Restless Leg Syndrome Treatment Some Current Medications

A number of prescription drugs are available as restless leg treatments. You should be fully aware though that they all come with possible side effects and some severe downsides. The access and control of drugs varies from country to country so you will need to check with your doctor or pharmacists for local details.

Quinine Sulphate is generally prescribed for malaria or leg cramps but can be an effective for restless leg syndrome treatment. It’s initial use can be very effective but it is likely to become ineffective quite quickly if taken daily. There is a serious problem with overdose as the line between normal dose and overdose is quite small. Other serious side effects are only recently being understood and most practitioners will not now prescribe quinine except for malaria.

Levadopa is regularly prescribed as a restless leg syndrome treatment. The best known is probably Madopar. Current thinking believes that RLS stems from problems in the brain rather than the legs. This is supported by the almost absolute effectiveness of levadopa. Levadopa is a substance that the brain converts into dopamine which in turn controls the movement/brain interconnection. Unfortunately the body suffers from extreme nausea when it produces dopamine (as the drug will be in your whole body and not just your brain) so an additional drug (benserazide hydrochloride) is mixed with it to stop that side effect. Levadopa tablets or capsules come as 12.5/50 or 25/100 where the larger number is levadopa in mg and the smaller number is the anti nausea drug.

These drugs have a number of problems. Firstly they will become ineffective over time. Secondly they can cause augmentation where the actual symptoms can become worse, they can happen earlier in the day or later during the night and can can expand to other parts of the body. Taking higher doses work for a short while but the same cycle will continue. Side effects often include pains in the extremities i.e. feet and toes. Life threatening side effects are known when taking higher doses but this is more normally seen in Parkinson’s disease patients where levadopa is extensively used as a treatment. 200mg per day or more is considered a high dose.

See more on this in my previous post Restless Leg Syndrome Treatment Some More Current Medications

All you want is to get rid of those horrible feelings in your legs but drugs are not always the answer

Dopermine agonists are more recent restless leg syndrome treatments. In their early use they seemed to be a miracle cure as the drugs seemed to suffer much less from augmentation and failing efficacy. More recently though there have been some big problems beginning to show through. The two name you will likely see most are Mirapex (pramipexole) and Requip (ropinirole). A third contender Permax (pergolide) was removed from sale in the US as it was shown to cause heart valve issues in patients.

The list of potentially dangerous side effects of these drugs is well documented but more recently there have been cases reported of the treatments causing ’social addiction’  problems in patients including gambling addiction, sex addiction and shop lifting.

One of the newest contenders is Neupro (rotigotine). Another restless leg treatment that showed great promise initially. Although another dopamine agonist rotigotine is applied to the skin in a patch, much like a nicotine patch. The idea was to give a very low dose over 24 hours. The idea being reduced side effects and greater efficacy. Unfortunately the actual patch mechanism has proved a problem and the US and many European countries have now recalled the patches. Side effects seem to be mainly related to skin reactions to the actual patches although this is a new drug and , like it’s predecessors, I am sure time will tell if it is the miracle we are all looking for .

Another drug group used to treat restless leg symptoms is benzodiazepine, a family of drugs including Clonazepam (klonopin) and Valium (diazepam ). Primarily used to treat anxiety they act to inhibit brain activity. They are effective as ’sleeping tablets’ and can enable severe RLS sufferers to catch up on some sleep but the side effects are well documented but the most obvious and most impractical is the sedation effect that lasts well into the next day if taken at night. In many cases taking these drugs at night means you should not drive the next day and normal work functions can be seriously impaired until well into thee afternoon. These can also be highly addictive if taken regularly so your doctor is likely to only prescribe a few tablets at a time.

The bottom line is that you would be advised to avoid taking any drugs for RLS unless absolutely necessary. You should pursue all natural avenues before taking this route. I speak as a sufferer and not a medical practitioner so I understand the drive to ‘take the easy fix’ but none of the medications above seem to be a long term solution.

There are many prescription drugs available but you should get all the facts and think very carefully before taking them.

Restless leg syndrome is also known as Ekbom syndrome. Named after Dr Ekbom who characterized RLS as a creeping or crawling sensation in the legs over which you have no control, accompanied by an irresistible urge to move your legs. The symptoms generally appear when the suffer is at rest especially in the evenings or night time  The feeling has been given numerous descriptions by sufferers ranging from actual pain to burning or itching or even things crawling inside their legs. If you are a sufferer you will already know just how hard it is to describe the feelings.

