Leg tremors that cause restless legs syndrome may increase from time to time. Restless legs syndrome can affect quality of life by affecting sleep. Assoc. Dr. Ülkü Figen Demir, about restless legs syndrome: “Restless legs syndrome is a disorder that is very common in the society at first, especially in the evening hours, but can be experienced during the daytime in the later stages of the disease, which causes complaints such as pain, pulling, tingling in the legs that occur with rest. “In order to eliminate the discomfort, he wants to move, shake his legs and sometimes get up and walk. In this way, the complaints reappear when the patient, whose complaints disappear, rests again or goes to bed, “he said.
IT MAY CAUSE DUE TO IRON DEFICIENCY
“This disease can also be a harbinger of iron deficiency,” he said. While it is stated that 50% of the people with the disease have a family history; He also drew attention to the presence of pathologies such as kidney failure, diabetes, anemia, iron deficiency, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury and neuropathy. Its incidence in the community is around 10%. It is slightly more common in women than men. Although symptoms can be experienced at an early age, symptoms become evident especially in the 40-50s.
FAMILY STORY EVIDENT FACTOR
The exact reason is not clear at this time. But the theory of dysfunction of a substance in the body called dopamine is one of the most widely accepted theories. When questioned, a significant portion of the patients state that they have relatives with similar complaints to their own. According to the results of the studies, approximately 50% of the patients have a family history. Restless legs syndrome sometimes occurs without an identifiable underlying cause. In a group of patients, there are pathologies such as kidney failure, diabetes, anemia, iron deficiency, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury, neuropathy. Apart from the diseases mentioned, pregnancy can also be considered as one of the factors that increase the severity of the disease.
THE PATIENT IS AFFECTED BOTH PHYSICALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY
Unpleasant sensations such as pain, numbness and tingling are mostly seen between the knees and feet, but are rarely felt in the arm. Although it may feel one-sided for a while at first, it becomes bilateral over time. Typical features are that the symptoms increase especially in the evening and decrease with movement and walking. Due to this situation, activities such as cinema and theater where you need to sit still can become challenging. All of these have both physical and psychological repercussions and result in a sleep disorder. So much so that sometimes the main complaint of patients is not being able to fall asleep, and when questioned accordingly, it is understood that the main diagnosis is Restless Legs Syndrome.
THE UNDERLYING CAUSE MUST BE DETERMINED BEFORE TREATMENT
In the treatment, first of all, if an underlying cause can be determined, the treatment of the disease is the basis. Treatment of iron deficiency is especially important in female patients of reproductive age. Although those with chronic diseases such as diabetes and kidney failure do not have a chance to eliminate their disease, it is important to minimize metabolic problems in order to control symptoms. In cases where these basic approaches are insufficient, drug treatments come to the fore. The most used and most effective drugs are some agents used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease or epilepsy. The disease tends to progress in general, and the drugs used may become ineffective after a while. For this reason, it may be necessary to save the most effective alternatives for the later stages of the disease as much as possible, and if the drug has become ineffective, it may be necessary to switch to another agent and interrupt that treatment for a while.