RESTLESS LEG SYNDROME 1

 Restless Leg Syndrome Part 1

PART 1

I never knew that there are so many people suffering from Restless Leg Syndrome globally. It is only when I concluded that I have RSL – purely based on self-diagnosis – when I decided to research the condition. To satisfy you curiosity of how I did this, allow me to bore you with the detail of the process and procedures I followed later. Yes, I was a seeker and I suppose since you reading this blog, you're probably looking for symptoms that may mimic your; just to make absolutely certain that you're also a RLS sufferer. 

Be that as it may. It is estimated that 17% of the world's 7.2 billion inhabitants suffer from Restless Leg Syndrome. That equates to some 1224 million people, stemming from various countries throughout the world. Not only do they vary by nationality, but also by age, by weight, by sex, by size to mention but a few factors.  So, even though RSL is a syndrome, there is absolutely nothing to feel ashamed about.  Of this 17% approximately 11% are male and about 6 % are female. It is also said that Restless Leg Syndrome is hereditary but with odds described above, it’s hardly believable. Anyway, you now have an inkling of the stats, so let’s talk RLS.

It’s always been said, “walk as much as you can and drink as much water as you can to avoid 99% of all sicknesses” – guaranteed. And, “live off fresh fruit and vegetables to enjoy optimum health”. I was a health fanatic, so I drank my water, ate my fruit and veg besides religiously consuming a range of vitamins and minerals in abundance. I kinda lived by the rule; the quality of life you enjoy in your younger days will impact on the quality of life in your twilight years. 

Conversely, cigarettes, wine, women and song will lead you to an early grave – or rather a decrepit old soul. Then again they say, “never trust anyone without a vice”. Mine was walking, I simply loved walking. Several years ago -in my youth- I partook in every conceivable big walk I could find. I was just amazed at the vast distances I could cover in just a few hours. I enrolled in 10km or 15km or 20km or 25km or even 30km big walks and I had the blisters and the sore muscles to prove it afterwards. But it was fun.

Whilst partaking in a 30 km walk from Fishoek to Mowbray on a very hot day, my right leg shin muscle went into spasm. Saying it was f**king sore was an understatement. However, I massaged the muscle and hobbled to the finishing time on my own time, and thereafter decided to quite any walk exceeding 20km. Then one day I stepped into a lift, I was going to the 8th floor. When the lift jolted to a halt on the 8th and gravity set in, both my legs gave-in and I almost fell.

I never forgot these events because thereafter either one or both of my legs would just give way. It happened when I crossed a street, when I got out of bed, when I boarded a bus and when I walked up or down steps. I was always very careful to hold onto the handrails when doing stairs. I never knew when my legs were going to fail me because there was never a warning sign.  As an avid skin scuba/skin diver during weekends, I experienced cramps in my feet in my thighs whilst in the water on several occasions. Having said this, I need to emphasize that I wasn’t unfit, nor failed to stretch before exercise.

It may sound as if these where daily or regular occurrences but it weren't. They happened occasionally, even months apart, some literally years apart but looking back I now recognize them as tell-tale signs of symptoms that developed in RLS some 20 years later. Or so I assume. One evening – a few  months ago – whist having a shower I bent over to wash my left foot but instead of bending down completely, I pulled by leg up. A sudden pain shot through my back and my right leg went lame. 

Straightening my back was excruciating painful but I managed to dry myself and hobbled to my bedroom. As an after thought, I figured that my sciatic nerve got pinched by a vertebrae, hence I lost control of right leg. A week’s worth of rest, lying flat on my back allowed the inflamed nerve to resume its position/heal.  However, I need to stress, there is a huge difference between leg discomfort cause by back pain and RSL especially how to self diagnose it, but let us  revisit that topic in  part 2.