What is Restless Leg Syndrome?
Restless legs syndrome, which manifests itself with an unusual feeling of discomfort in the legs when sitting and lying down, can not be fully expressed by the patients, but can be expressed as chills, itching, pain, crushing, burning, tingling in the thighs, legs and feet, and even in the arms in some patients. It is a disease that can be confused with cramping or numbness. The feeling of restlessness in the legs occurs during rest periods. It affects both women and men, can start at any age and increases in severity with age. Restless legs syndrome impairs sleep quality and can lead to daytime sleepiness. The disease occurs with inactivity: it occurs when lying down or sitting for a while. With movement, the symptoms decrease: some patients talk about a urge to move that they cannot avoid. The symptoms are reduced by moving the legs in bed and walking a few steps. Complaints increase in the evenings: Complaints are more intense in the evenings under the same conditions compared to daylight hours. Leg movements during sleep are frequent: in a significant part of the patients, it is frequently associated with a separate disease called sleep-legged movement syndrome. These two diseases are observed together in approximately 80% of patients. Most patients with restless legs syndrome have difficulty lying down or staying awake in bed. Patients may also experience problems with daytime naps. Symptoms in patients can manifest themselves in a wide range from minor mild complaints in the legs to the point of not being able to enjoy life, leading to depression. The severity of the disease may change over time, and it may disappear from time to time and then reappear. Restless legs syndrome can occur at any age, even in childhood. It can be perceived as pain related to growth in children. No matter what age it occurs, its weight usually increases over time.
What are the factors that cause restless legs syndrome?
In most of the patients, the factor that causes restless legs syndrome cannot be determined. Researchers blame the imbalance in dopamine levels in the brain. Familial transmission is important. In other words, those whose parents have restless legs syndrome are more likely to develop this disease. Patients with restless legs syndrome, especially at a young age, are more likely to pass this disease on to their children. The gene for restless legs syndrome has also been found today, when gene maps have been produced. Stress exacerbates the complaints of patients. Pregnancy or hormonal changes may also temporarily increase symptoms. Some women first encounter restless legs syndrome during pregnancy, especially in the last 3 months of pregnancy. In patients who first encounter this complaint during pregnancy, the symptoms regress and disappear 1 month after giving birth. While restless legs are not usually associated with any major underlying disease, they can sometimes be seen together with peripheral neuropathy, iron deficiency or kidney failure.
How are these patients diagnosed?
Restless legs syndrome is a disease that can easily be skipped because patients cannot express their complaints easily, and because it is a disease that is not taught as a course in most medical faculties in our country, doctors in our country do not receive adequate training on this subject. You may also suspect whether you have restless legs syndrome yourself. If you answer yes to two or more of the following questions, you may have restless legs syndrome:
Do you have an unidentifiable bad feeling in your legs when sitting or lying down? Do you have to move your legs because of this feeling?
Does moving your legs reduce these complaints?
Do these complaints become more frequent later in the day?
Are you sleepy during the day? Do you feel sleepy?
Have you been told that you move your legs or arms rhythmically during sleep?
Has anyone in your family been diagnosed with restless legs syndrome?
Unfortunately, there is no blood test or other laboratory test yet to diagnose restless legs syndrome. If necessary, your doctor may suggest some blood tests or other tests for the underlying cause. Sleep testing is not usually required for restless legs syndrome, but you may need to stay in the sleep lab for an overnight sleep test to detect accompanying periodic limb movement syndrome.
How is restless legs syndrome treated?
If there is an underlying cause such as iron deficiency, detecting and treating flour will also treat restless legs syndrome, but this is often not possible. In this case, lifestyle change recommendations and medications for treatment come to the fore. Some anti-nausea medications, most antidepressants, and calcium channel blockers (used in blood pressure and heart patients) can worsen restless legs syndrome. Pain relievers can work, warm baths and massage can reduce symptoms, applying heat or cold (or both) to the legs can reduce the uncomfortable feeling in the legs. Meditating to relax may work for some patients. Compliance with sleep hygiene rules, which you will find in a table below, relieves patients.
Wake up at the same time every day
In the daytime, be in bright environments as much as possible,
Take a little walk before you start working in the morning (You can walk to work) Daily walking time should not be shorter than 45 minutes on average,
Limit your caffeine intake (Coffee, tea, chocolate). Do not drink more than 2 cups of coffee a day. If you have trouble falling or staying asleep, completely remove caffeine from your life.
If possible, reduce smoking, if you have problems with sleep, try to quit smoking completely,
Limit alcohol intake. If you have problems with sleep, avoid alcoholic beverages completely,
If you get sleepy, you can sleep for a short time during the day, but if you have insomnia at night, you should not sleep during the day,
Do not use your bedroom except for sleeping and sexuality, you should not use your bedroom as a study room,
Your bedroom should be in conditions that will make you comfortable in terms of heat, light and noise,
Start 9 hours before you want to wake up.
Finish daily activity 1 hour before going to sleep, write down the day’s troubles, successes and happiness for 15 minutes on a piece of paper, then try to relax for 45 minutes, do something non-stimulating (read lightly, listen to classical music, take a warm bubble bath, meditate) , for 1 glass of warm honey milk)
Then get into bed, close your eyes and enjoy falling asleep
If you haven’t been able to fall asleep for about 15 minutes, get up and go to another room and try to relax until you feel sleepy, then go back to bed when you feel sleepy. This can happen again, but make sure to wake up at the same time every day.
