Restless legs syndrome: Diagnosis & treatment
Diagnosis
An investigation of RLS/WED relies on the following standards, based on the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group and Global Classification of Sleep Disorders:
- Your symptoms begin or get worse once you're resting, like lying or sitting down.
- Your symptoms have been partly or temporarily alleviated by activity, like stretching or walking.
- Symptoms may 't be explained solely by a different medical or behavioral illness.
Your physician may conduct a physical and neurological examination. Blood tests, especially for iron deficiency, could be ordered to rule out other potential causes for the symptoms.
Additionally, your physician can refer you to a sleep expert. This could entail an overnight stay in a sleep clinic, where doctors can examine your sleeping if another sleep disorder like sleep apnea is suspected. But a diagnosis of RLS/WED generally doesn't even call for a sleep study.
Remedy
From time to time, treating an underlying illness, such as iron deficiency, significantly relieves symptoms of restless legs syndrome. Correcting an iron deficiency may entail getting iron supplementation orally or intravenously. But, take iron supplements only with medical supervision and following your doctor has assessed your blood-iron degree.
In case you've RLS/WED with no associated illness, therapy focuses on lifestyle modifications. If these aren't successful, your physician may prescribe drugs.
Drug therapy
Several prescription drugs, the majority of which have been developed to deal with different ailments, can be found to decrease the restlessness on your thighs. These include:
- Medicines that increase dopamine in your brain. These drugs affect amounts of this chemical messenger dopamine in mind.
- Short-term unwanted effects of those medications are often mild and include nausea, lightheadedness, and fatigue.
- Medicines affecting calcium channels.
- Opioids. Narcotic drugs can alleviate mild to acute symptoms, but they could possibly be addictive if used in large doses.
- Muscle relaxants and sleep medicines. Called benzodiazepines, these medications allow you to sleep better at night, however, they don't remove the leg senses, and they might cause daytime drowsiness. A widely used stimulant for RLS/WED is clonazepam (Klonopin). These medications are usually only used if no additional therapy offers relief.
It could take several trials for you and your physician to get the perfect drug or combination of drugs that work best for you personally.
Caution about drugs
Sometimes dopamine drugs which have been successful for some time to alleviate your RLS/WED become unsuccessful, or you notice your symptoms coming back earlier in the day. This is known as augmentation. Your physician may substitute another medicine to fight the issue.
Most medication prescribed to deal with RLS/WED aren't advocated during pregnancy. Rather, your physician may recommend self-care methods to alleviate symptoms. But if the senses are especially bothersome during your last trimester, your physician may approve the use of particular drugs.
These include some antidepressants, some antipsychotic drugs, some anti-nausea medications, and some cough and cold drugs. Your physician may advise that you prevent these drugs, if at all possible. But should you have to take these drugs, speak with your doctor about adding medication to help handle your RLS/WED?
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