For the past 3 or 4 months I have had a terrible time with my legs when I'm trying to go to sleep for the night. I am not experiencing any pain at all ... I just can't seem to stop moving my legs and it actually prevents me from falling asleep! Oddly enough, it does not happen if I lay down in the afternoon for a little siesta, it is only when I go to bed for the night. My husband and I mentioned it to my doctor and her initial thought was that it probably isn't Restless Leg Syndrome because I'm not in pain. She also indicated that it could possibly be a side effect of Lexapro which I started taking shortly before this began, as Lexapro can interfere with sleep patterns.
Has anyone been diagnosed with RLS, and do my symptoms match yours?
Thanks in advance for your replies.
I had this while I was pregnant. I really feel for you. I also take an anti -depressent but my problem is that as I am falling asleep I jerk around a lot. I do think these medications can cause some of these issues. I would talk to you doctor again if it really bothers you but I think maybe after a while it might go away as you get more used to the medicine. My problem does'nt keep me awake its just irritating for a few minutes.
I feel for ya. I have RLS and it stinks. I don't know about lexapro, but I can give ya some advice for the RLS. For one, it is usually genetic. My grandmother, mom, her brother, and I all have it. It usually only occurs at night and can be brought on by being overtired or intake of caffeine/alcohol/tobacco use, cold/allergy medicines, and some medications (so definitely ask your dr about possibly switching your medication). Also, have her check your iron levels because low levels/anemia can lead to rls, as can being a diabetic. It can also be brought on if you are not moving much during the day. RLS is a neurological disorder where you feel like you have to constantly move your legs, or like you have a creepy crawly sensation in your legs. Because it occurs almost always at night, it can lead to insomnia, anxiety, sleepiness during the day etc. Even when you are asleep, it can keep you from feeling rested during the day because you are moving your legs in your sleep. The worse part is that it is a progressive problem. Symptoms may improve or be nonexistant for a weeks or months, but it rarely ever goes away and can get worse as you get older. Beside diet changes, there are some other things that can help. Moving about during the day, taking a warm bath before bed, taking supplements like iron or magnesium, and even some prescribed medications if the symptoms are severe enough. Hope this helps!
Hi KT,
With both of my past pregnancies I experienced RLS... and lucky me, I'm pregnant again. I can already feel some of the RLS coming back, but it won't hit big time until midway through the pregnancy. At that point, I'll want to chop off my legs.
Due to my being pregnant, the doctors cannot put me on any Rx's. My OB suggested dringing tonic water. Tonic water contains Quinine which is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic (fever-reducing), anti-smallpox, analgesic (painkilling), and anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste.
A little factoid.. Tonic water contains quinine, which was used to prevent malaria in the 18th century. It was extremely bitter, so often gin was added to make it more palatable... hence the history of the "Gin & Tonic".
Anyhow.. because of its other medicinal properties.. Quinine is also used to treat nocturnal leg cramps and arthritis. So, you might try drinking a little tonic water to help out your RLS. Since it has such a bitter taste.. you might try adding lemon, lime, or orange to it. There's always Gin..LOL! I also heard if you add a splash of salt to tonic water, it turns sweet.
Hope that helps!
~K.
Lexapro does give some people a bit of a boost, try taking it in the morning and make sure not to have any caffeine after 12 noon see if that helps. Sometimes I have the same problem, if I forget and drink coffee or pop too late in the day. If that happens I take melatonin, herbal supplement, it relaxes me and allows me to fall asleep. They sell it in the grocery stores now. I bought mine at Kroger. 3mg is what I take. My niece takes it every night and the doctor told her she could have 3mg, since she is only 8 I'm guessing 3mg isn't going to hurt me.
Hi K T
My doctor put me on requip and it has worked miracles. The sensations are no longer there. I can sleep at night. My symptons were tingling in my legs, i constantly had to move them, rubbing them did not help. I could not sit long periods of time in the evening because my legs drove me crazy. It only happened in the evening. So if I were you ask your doctor about requip. It is a miracle drug.
KT,
I have occassional RLS and there's no pain, tingling, etc. like the tv ads say. However, I have the same problem you described. I doubt if Lexapro is the cause. I have taken Celexa on and off, and it hasn't made a difference in my RLS. My mother has RLS, so it may run in families. (Maybe depression, anxiety, etc., the reason for LExapro or Celexa is related to RLS.)
I have found that once I get RLS for the night, I just have to get up out of bed and do something to purposely exercise my legs. Nothing strenuous. Just move them-leg lifts, tapping, or something to get it out of my system. I have to resign myself that I won't get as many hours of sleep as I like and that I'll have to make it up during a nap the next day.
Now, the naps might be contributing to our RLS. I often take a siesta, too, and never have the problem then. I'm always really tired when I take a nap, which is why I take it then, so maybe we have to be exhausted when we hit the sheets at night to avoid RLS! :)And maybe depression and/or anxiety, the reason for taking Lexapro/Celexa make us susceptible to RLS.
RLS may just have started now coincidentally with the Lexapro. Things we get now all started at some point and before we had them we didn't have them. :) Like your car-when it was working fine one minute then all of a sudden, it doesn't!
Hi K T! I have never been diagnosed with RLS but not to long ago was experiencing the same along with additional symptoms. Oddly enough when I was experiencing them I was on Cymbalta, another anxiety/depression medicine, but since I have not been taking the medication I have not experienced the RLS! Also, one thing that did seem to help while I was experiencing the RLS and was still on the medication was leg exercise (walking, jogging).
Best of luck with finding a solution! M.
Hi KT!
I had the same thing happen when I was pregnant last year. It would only happen at night too. I talked to my dr and she said the more exercise I could get, the better. So, I would walk every evening as late as I could and oddly enough, it helped quite a bit. It was almost as if I wore my legs out enough to where they didn't have the energy to keep me up all night. You might want to try that. Also, stay away from the caffeine. That made mine worse as well.
J
