Restless Legs Syndrome
Relief and Hope for Sleepless Victims of a Hidden Epidemic
Chapter One: Yes, It Is a Real Disease
The miserable have no other medicine, but only hope.
-- William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure
The word nightwalkers describes people (like me) who are forced to endure profoundly disagreeable creepy-crawly symptoms in their legs that can be relieved only by movement or medication. Walking is the method most commonly used, and since the restless limbs suffer more at night, the severely afflicted may have to walk all night long. Hence nightwalkers.
The severity of symptoms ranges from mild (uncomfortable and intermittent), to moderate, to severe (distressing and daily). Those with the severe form -- who have the agony of serious sleep deprivation as well as the discomfort of RLS -- have in some cases been driven to suicide.
My RLS eventually became severe: sleep was impossible until daybreak. I spent many dark hours walking. I can testify from experience that the name restless legs syndrome, tho ... read full excerpt from Restless Legs Syndrome: Relief and Hope for Sleepless Victims of a Hidden Epidemic ebook
