Restless Leg Syndrome Drug Receives FDA Approval

Health Talk ^ | May 07, 2005 | David Hamilton

[rface]

Individuals affected with restless leg syndrome (RLS) describe the sensations as pulling, drawing, crawling, wormy, boring, tingling, pins and needles, prickly, and sometimes painful sensations that are usually accompanied by an overwhelming urge to move the legs. Movement provides temporary relief from the discomfort.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug by GlaxoSmithKline for the treatment of restless leg syndrome (RLS).

The drug, Requip, was first approved in 1997 for Parkinson's disease.

In a statement, the FDA said Requip effectively treated adults with moderate to severe RLS in three studies.

Requip is effectively the first and only drug ever approved to treat RLS.

[rface]

I wouldn't post this info except that Limbaugh has a radio bit about Restless Leg Syndrome that he plays once in a while

[cripplecreek]

[stubernx98]

Thanks for posting this. Russ is full of it on this one. All males in my family have got RLS. It is only a problem at night when you are trying to sleep.

[mcshot]

Bump as reminder to ask doc for some.
Thanks,
mc

[LiteKeeper]

read later

A RLS Survivor - barely

[nuconvert]

You talkin' about the Jimmy legs?

[united1000]

I have fought this off and on since I was a kid. Yes, as a teenager I even had it. As I got older I fight it a lot more often. It is absolutely awful to go to bed so tired and you can't lay still. It is also very hard to try and describe the feeling to those who have never had it before. You want to scream. I've watched many movies in the middle of the night because of it.

[The Spirit Of Allegiance]

"The stuff just doesn't work!"

[shield]

Learn to live with the condition....YIKES, the side effects of almost all of these stinkin' drugs aren't worth taking them at all!!!!!!!!!!!

[cherry]

it amazes how many people don't believe that Restless Leg Syndrome is REAL.......its one of a large group of dystonias that don't get the press that the MSM's darling the AIDs' community gets...

its not life threatening, just life changing, and it is treatable.....

[LaineyDee]

I used to take a combo of quinine, potassium, magnesium and calcium for leg cramps and bone spurs in my feet.... prescribed by my D.O. Within 6 mo's of taking that combo, my bone spurs had disappeared as well as the leg cramps.

I was so impressed that I started researching natural alternatives for other things....and came across an article that advised taking extra Vit. A ....for RLS symptoms. I think I would try that for awhile before trying the drugs. Natural supplements take a bit longer to get relief...but at least they don't have the nasty side-effects of chemicals.

[Semper911]

Thank you. I haven't laughed that hard in a while.

Took me a few seconds to figure out why you posted that pic, though.

[IdahoNative]

Cooling the legs/feet helps - the colder the better. I love North Idaho winters because when the restless legs starts in, a barefoot stroll around the cold cement floor in the unheated garage for a couple of minutes usually takes care of it and then I can go back to bed and actually lay still long enough to get some sleep.

[Jenya]

bump for later

[sneakers]

My sister was just diagnosed with this and the doctor prescribed some medication that has so many side affects that she's afraid to take it! I think I'll tell her about the extra Vitamin A that someone suggested.

[Peace Is Coming]

I suffered with this after taking a separate B vitamin.
I remembered reading that you should never take a B vitamin by itself, as it causes you to be short on all the other B vitamins.
After throwing that in the trash, and trying a B complex which has ALL the B vitamins, the symptoms left.

[datura]

Interesting. I used to take a B complex that seemed to make my symptoms worse for RLS. Salt seems to lessen the RLS for me, and potassium.

[tang-soo]

The drug, Requip, was first approved in 1997 for Parkinson's disease.

Thank you for this post. My 69 hear old father was originally diagnosed with Parkinson's disease about a month ago. Now his dr. is convinced he is suffering from something else. They don't know what it is yet. However, my dad also complains about all the things related to RLS. I will pass this on to him.

[RGVTx]

Marking for later reference. I call 'em night crawlies.

[Marie]

I know exactly how you feel. The sensation isn't exactly pain, but it will drive you to cut off limbs. After five or six nights in a row, I'm ready to shoot myself. (I take a lot of sleeping pills. I've got a cocktail that would probably kill a lesser mortal that sometimes gets me to sleep. That, and I tape a LOT of TV for those all-nighters for when even the cocktail doesn't work.)