment for Restless Legs Syndrome (Willis-Ekbom disease)”
Restless legs syndrome (RLS), as the name suggests is a condition where the person is forced by himself and his legs are voluntarily shaken or moved uncontrollably for a long time in a day. It is a nervous system disorder that causes an overpowering urge to move the legs. It’s also known as Willis-Ekbom disease. […]
Ayurvedic Treatment for RESTLESS LEGS (Willis-Ekbom disease)
From Famine to Feast. 
This is possibly slightly off topic but what are your thoughts on Egyptian cotton sheets?
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I love them. Texture is important to me. I thought I’d love flannel, but so is temperature and those get too hot. I like to be able to find a cool spot for the feet 😁
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Hugs. I have RLS. It…isn’t fun. Also, hi again. I’ve been AWOL in burnout but trying now to reengage slowly with the world again.
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Hello 💖 I’m glad to hear from you. You’ve been missed. I’m sorry about the burnout: it isn’t fun. Sending hugs back as you re-engage. Take it slowly.
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Is RLS more common at during the daytime when you are on your feet, or at night time when laying down?
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In the early days of my PAWS (withdrawal syndrome) it was day and night, up or down. These days it’s more common at night, but it can also happen when I’m sitting. It doesn’t usually happen when I’m on my feet – exercise is one of the ways to deal – but we’ll have to have another post to talk about swollen ankles.
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One of my friends has had quite serious nerve pain in her lower back for months. They sent her for an MRI and it was the first clue about what was going on. She is having surgery to remove a growth that has been pressing against her spine. She been prescribed a variety of painkillers by Doctors, but since she began taking meds for nerve pain, her legs have been tingling with pins and needles, or becoming numb, and when she is on her feet they are constantly in motion, jumping and twitching. She says the only relief she gets is when she lies down and the pain seems to fade out of her.
I was confused because I have known many effected by RLS who said it is more at night they have those movements.
She has found it hard to exercise other than her physiotherapy stretches and aqua-therapy because walking has become intensely painful for her. We are really hoping the surgery will be a success and she can start making a recovery.
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Wow. That is so awful, though great that they caught onto what was happening. That can sometimes take years.
If it works for her med regime, have her try the cal-mag. I consider it my miracle pill/mineral supplement lol.
Sending healing energy her way, and hopes that the surgery is fully successful.
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I know this is not new to you but still – ain’t it fun how things just keep popping up?
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So yesterday, day three of neuralgia on top of the other stuff, I stumbled into the kitchen when I woke up for a glass of juice. There was a dead beetle in it. And, when I opened my blinds, the string snapped. I must have broken a mirror I don’t remember, or stepped on the wrong spider 😬
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Ehh… I hear ya. Life is such a sick joke sometimes. It is times like this that I wonder if all the ‘bad’ people in the world have to deal with such crap or is it just the ‘good’ folks that get their asses kicked.
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I’d like a prison wing full of migraines and shingles 🤠
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