Posts Tagged ‘Sleep Disturbances’

Restless Legs Syndrome – Causes, Symptoms and Treatment Methods

February 6th, 2011
Juliet Cohen asked:




Restless legs syndrome is a poorly understood and often misdiagnosed disorder and is believed to be a neurological disorder. Restless legs syndrome is a common cause of painful legs. Often called paresthesias (abnormal sensations) or dysesthesias, the sensations range in severity from uncomfortable to irritating to painful. It is characterized by unpleasant sensations in the legs and an uncontrollable urge to move them for relief. Patients with RLS may also experience sleep disturbances and periodic leg movements either during sleep or while awake. It usually makes you feel like getting up and moving around. When you do so, the unpleasant feeling of restless legs syndrome goes away. The most distinctive or unusual aspect of the condition is that lying down and trying to relax activates the symptoms. People with RLS use words such as creeping, crawling, tingling, or burning to describe these feelings. Moving the legs eases the feelings, but only for a while. The unpleasant feelings may also occur in the arms. Restless leg syndrome usually begins slowly. Over time, the legs become more affected. Less frequently, restless leg syndrome can affect the arms.

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is often unrecognized or misdiagnosed. Patients with RLS have an irresistible urge to move their legs, which is usually due to disagreeable sensations that are worse during periods of inactivity and often interfere with sleep. Restless legs syndrome may start at any age, including early childhood, and is a progressive disease for a certain percentage of sufferers, although it has been known for the symptoms to disappear permanently in some sufferers. Restless legs syndrome occurs in both genders, although the incidence may be slightly higher in women. It often affects members of the same family and recent research indicates that there may be an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance. Symptoms get gradually worse over time in about two thirds of people with the condition and may be severe enough to be disabling. The symptoms are generally worse in the evening and night and less severe in the morning. A variety of different classes of drugs (eg. dopaminergic drugs, benzodiazepines, opiates, and anticonvulsants) are available for the management of idiopathic RLS.

Causes of Restless legs syndrome

The common causes and risk factor’s of Restless legs syndrome include the following:

The cause of restless leg syndrome is unknown in most patients.

Smoking.

A family history of Restless legs syndrome.

Iron deficiency.

Chronic diseases such as kidney failure, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and peripheral neuropathy.

Psychiatric factors, stress, and fatigue.

Certain medications-such as antinausea drugs, antiseizure drugs.

Symptoms of Restless legs syndrome

Some sign and symptoms related to Restless legs syndrome are as follows:

Sleep disturbances and daytime sleepiness are very common.

Origination during inactivity.

An unpleasant feeling in the legs

Nighttime leg twitching.

Increased symptoms in the afternoon, evening and night.

Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep because of the unpleasant feelings in the legs or arms.

Treatment of Restless legs syndrome

Here is list of the methods for treating Restless legs syndrome:

Narcotic medications can relieve mild to severe symptoms, but they may be addicting if used in too high doses.

Patients with prominent varicose veins in the legs may benefit from Ted hose.

Get some exercise every day.

Decreased use of caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco may provide some relief.

You may benefit from physical therapy, such as stretching, hot or cold baths, whirlpool baths, hot or cold packs, limb massage, or vibratory or electrical stimulation of the feet and toes before bedtime.

Physicians also may suggest a variety of medications to treat RLS, including dopaminergics, benzodiazepines (central nervous system depressants), opioids, and anticonvulsants.



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Learn About Fibromyalgia

September 23rd, 2010
Mila T Sabido asked:




Fibromyalgia is a non infectious, non progressive, non life threatening condition where the patient experiences pain in different parts of the body including the skin which is extremely sensitive to touch. Recent studies indicate that the condition may involve more than just pain and the concept of ‘fribromyalgia syndrome’ has emerged. It is also suspected that the patients with fibromyalgia may be genetically predisposed to the condition.

What causes fibromyalgia? The causes are as yet unknown. Hypotheses are many. Patients could be genetically predisposed. Stress could be a participating factor in the development of the disease. Psychosomatic illnesses and related stress could trigger off the problem. Disturbed sleep patterns, serotonin deficiency, dopamine abnormality, problems in the hypothalamus, comorbid disorders, deposition disease, environmental toxins, viruses, neurotransmitter disruptions and several other factors have been hypothesized to be the cause of fibromyalgia.

