Extra Restless RLS

On Wednesday night I was having problems getting to sleep, big problems. I have Restless Leg Syndrome and when it keeps me up, I take a medication which usually relaxes my body enough to sleep.

^{Restless Leggs keep moving and can’t stop, making you unable to sleep.}

Not this night. No way. I first noticed the issue in my right arm, oddly enough… (Yes. You can get restless leg syndrome in your arms but it’s not the most common place) Then my left leg I noticed was twitching and minutes later my right leg followed suit. All of these are becoming highly hyper-stimulated so much so that normally only one limb that sensitive I know is a significant problem.. But I had three.. I finally noticed my left arm tacked on for the ride, but was fairly ‘mild’ comparatively speaking.

After waiting a half an hour for the meds to kick in, and they didn’t, I knew I’d have to take drastic steps because there was absolutely no way I was going to be able to sleep with three very very restless limbs and one mildly restless arm.

What do I do? I jump on the treadmill. Yes, the RLS can be hugely painful but it wasn’t too bad, achey but mostly just constant moving.. Normally with mild RLS I only have to walk for 5 minutes but this wasn’t mild. Also, my Fitbit doesn’t record exercise until you hit 15 minutes.. lol.. So I was on the treadmill for 20 minutes.. had another quick shower and hopped into bed nice and relaxed.

This is not the end of this story….

He doesn’t get it

Today, or rather the wee hours of the morning of today, he Didn’t get it.

So, we get in from a walk with my puppy, & I do our bedtime routine.. I crawl into bed, and at about 1:30am- 2am … my leggs seize! From hip to the very last muscle at the very bottom on my feet.. Not a charlie horse where it cramps but everything, both leggs, seized up.. Normally it’s just one legg & it’s not hugely nasty like this.. But it was hugely nasty in both limbs.. They’re like charlie horses in that I have to gain control over the muscles however a charlie horse requires a short, but hugely nasty controlled clenching almost like creating a controlled, but more intense spasm then its over. But not with this. It doesn’t need as much force, but it does require a nice chunk of time in the clenched state, significantly more time. Unfortunately that means a longer duration of pain.. But I can handle that.

All I could think was ‘Thank God I am in bed’..

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A little later at about 3am, the dog goes nuts cuz she’s gotta go bathroom.. One of us needs to take her out or she goes in the apartment. But he’s too tired, has “no energy”. Even after I explain what happened, he still expects me to go.. So almost 15 minutes to dress into jammie pants & a tee beside me that I have for when I need to take puppy out at night. And another 45 min to walk from the back-side to the front door. An hour to do a 5 minute potty break.

You’d think knowing how much knowing my pain can impact me.. and the intense fatigue to goes along with it that he’d be more understanding.. So, today I you’d think he’d have more understanding & empathy.. Nope, this time he Don’t get it. *sigh*

What do I do?

For my fibromyalgia, I currently take the following Medications/supplements

• Multi-vitamin – Naturapathy Dr does not recommend Centrum or most pharmacy brand multi’s
• Calcium & Magnesium with vitamin D – Calcium cuz Women with Endo are more susceptible to Osteoporosis. Mg & D to help absorb the Calcium. The Magnesium also to help with muscle spasms & charlie horses. I have found that it has helped.
• Fish oils – Generic fish oils, minimum 1000mg a day .. Well, I try to. Naturapathy Dr recommended 1000mg-3000mg daily of the EPA+DHA to help with mental acuity. I’m still waiting for the fog to lift, but I’m not usually getting enough to impact because I fog up & forget.. Lovely catch 22 there.
• B complex to help with stress and ensure that I get enough B’s. No, I don’t take a stress formula. Just a normal B complex.. either 50mg or 100mg
• Codeine Contin for maintenance pain.
• Tylenol #3 for breakthrough pain
• Oxycodone for severe breakthrough pain
• Flexeril (Cyclobenzaprine) as a muscle relaxer. I find it better than anything OTC..
• Probiotics to help regulate my digestive track – it works, ‘cept when I have an IBS flare or food sensitivity
• NSAID, but it’s for my Endometriosis, so I don’t really know if it does impact my FMS or not.

For my fibromyalgia, I currently participate in the following exercise:

• Aqua-fit, really carefully – I’m just getting back into exercise, so I am trying to get to the gentle classes. My local YMCA gym has a class or arthritics and for osteoporosis. Aqua-fit is a good choice because of the buoyancy of the water, it doesn’t impact my knees, and it’s a gentle cardio
• Seriously, right now that’s it. I need access to a hot tub to do further exercise to keep my body warm.

For my fibromyalgia, I intend to return to the following exercises:

• Yoga with the hot tub – Yoga provides gentle stretching while working on core strength and balance. The hot tub helps to keep muscles relaxed afterward.
• Keeping up with Aqua-fit – see above 🙂
• Walking the track to music with the hot tub – I got into walking when my nieces were born, walking with my sister. After I joined the Y and my nephew was born, I would take him in his stroller to walk him around the track. He’s too old now, but I have found it enjoyable with my MP3 player (or CD player back then). I sometimes dance a little bit and my pace changes with the music I’m listening to. It’s hard to overexert myself. 🙂 The hot tub helps to keep muscles relaxed afterward.

A benefit from the exercise is that I tend to be tired out afterward and relaxed. This makes evening workouts ideal in that I go home, go straight to bed and will sleep well, with a decent amount of healing rest. This improves me, physically, emotionally and mentally for the next day.

For my fibromyalgia. my spiritual side is limited. I don’t go to church often, however I do find solace in my home church’s sanctuary. I’ve moved away from my home church and have yet to try out the sanctuary here. I also find the same ‘state of grace’ from music, especially my churchy music 🙂

For my fibromyalgia, because of my physical limitation, I am limited socially. Most of my social interaction is via the internet on Twitter, Facebook, Email, etc.. The alternative to that in real life is with my SO and his friends. Most of my friends no longer talk to me, or are too far away for more than email. The classes as the Y present a new socialization source, which I hope to be helpful. With the improvement of my health I would like to return to scouting in some sort of part-time or limited capacity.

For my fibromyalgia and my cognitive abilities, I am starting this blog. It will help keep me thinking and requires research. It also provides a creative outlet. I also enjoy doing word searches and have, on recommendation on my therapist, started to colour and have other crafts options available to me.

For my fibromyalgia and an emotional aspect, I have a councilor and have been placed on anti-depressants. While my time with her is limited I do find that I feel better after I speak with her. Additionally I have the support with my SO. While sometimes he can not understand and becomes frustrated, I know he only has best intentions where I am concerned.

How do I cope? Not well. Other than the limited exercise mentioned above, the odd screaming match and the rarer still church visit, I have no real outlets.. Which sucks. Before I got sick, my outlets for frustration and anger and stress were physical. With the fibro, I have lost that. Any suggestions are welcome 🙂