02.00am and wide awake.....stupid legs!!!

[Writerwannabe83]

I've been struck with restless legs and I want to rip them off and throw them out the window!!!

I can't sleep!!!!

I have been lying in bed wriggling around, stretching them, rubbing them, constantly moving my feet and nothing is helping!!

I have resorted to coming to the spare room, taking some paracetamol and using MN as a distraction....

You poor sod

I had that with both pregnancies. Awful the second time.

I think I tried rubbing Vicks on my knees (after much middle-of-the-night Googling) The GP gave me diazepam for sparing use. Only ever took a couple.

It is a total bastard.

It is a total bastard. Hateful, hateful legs. Has it with DS2 from early on and was beside myself with impotent rage. I found cool wet flannels on my legs helped...but I was pregnant this summer when it was hot as Hades, so appreciate it may not be so comfy for you unless you forget the environment and the gas bill and just crank up the central heating to sub-tropical

You have my sympathies, restless legs are suh a bugger. I'm being kept up by bloody painful acid reflux. Someone get this baby out of me!

They're the pits, aren't they? I'm wide awake (a combination of DCs and heartburn) and debating whether or not to go and raid the fridge...

Yep, restless legs was a new one for me with pregnancy. I have found a good walk in the afternoon and a banana helps a little. My other pregnancy symptoms have improved having reached the 12 week mark and I've decided that, on balance, I prefer restless legs to constant nausea and bone crushing fatigue, so I almost feel grateful for this development, as if it's chased away other, worse things, if you see what I mean.

Eat a banana a day! It helped me so much with jumpy legs. if I didn't eat a banana would wake up with awful cramp and figity legs. Something about potassium

Absolutely NOTHING in this world would ever make me desperate enough to eat a banana. EVER!!!

I've found doing some squats makes them stop. Mine get worse if I haven't done enough exercise - which is getting increasingly difficult!

I find the more active I have been during the day the worse the cramps/aches are

Ha, I know what you mean about bananas, Writer. I can't eat an actual banana but I can whizz it up with some milk and ice cream and make a smoothie...

You poor thing :(

I've had restless legs and (even more annoyingly) restless arms since about 25 weeks. It's bloody awful and I sympathise.

I know people who have restless legs all the time, and not just as a symptom of pregnancy, and I feel so sorry for them. At least we hope know ours should WILL end with the birth!

Writer honestly you have my sympathy! I've suffered with RLS since my teens and I just accept its one of those things, but I've had it every night of my pregnancy and it has got worse and worse,,, the other night/morning I was still awake at 5am with it!
Honestly I am going out of my mind, I am starting to dread going to bed (although sometimes it starts when I settle down in the evening before I go to bed). Some nights I think I ought to just get up as I can feel myself getting angry/upset/desperate but it would mean I would get absolutely no sleep ever.
I've tried a banana (5 bananas in one day), a long walk, stretches, rubbing them, nothing seems to make any difference.
I hope yours soon ease

Oh dear stillpukin - that sounds awful!! What actually causes it??? My sister has got two children and I told her off yesterday for not pre-warning me about all the horrible pregnancy stuff

I don't think theres evidence as to what the real cause of it is, I've heard it could be an iron deficiency or a dopamine deficiency but I don't think thats been proven either way.,, I think its just a case of some people 'just do'.
Its apparently very common to be a lot worse during pregnancy but is supposed to ease up again a few weeks (!!) after the birth (please god that cant come too soon). Yep, its definitely one of those things they don't warn you about lol

I've always had RLS, it's now worse during pregnancy. I cant work out whether it's worse than nausea, but i suspect so!

In the last few days i've given up my one cup of coffee today, since hearing even one cup would aggrevate it. Might try having a daily banana. I'm pretty sure being sedentary makes mine worse too.. might try and get a long walk in a lunch time.

Oh and by the way- when i get it in my leg, i also get it in the corresponding arm! horrific!!

Oh yes - mine migrates out of my legs too! When it's bad it's so uncomfortable that I try and hold my legs really stiff to avoid kicking my husband, but all that happens is the rest of me gives a giant twitch instead and I end up headbutting him. He doesn't appreciate either gesture .

I've occasionally (not very often) had it in my arms, its usually in my hips, knees and/or feet.
SharpLily, youch! Mine hasn't progressed to domestic violence (yet), usually hubby gets moved over to his edge of the bed so that I can wriggle around the rest of it,,,, I find trying to fight the twitch fruitless, its gotta come out somewhere, lol.
Hope you all get a restful nights sleep tonight x

Can I just say still that I absolutely LOVE the word fruitless and I try and use it all the time!! My sister laughs at me if I say it and tells me it is a stupid non-word that nobody uses!!! It has absolutely made my day that you've said it

I had horrendous restless legs both pregnancies and every so often at other times. My second pregnancy I went to see a homeopath about it. I'm a bit 'meh' about homeopathy but was willing to try anything. It worked. No idea if it was the placebo effect or if there's actually anything in it, but it worked for me.

Get a magnesium citrate supplement from a health food shop, with a knowledgable assistant to advise quantity to take. Worked a treat for me. I took 200mg daily but up to 500mg is ok I think but watch if there is also magnesium in any multi vitamin/mineral supplement if you are taking that too.

Poor you, I really feel for you. I think Happymumdays is right, I had it terrible with my first but as soon as I started taking pregnacare vitamins it went away.

I as it horrendously the other night too. It started with me getting throbbing aches in my foot at about 4pm and then as the evening progressed it spread up into my calf. It was agonising. My husband kept rubbing my foot and calf but that only eased it momentarily. I was also taking regular pain relief but nothing was working. At 2am I was actually in tears because it couldn't take it anymore. I was just so tired and desperate for sleep but the sensations were just unbearable.

I had a break from it the next night but the following day the aches started again but thankfully not as bad. I took a hot water bottle to bed that night and kept switching it between lying under my my foot and then under my calf which actually really helped - I also took some paracetamol. The pains didn't progress thankfully and I was able to get some sleep.

Touch wood everything is feeling ok tonight!

I keep saying calf and foot in the singular sense because for some reason I'm only getting the pains in my right foot/leg. Very odd

Sorry to say that this is what kept me up last night and stopped me sleeping at about the same time.

My DCs are 9 and 12 so I can't blame it on pregnancy hormones!