Restless Leg Syndrom

I've had this all my life, but it certainly got worse when I was pregnant. It used to be a good stretch before bed would work, but then it started getting even worse! In desperation, I asked my MIL if she had heard of any remedies (she's very much into homeopathic remedies) and she said getting more electrolytes should relax the muscles. I started drinking Pedialyte before bed and it worked like a charm. Good luck!

I get this when I'm pregnant too and it drives me (and my husband!) crazy. What I've found helpful is stretching really well before getting into bed and having my husband massage my legs. It still happens sometimes but not as bad. I'm sorry, I know it sucks!

TONIC WATER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It has saved my life.
I, too, suffer from RLS and while pregnant it was worse than normal. I only have to drink about an ounce of tonic water and get immediate relief. The quinine in the tonic water is what actually relieves the twitching. Quinine is also what is in the OTC pills for RLS. My doc ok'd the tonic water while i was pregnant but make sure to ask yours. I know that in large amounts, tonic water can be harmful to the baby but a gulp or two (seriuosly, that's all you need) a day should be just fine. (oh and BTW, tonic water is NOT alcoholic but is usually kept in the liquor section of the grocery store with the mixers).
I hope that you find some sort of relief from this pain in the butt!

I had this happen each time I was pregnant. Unfortunately there is not a lot we can do about it. Some say that if you lay on your right side it helps because there are major veins on the left that get compressed especially when pregnant.

I wish I could say it goes away after pregnancy. I still experience it from time to time.

For right now your best bet is to lay on your right side and have someone massage you legs.

Good luck. And congrats on the baby.

yes mam i went threw this big time with my youngest and it dosent get any better my dr told me that the baby was on my siatic nerve which is in your lower back and can make your legs crfamp up very bad and sometimes it can it hard to even walk how i found some relief is warm watter on my legs and keeping them elivated it helps the circulation but ill tell u know it was the worst and i would never wish that upon my worst enimies because nothing can really make it go away :(

Gosh you have my empathy A.. Restless leg is the pits! My husband has it, but he sleeps right through it. But I can’t, and that and his buzz saw snoring, nearly drives me to distraction.There is a medication to treat this now. Perhaps after the pregnancy if it still bothers you, you may want to think about it. That constant waking is just awful! Talk to your doctor, maybe he will have some other remedy.

I've had this as long as I can remember. I'm sorry you had such a bad case of it.

Whenever I have trouble sleeping because of RLS, a hot bath has always helped me. If you can't do that, maybe those disposable heating pads would work?

I hope you find something that works for you.

Yes and it sucked!!! I would take two Tylenol and I also noticed that staying hydrated helped a ton. Taking a shower before bed too as it helped me relax.

Good luck!

I had this with my third pregnancy and I couldnt find anything to help it but it did go away after I had him.

I found that it happened to me on days where I did not drink as much water as I should. Consuming more water really helped to keep my restless legs at bay. I also noticed that it would flare up whenever we went to Tahoe...maybe something to do with the altitude.

Something similary to this has happened to me during my two pregnancies and afterward when I was nursing. It could be attributed to a calcium deficiency. Try taking a two or three calcium/magnesium/zinc vitamins before you go to bed and see if that helps.

Good luck!

I had this same problem when I was pregnant. It got progressively worse as the pregnancy went on. I tried walking around the house and stretching my legs, but that usually did not help. What worked for me was having my husband massage my legs for 5-10 minutes with firm pressure. It didn't always make all of the sensations go away, but usually they would calm down enough for me to get to sleep. I know how awful that feeling can be when your legs just won't calm down and it feels like ants are under your skin. Hopefully the massaging helps and you can get some sleep!

The reason water helps with RL is because the nerves are controlled by HYDRO electricity.

Magnesium (MG)is a chemical gate blocker- it relaxes the nerves. Usually people get way too much calcium and not enough MG, especially if you eat milk products which are 8 times the calcium to magnesium. To much dairy and added calcium tabs in the diet will contribute to even more MG deficiceny.

Cacium deficicncy will cause cramps in one side of the body/leg, MG deficieicny will cause cramps in the other side. Too much calcium in ratio to MG will pull magnesium out of the body parts in order to assimilate the calcium. I would take Magnesium Malate or magnesium citrate ...and also rub Magnesium oil on your skin into the legs. You can find Magnesium oil (magnesium chloride) online.

Other nerve helpers are vitamin liquid b complex (under the tounge), vit b6, and vit b12,manganese, and potassium...which is an electroyte which conducts electricity. I would consider eating a banana or romaine salads before I drank pedialyte. But that's just me.