The feelings in your legs can make it almost impossible for you to rest or sleep.  Lack of sleep aggravates the symptoms creating  a vicious circle of restless leg and fatigue. In severe cases the lack of sleep can make it impossible for the sufferer to perform normally during the day and can bring about all the side effects of sleep deprivation.

About 10 percent of the population is affected by this disorder. Anyone can get restless leg syndrome but it more commonly begins in middle age. Although many people are life long sufferers from early teens or even early school age. In many of these cases there appears to be a hereditary factor. Some other well know triggers are hormonal changes, diabetes, stress, and pregnancy. In the case of the later two the cessation of the cause (I.e. de-stressing or giving birth) will stop RLS symptoms immediately.

The symptoms of restless leg can be aggravated by drinking alcohol and by smoking. Some medications like antihistamines are also known cause or aggravate the restless leg syndrome symptoms.

When the symptoms start you just cannot keep those legs still.

At present, there is unfortunately not a single cure that will work for every single person suffering from restless leg syndrome. But it is possible to ease the symptoms for many sufferers, and if the cause of the restless leg syndrome can be determined and successfully treated, then the syndrome will cease to be a problem. Any of the activities below could be your restless leg syndrome cure.

With any case of restless leg syndrome the most important thing to do is to try to determine any underlying disease that could be causing the syndrome. For instance, iron deficiency anaemia can be a cause of restless leg syndrome, so your doctor may perform blood tests to check for it.

You should be checked for vitamin or mineral deficiencies, and if you have any they should be treated.  If either if the above is causing your symptoms this can seem like a miracle cure.

Reducing your caffeine and alcohol consumption and stopping smoking can sometimes make a big difference. You should look at any prescription drugs you are taking that could be causing the syndrome as a side effect.  Antihistamines for example are know to cause RLS as  side effect

Getting more sleep per night and increasing your level of daily exercise can also be highly beneficial for some individuals with restless leg syndrome. Warm baths, hot and cold packs and massage can also provide some benefit.

Stretching can provide immediate relief for some; the theory is that when you’ve kept your legs in one position for too long, the muscles in your legs contract, causing them to move. Try to touch your toes three times for fifteen seconds each.

Finally, a variety of prescription medications are used to try and cure restless leg syndrome, including quinine, levadopa, dopamine agonists, opiates and anti-convulsants. These should be a last resort and you should only use these drugs under the care of your doctor.

All these drugs have side effects or downsides so you should always try to find natural solution for your particular restless leg syndrome cure.

Straight legs, lock your knees and touch your toes. Pull and stretch the tendons at the back of the leg. It can be a little uncomfortable but can also be a quick fix.

How can you combat that irresistible urge to move your legs. That creeping or crawling sensations deep in your legs. Not everyone responds the same to treatments but here are a few things you can try.

Exercise your feet by moving your feet back and forth, pivoting at the ankle.
Walk around before bedtime. Your symptoms will cease and in many cases give relief long enough to get to sleep.

Change your sleeping positions In some cases certain sleep position can aggravate RLS

Take daily multi vitamins as Iron deficiency is a know cause for some RLS sufferers . Other vitamin deficiencies may also cause or aggravate restless leg syndrome.

Try taking two aspirins just before bed ,this has been known to help many suffers. No one really knows exactly why.

Eat your meals well before bedtime as it may be that digestive activities from late meals can agrivate RLS.

Soaking your feet in warm water may give relief to some.

Soaking your feet in cold water may help other (not too cold though!)

Massage the area of your legs that get affected as a good massage before bed may well help. It can also make you more relaxed in general.

Try to reduce any stress Stress is known to aggravate restless leg syndrome and may also make it more difficult to sleep which in itself aggravates the symptoms.

And here are a few things to avoid

Don’t get overtired Yes, I know, that’s not an easy one for a restless leg sufferer but the more tired you are the worse your symptoms will be.

Go decaffeinated Too much tea and coffee will make you more hyperactive and increase your symptoms.

Don’t take sleeping tablets Although you may get a good nights sleep initially their effectiveness will wear off and can push your symptoms to earlier in the day and most of them can be addictive.

Don’t  drink alcohol. It is a well known agitator of restless leg syndrome. In some people, after drinking is the only time they suffer.

Putting your legs up may help some sufferers but many will need a more rigorous regime