The pathophysiology of the disease indicates that patients with fibromyalgia exhibit disturbed sleep patterns, poly modal sensitivity(such as sensitivity to heat, cold, electrical and chemical simulation), neuroendocrine disruption causing mild hyperactivity of the pituitary gland and progressive reduction of the growth hormone, sympathetic hyperactivity of the nervous system, cerebrospinal fluid abnormalities and abnormal brain involvement.

The symptoms of the disease include chronic, widespread pain and tenderness to light touch; moderate to severe fatigue; tingling, needle sharp muscle aches, muscle spasms, weakness in limbs, nerve pain, functional bowel disturbances, sleep disturbances, cognitive dysfunction(such as short term and long term memory problems), dermatological disorders, headaches, myclonic twitches and symptomatic hypoglycemia. Patients display increased psychological stress.

Treatment of fibromyalgia is symptomatic, as the condition is not completely understood. Doctors often prescribe mild analgesics for pain, muscle relaxants, tricyclic anti depressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, anti seizure medication, dopamine agonists, central nervous system stimulants or a combination of the above mentioned therapies. There are several non drug treatments also suggested such as floatation tank therapy. Physical treatments involve exercise and sleep therapies to reduce pain and improve sleep. Psychological therapies may include counseling, biofeedback and self management therapies and diet therapies may include minimizing consumption of monosodium glutamate. A few controversial investigational therapies are also offered for those willing to take the risk.

Fibromyalgia affects about 2% of any population.

by: Mila Sabido

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Chronic Daily Headache Treatment

July 8th, 2010
Douglas Hanna asked:




Chronic headache treatment is possible as there are a variety of preventive medications available. Here are the medications your doctor may recommend.

Antidepressants

Antidepressants such as Amitriptyline (Aventyl), nortriptyline (Pamelor) and other tricyclic antidepressants are the most widely used treatments for all forms of these headaches. These medications are valuable because they also help treat depression, anxiety and sleep disturbances that often accompany chronic daily headache.

SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)

There is also evidence that suggests other antidepressants such as the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may be effective in treating these headaches for some sufferers. SSRIs that have been used to treat this condition include fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine, nafazodone, veniafazine, citaloprom and escitalopram. These SSRIs can have adverse effects so, again, it is important you discuss these with your doctor.

Beta-blockers

While these drugs are most commonly used to treat high blood pressure, they are often helpful in treating episodic migraines. Beta-blockers used to treat chronic daily headache include atenolol (Tenormin), metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol), nadolol (Corgard), propranolol (Inderal) and timolol (Blocadren). In some cases these beta-blockers are prescribed in combination with antidepressants.

Anti-seizure drugs

Anticonvulsant drugs used in migraine prevention are also being used increasingly to treat this type of headache. Drugs in this category include divalproex (Depakote), gabapentin, (Neurontin) and topiramate (Topamax).

Muscle relaxers

While not always effective in the treatment of chronic daily headache, muscle relaxers such as tizanidine Zanaflex) have helped in some cases.

NSAIDs (Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents)

Naproxen and other nonsteroidal and anti-inflammatory drugs may be effective in the treatment of these daily headaches, especially if you’re undergoing withdrawal from some other pain relievers. Included in this group are naproxen (Aleve, Anaprox), ketoprofen (Orudis) and mefenamic acid (Ponstel)

Cox-2 inhibitors

While These drugs Are Similar to NSAIDs, they work differently and have fewer side effects. Medications such as Celebrex, Vioxx and Excedrine are most helpful in treating chronic daily headache when combined with other preventive medications. Typically, they are prescribed for one or two months if you are withdrawing from pain relief medications, to help decrease the frequency and severity of rebound headaches.

Others

Botox is currently being researched as a possible for many of treatment for this type of daily headache. Injections of a local anesthetic around a nerve (nerve block) or injections of a numbing agent and corticosteroid at the point of pain are sometimes recommended for chronic daily headache.

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