Restless Legs- anyone else?

[TheBreastmilksOnMe]

I am 27 weeks and for a few weeks have been suffering with highly irritating restless legs. I was wondering if anyone else had it too, what they did to help and does it mean anything is wrong or is it just another pregnancy symptom to have to put up with?

I'm afraid it's just another horrible pregnancy thing - so so so annoying, you have my sympathy. I have read some tips on here in the past about what you can do for it but I cannot remember them now, sorry. Someone helpful will be along though I'm sure.

It's horrid isn't it and I seem to have restless arms too!
Feels like the bones are itching.
I asked my midwife and she suggested getting up and walking about and also rolling a wine bottle under your feet - which I haven't tried yet but will do now as it's driving me mad this evening.

Will watch with interest for other advice.

It can be a sign of various vitamin & mineral deficiencies - magnesium being a common culprit. Are you continuing to take a prenatal supplement? If not, I'd start again.

I had horrific restless legs with DD (now nearly 4 months) and nothing seemed to help - I was actually making the sides of my feet sore. Looked up lots of stuff on the net about this (there are some truly alarming pieces out there) but best advice from my midwife was to take a couple of paracetemol and get a leg massage from DH! Japhrimel is right that it's worth mentioning at your next check-up but generally it's just a harmless but desperately annoying side-effect of litres of extra blood, overheating and a restless brain planning for your DC's arrival!

Oooo I've got this, mainly later in the evening. I found putting on my v attractive compression stockings helped. So annoying!

I had this with both pregnancies - really annoying - in my case I think it was iron deficiency - when they found my iron levels were low and gave me supplements the legs got better.

One of the girls in my pregnancy yoga classes said that calcium tablets worked well for her. But that might be covered in any of the pregnancy tablets - as Japhrimel has recommended.

I feel your pain, I had this in my last pregnancy and this one too- started quite early as well. I get it in the evenings and in bed, I find it's when my feet are too hot, so keep a window open, feet out of the cover etc. Last pregnancy I took to going downstairs and walking on the cold kitchen tiles or wrapping a cold wet towel around my ankles (the bed does get a bit soggy!) another tip I've heard is putting those coolbox ice packs (from the freezer) under the bedsheet- or you can buy special pads to lie on that you can put in the freezer to put under your legs but they're not cheap www.personalcooling.co.uk/templates/page_01.php?cfp=page:0008

I find it a double edged sword, I get my legs cool enough to stop the restless leg then wake up with cramp in my calf as my leg is too cold- argh!!

I had it in my fourth pregnancy but it was because my iron levels were too low, with tablets it completely went - but you have my sympathy, just so so frustrating

I had it really badly when I was expecting dd. Did some googling and came up with a plan. Can't remember the exact science behind it, but I know it was to do with vitamin and mineral deficiencies, definitely Iron and calcium and I think possibly potassium as well.

Anyway, my plan was to have a dose of Floradix eat a banana and drink a glass of milk roughly an hour before going to bed.

I was sceptical, but it really did work for me, so much so that others on my antenatal thread tried it as well with similar results.

Some great advice there girls, thankyou. I think I will try the keeping my legs cool suggestion and maybe up my intake of iron. I might try that Floradix as I have heard a lot about it. I usually take Spatone but taking it in orange juice is guaranteed to give me heartburn, something else I could do without and I can taste it in plain water so I have stopped taking it.

Anyway roll on labour day and hopefully a stop to all these pregnancy niggles!