Nerve problem in legs

[Gemigal]

My friend is having a severe problem with his legs. He's had this problem for years. It seems to be the nerves, but we're not sure.  Problems he experiences are: Never impulse twitching from the knees down; a lot of the time he can't sit still, can't concentrate and almost experiences panic attacks because nothing he does helps. It is more then what we hear described at 'restless leg'.  You can actually see the nerves under the skin, twitching and crawling. Although he has this problem in both legs, the left seems to cause him the most annoyance.  It's not 'painful', but it causes him so much frustration it looks painful to anyone watching him.  He will sit on his leg, twisted underneth him, so that he causes pain to himself in order to take away the twitching, crawling sensations he suffers from.  I can't tell you in words how this is affecting him. He did go to the doctor a few years ago and was perscribed Requip, but that unfortunately didn't help. He is now unemployed and has no insurance so further testing is not an option at this time.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Gemigal]

Thank you for the information.  We will definately try some of your suggestions.  We really appreicate the time you took to reply.  Thanks again.

[ggreg]

Well, I have Restless Legs Syndrome and I can see the same muscle fibers in my calf do that irregular rippling under my skin.  The reason he's getting panicky is probably because he can't sleep well, for example RLS will keep people up at night and this makes them a nervous wreck.  And also, that he feels it in one leg the most, this is also exactly the way RLS works  Now, mine was triggered by a bad back getting worse, so I suppose it's possible if he does not have RLS, he nonetheless has a nerve problem of SOME kind, so since he cannot afford testing, he needs the right medicine, and the drugs would be the same whether it was RLS or some other neuromuscular disorder.

Now, the medicine they gave him, sometimes that works for people with RLS and sometimes it doesn't.  But there are several categories of medications that a physician should try on a patient who exhibits your friend's symptoms.  A regular doctor at the free county health clinic can work with him.  And if you will do an online search for Restless Legs Treatment, you should come across several webpages about what sort of drugs he can take to keep his legs straight, and he can take a printout to the clinic, plus a lot of those websites have support group forums on there.  

Also, a certain percentage of people who have his leg symptoms actually are in need of iron and potassium supplements, so he should at the very least take a multiple vitamin and mineral supplement.  In addition, some muscle creams like Icey Hot will calm down spasms.  And support knee-high socks or stockings from the drugstore, people with diabetes will wear them, can slow down the neuromuscular spasms he's got.  A heat pad placed on the legs sometimes helps, too.  I do ALL those things, and I take three medications for my legs (which also help other things wrong with me).  So, he's really got to go with whatever medicine the doc gives down at the clinic, and to keep at it until he gets relief.