I just have to get a moan out of the way, it’s driving me potty lately and I wish it would just bog off and leave me along just for one night.
I am talking about the great wonder that is Restless Legs Syndrome. I would not wish this on my worst enemy. It is the single most irritating and annoying and depressing thing I have out of all my conditions and if I could give one up tomorrow, that would be the first to go.
I know I’ve already harped on about it one or two thousand times, but it really is becoming an issue for me. Whilst I was away I thought the extra exercise would benefit me in a number of ways.
One, exercise is good for you full stop, especially swimming.
Two, exercise produces endorphins, natures painkillers and also helps you sleep and relax better (pfft!).
Three, fresh air combined with exercise and walking especially with my legs, would be a darn good knock out cure.
But actually it made my RLS much, much worse. And I’ve read reports which state a lot of sufferers report exercise aggravating the symptoms and causing worse irritation. I think I’m one of them.
I don’t want to stop exercising though. That would be stupid since it will help the arthritis by strengthening the muscles around my knee joints. I just want the RLS to stop.
Not just for me either, but for Mick too, must drive him mad having to sit next to me all the time and I’m just fidgeting constantly.
Take last night. I was watching the TV, and it kicked in big time. I hated it because all I wanted to do was enjoy the programme and I was sitting there willing the ad breaks to come on, so I could think if I needed to visit the loo or I could fidget more because it was only the adverts. The irritation in my legs is just incredible.
People have difficulty describing the feeling, but it’s like nothing you can imagine unless you have it. A bit like thousands of miniscule creatures crawling around, but not the tickly feeling you get if you get an ant etc on you, the deep rooted irritation that is so awful, you would explode if you sat still. And the more you try and relax the worse it gets. How can that be right!
Luckily Mick was tired last night so we went to bed a bit earlier than normal, and I was glad to be doing something different. I’m better lying down than sitting, but I am sure it’s effecting how long I can keep still for. I toss and turn a lot and it’s probably playing a big part in that as well as the pain I get in my neck and hips.
Any other time, it wouldn’t be so bad because you can distract yourself with work, or being out and about etc, but when you just get to the end of a day and all you want is to sit down and chill, and it’s the one bloomin thing I can’t do. And it’s getting more frequent. It’s almost every night now in some severity.
I have looked into all the things you can do, and I know it can be associated with not just Fibromyalgia but with Arthritis as well. It can also be because of diabetes and kidney disease, but I’ve had tests for all that, so I’m guessing it’s hereditary as I’m sure other members of my family have mentioned it before and I used to get really bad growing pains as a child which apparently can be misdiagnosed RLS, so I may have had it for a longer time than I’ve known about as it can also be made worse by low iron and I was a pale child and always fainting etc when I was young, so who knows how long I’ve had it, as I’ve always been strange!!
Anyway, I can handle Fibro, I know about it, it’s something I can manage, and I can handle arthritis as I can also manage that too. But please, if I could get shot of RLS for just one night, that would be fab.
If there are any magic fairies out there, long lost fairy godmothers, maybe the odd lamp and lonely Genie about, I’m your girl!!
OK, moan over........ ;)