Iron supplementation can deplete MG so if you have been given Iron like Slowfe, which is popular for pregnant women,you should be taking MG as well.
Of course you should use this info for your own research, and consult your doctor.

http://www.zhealthinfo.com/calm.htm
http://www.thewayup.com/newsletters/081501.htm

Hi A.,

Congrats on your pregnancy!

I'm not sure what the diagnoses of "restless leg syndrome" is, but while I was pregnant I felt very similar to what you have described especially at night. Sometimes my legs just felt restless and needing to twitch and others they actually got very painful cramps. My doctor prescribed Calcium and Magnesium. You can easily find these over the counter and they are safe during pregnancy, but you might talk to your doctor about dosage amounts. These helped me immensely and I no longer had any cramping or restlessness as long as I remembered to take the supplements :) Massaging helped too, but was only temporary.

Good luck to you and hopefully you will find relief soon.

K.

I do also suffer with this and on a fluke I decided to try Hyland's Calms Forte- http://www.hylands.com/products/calmsforte.php which is homeopathic and found it worked for me. Hylands also makes one called Restful Legs- http://www.hylands.com/products/restfullegs.php that is just for this and I have not yet tried it however I swear by Hylands and have used many of there products with great success. Some of their items like the calms forte can be found at Walmart by the vitamins, some you may need to go to a whole food store or holistic pharmacy. Their products are not very expensive and they really work. Good Luck!

Yes -- It is horribly annoying (for you and whoever sleeps next too you).

Some things you can do include avoiding caffeine (including chocolate), get more than enough iron (take it with...vitamin c? is it vitamin c that helps your body absorb iron? I can't remember.) Calcium helps. Hmmm....Two things your body is sucking up lots of for your coming baby and maybe that's why the RLS has become so intolerable?

I have found my is more manageable when I can find time for the gym; even low impact walking helps. Calcium helps.

Hi A.,
my sympathies. I had RLS quite severely during my pregnancy. After consulting with specialists and my primary physician I was prescribed Codeine Sulfate 30mg tabs. I could take one (or even half) at bedtime as needed. This really helped although I kept it to only the nights that nothing else worked and I had to sleep. Before trying that I was in tears and very worried. As an RN working 12 hour shifts I needed my sleep but with the RLS on top of other discomforts of pregnancy I was often only achieving 2-3 hours of not very restful sleep.

I now mostly keep the RLS at bay by making sure my calcium and magnesium intake are sufficient, plus potassium to avoid leg cramps. The other relaxation techniques mentioned (warm bath, massage, stretching) can all help as well. Severe cases sometimes require medication on an occasional basis.

When first prescribing the codeine my doc went to write a script for Tylenol #3. I asked "why the Tylenol" and he admited it wasn't necessary and agreed I shouldn't take anything that wasn't absolutely necessary while preganant. The main issue is that a script for straight codeine, even low dose, requires an different kind of form and higher level tracking. It's worth asking for though.

I wish you good sleep in the near future.

Calcium Calcium Calcium is what my dr. said! There was just a post about this in the last week that also had some good suggestions! Good luck!

I get RLS from time to time still and my dr. recommended stretching my legs right before bed. This has really helped. The first stretch involves pushing against a wall with both hands and stretching your calf muscles by pushing your heal to the floor alternating one leg at a time. You want to hold it for about 10 seconds each. The second stretch involves lying on your back in bed and lifting your leg 90 degrees and simply pointing and flexing your foot and holding it a few seconds. Another stretch is simply doing squats by holding onto the side of the bed (so you don't fall) and holding your "squatting" position awhile before getting up. These stretches and having my legs massaged were the only way I could get to sleep at times. Good luck.

You have a lot of advice, so I won't repeat it. I limited salt when I was pregnant and that helped a little.

There is a old wives tale that says to place a bar of ivory soap under your pillow. I heard about it after my pregnancy so I didn't try it.....I would love to know if it really helps.

uggghhh I got this during my pregnancy and it stayed even to this day grrr its so irritating ask a doctor about it. I still havent and it gets more painful.

Take 400 mg's of magnesium before bed. Not calcium! Calcium contracts muscle, magnesium relaxes muscle. Works like a charm with my husband.

Yes, I am seven months pregnant, and my legs have started cramping very badly at night (like you, I've cried myself to sleep, so don't feel alone). My midwife told me I could safely take Tylenol PM if I need to for sleep, so maybe you could ask your doctor if that would be okay. I've been trying to hold off on taking it since I try not to take any meds while pregnant, but I think I'm getting to the point where I might have to try it. Good luck and hang in there!