Is this a common symptom of RLS

[Aggie1]

I am a 46 y.o. female who has been having perplexing symptoms I wanted to ask about.  What I will call an acute phase of these symptoms has occurred about four times over the course of 15 years and lasted about two weeks at a time with this bout now in progress for about a month.  I am treated with synthroid for hypothyroidism (strong family history, grandmother, mother, sister and now 2 children) and developed Raynaud's syndrome about five years ago. Sister was diagnosed with Lupus on her face.  My father has been diagnosed with restless leg syndrome (the periodic movements at night) and has a REM sleep disorder that causes night terrors) and he too has Raynaud's.  There is also a history of anxiety/depression leading to suicide.  My strange symptoms in an acute phase include feet pain/burning with muscle pain in quads and some arm muscle pain that will fluctuate daily and sometimes even hourly.  I will also have muscle pulling and spasms with fatigue.  I will jerk myself awake at night and feel as if I have not gotten a good restful sleep.  On bad days, I feel like my legs and arms are heavy and not as coordinated.  Taking warm baths and stretching helps and when I am resting the pain feels better but my legs feel like they are pulsing or have a crawling sensation.  When I am not having these acute symptoms, I have trouble sitting or lying for long periods of time without wanting to move my legs.  A neurologist 15 years ago told me I had toxic neuropathy and that it would go away which it did.  My primary doctor did an MRI in 2003 that was normal with muscle enzyme testing that was normal then.  Complete blood work was normal 9 months ago.  My primary MD checked my reflexes and muscle strength and said all was normal the other day.  He put me on Mirapex for my symptoms but I have had no relief after 3 days.  I will say if I do deep relaxation exercises, I feel better for a while.  Is this a symptom of depression/anxiety, RLS or would you recommend a neuro work up again?  Thanks as I am having difficulty focusing at work with these symptoms

[Aggie1]

Thank you so much for your feedback, bless you for caring about others who are scared about their weird symptoms.  I have not been on line as my husband (and he is right) has been trying to help me not focus on this in order to get through the day. I will be making appt. with a good neurologist once I move to a job at the VA that will provide better insurance coverage.  The last two days my symptoms are tolerable but I now just have the almost neuropathy type pain left, not so much the lack of coordination and feeling like my legs and arms are weighted.  I do not know if the Mirapex is the reason for the improvement or not as this has tended to gradually resolve in the past when it occurred.  It seems as if it is something metabolic with me that may exacerbate a mild underlying RLS.  Is that possible?  I also got info on Celiac disease from a neuropathy site and I could not believe all the symptoms I and my children as well as mother and sister have of this disease.  Should this be something I should have ruled out as well as Lupus?  I do not want to be on a CNS med if I do not have to.  I tend to go the more natural route if I can deal but I have been desperate to function at work.  You all are great!

[ggreg]

The Mirapex the doctor gave you is to treat RLS.  There are other drugs to treat it, as well.  Also, less dramatic treatments include what you are doing now, the stretching, for example.  Sometimes iron depletion can trigger it, as well as other stuff.  RLS does run in families sometimes.  The National Institutes of Health is a government website that includes a section on RLS, which would be informative to you.  This forum here also has a "Sleeping Disorder" section, I believe they call it, which RLS people go to now.

I have it, and one thing I found out, as well as others who have it, is it can goof up your focus and concentration, make you feel tired and depressed.  Once you realize what you have, it helps minimize those negative effects.  And good treatment helps most people do pretty well with the syndrome.  A lot of people have it, estimates are up to 10 percent of the population.  RLS can be intermittent and mild, all the way up to very uncomfortable and disruptive.

[JainMD]

Hi Aggie,
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a neurological disorder characterized by unpleasant sensations in the legs and an uncontrollable urge to move when at rest in an effort to relieve these feelings.
Chronic diseases like kidney disease, diabetes, and peripheral neuropathy are also cause for RLS.
If you are moving about in bed to relieve pain, have creepy and crawly feeling in leg, motor restlessness with increase in symptoms as night progresses, a diagnosis of RLS is certain.
Stress and anxiety can also cause this.
I think you should consult physician and another neurologist to re-evaluate your case.
Keep me informed if you have any queries.
Bye.