Restless Leg Syndrome
As long as I can remember I have had ‘fidgety feet’, or as I found out recently the technical term is Restless Leg Syndrome. I was quite surprised to find out I had a syndrome, but it sounds more serious than it actually is. Well, that is for those of us who only have mild symptoms!
As soon as I discovered that I had this condition it was all plain sailing, but thank goodness I found out it was treatable! For years I suffered from this ‘strange’ feeling in my legs that was sometimes uncontrollable. I decided enough was enough and started to research the symptoms. What I found was that 3% of the population suffer from restless leg syndrome so badly that they suffer sleep depravation. I was astounded!
And there’s more, restless leg syndrome is in fact classed as a sleep disorder. What? I know this sounds odd, but the ‘fidgety feet’ I had did in fact stop me from going off to sleep immediately. If fact the feelings came on more in the evenings as and when I wanted to go to sleep. This also caused issues from time to time with my wife as I kept her awake with my restlessness. I can tell you that I had to spend a few nights on the couch sleeping with the dog, and that was the final straw. But there’s more, did you know that 1 in 10 people admit to suffering from the symptoms of restless leg syndrome. Now that is a lot of people with ‘fidgety feet’!
So what are the symptoms, you may have noticed me mention a few already, but here are a few of them listed:-
1) An urge to move your legs
2) An uncomfortable ‘feeling’ inside your leg
3) These ‘feelings’ stop you going off to sleep
4) You sometimes get involuntary leg jerks.
It was a revelation to me, knowing that so many other people were suffering from the same condition. I felt vindicated. Years of suffering but not being able to explain this feeling to anyone, well not without getting strange looks! I found out that restless leg syndrome is more prevalent in women; in fact 80% of sufferers are women. Also I found out that most sufferers are middle aged, so I am definitely not a model case being male and in my 40’s.
The causes of restless leg syndrome are not really understood to this day. There are many theories but nothing that explains it in full. What studies have found out is that restless leg syndrome may be triggered by alcohol, tobacco and caffeine! Just my luck! However this is not true in all cases.
There is no test for restless leg syndrome; diagnosis is a series of questions as above to determine if you are a sufferer. I imagine that some doctors would be quick to prescribe drugs, but that was not for me. I wanted to find a solution that was drug free, supplement free and did not affect my diet if possible. Well I am glad to say I found it.
You too can use this information to your advantage, and thankfully it is simple and quick. I overcame my condition so quickly I was astounded!
Now I am happy to say I am free from restless leg syndrome and can now leave the dog to the couch! I urge others who may find my story of interest to follow the same route I did. However I am sure there are other way to overcome this condition, but only if you are happy to start taking drugs etc.
I hope you find a way to overcome restless leg syndrome, do not suffer in silence, it is a treatable condition that should not go unchecked. Make a positive difference to your life now and overcome restless leg syndrome today!
