Hi haveing suffered with RLS for many years and never finding anything that would help me get a good nights sleep i just put up with it, I don`t take any medication because of the side affects, How ever on a reccent stay in hospital for one night i thought it was going to be a nightmare pestering nurses to help me out of bed to walk around. i went on to the ward at 7 oclock and was just waiting for the RLS to start up as i lay in the bed i could feel this slite squeeze on my calf muscles i asked the nurse what i was and she said it helps to prevent DVT the gentle squeeze wet from my left leg to my right at about 5/10 second intervals,To cut a long story short i lay in the bed for 15 hours and never moved an inch i could not belive it i had not lay that still for as long as i could remember, It could have been the drugs as i had had an operation but i came round very quickly and i don`t think the drugs would have lasted that long, On returning home the RLS was back,I am trying to hire the kit to try it out just to make sure it was what i hope it is, the device is called the huntleigh flowtron ecel DVT pump. has anyone else tried a device like this instead of going down the drugs use.
I've not tried any DVT treatment, but I know there is a pressure point, almost half down my calf muscle from my knee, which when pressed quite hard with my thumb is as good as allowing my leg to kick out. Actually there may be one or two more such pressure points. The thing is though, I just want rid of RLS lock, stock and barrel.
Hi RobertT so do i but i don`t think that will happen any time soon, If i can get a good nights sleep i will be happy the DVT pump is not cumbersome so you could take with you almost any where and altho itis for DVT to me it was the equivilent of walking it keeps the blood flowing but you are lying in bed great., The only worry i have now is i might be dissapointed, However just resting for 15 hours without moving was heaven it has got to worth looking into it would be far better than drugs with all the side affects, I worked in a plant were they made drugs you would not believe the crap that goes into drugs.
I also thought I had RLS with all the appropriate symptoms but it turned out to be trigger points like RobertT has described you can look at my experience and resolution on Frank77687, hope you can get sorted as well
Funny you should say that...I had a two days stay in hospital a few weeks back, and RLS didn't start up at all. I have no idea why. I had those things on my leg for a couple of hours after the op, but not for the remaining 30 hours of my stay.
Different laying position maybe? I found the hospital bed very cumfy.
Hi VauxhallGirl, I am trying to locate a company that supplies Huntleigh flowtron DVT pumps to prove to myself one way or the other,As i said in my first post i lay in the same position for 15 hours the same night i went home the RLS was back, The pump as you might know massages you calfs to keep the blood flowing just as it would if you walk around, if i can obtain a DVT pump and it works i will post the results of my experience.
Here's a link to their site...and this looks like the thing I remember in hospital - but I have a feeling you won't be able to get one unless you are a hospital.
Also suspect that they would be mega expensive.
Might be worth enquiring if you can hire one for the experiment.
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Hi VG they are available from outside the UK at a price however highering one first is the way to go, I have found a point of conntact locally so i will see if they can point me in the right direction, It`s worth pursueing as you would not be taking drugs of all discriptions with the side affect you could get so onward and upward.
I've just found a scientific paper related to this, "Sequential compression devices for treatment of restless legs syndrome".
The researchers report: "In this group of patients, wearing the SCD [Sequential Compression Device] in the evening for an hour improved symptoms of RLS and improved quality of life, with complete resolution of symptoms in 3 of 10 patients."
That's an interesting find! So they have discovered that these things help RLS. Cool. More research needed so this can be used as a widespread source of relief from this thing.
Hi RobertT, The device i am looking to trial is the one the NHS uses, I had one on my calfs for 15 hours it was great the plan is to put the cuffs on at bed time and wear them all night say 8 hours, if there is a down side it would be if you get up in the night to use the loo you would have to take the cuffs off and then put them back on, however this should take a minute or two so really not a problem, Getting my hands on one is the challenge.
I wonder if the relief is not the result of nerve stimulation by the compression. A TENS machine would, I believe, be cheaper. I read they do also help RLS sufferers, although in a few cases they make it worse. Might be worth trying one before forking out for an SCD.
As long as you do not have the cuffs to tight there should be no problems, I was quite comfortable and as i stated had them on for 15 hours, The longer you are flat out the longer you would have them on for to prevent DVT.
I guess one should be as open-minded as possible at the current time to get to the heart of the RLS problem, but I wouldn't immediately suspect it's got to do with the blood supply in the legs when it comes to RLS.
Dopamine is neurotransmitter related to control of movement. Why the legs are particularly or most generally affected I don't think is too well understood. Some seem to think that it's an overreaction to sensation in the leg that sets it off, maybe there is some unconscious sensation relating to venous insufficiency or maybe an SCD just provides the brain with a stronger neural signal that allows it to consider alls OK (or maybe it's something else). Maybe a TENS set up tends to be less convincing to it than an SCD.