About Restless Leg Sydrome

By Author: Thomas Strickland
Total Articles: 102
Comment this article

Also known as Wittmaack-Ekbom's syndrome, or even just Restless Legs, Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) is a condition in which the sufferer has intense urges to move their legs. Sometimes it affects other parts of the body. The "urge", which is a neurological impulse, can feel like burning, itching, crawling, stinging, or even electric sensations. The understanding of these urges is unique to the sufferer and how intense they are seems to vary.

People with Restless Leg complain that they cannot sleep because they must constantly move. They often have trouble just sitting in a chair.

Other Common Treatments

RLS is usually treated with drugs normally thought of as painkillers. The most common drugs used to treat Restless Leg are opioids, anticonvulsants, dopamine agonists, and benzodiazepines.

Opioids - Many severe cases of Restless Leg are treated with opioid painkillers. They are called opioids because they are either derived from or chemically resemble the derivatives of opium poppies. Their main effect is to relieve pain and allow the user to move behind the unusual sensations they experience with RLS. ...
... However, they do not stop the crawling and burning sensations. That, plus the fact that longer-term users risk addiction, means that they are not the most preferred treatment.

Anticonvulsants - These drugs were initially used for people with epileptic seizures and other seizure disorders. They are now very common in the treatment of mental illnesses, including depression and bipolar disorder. They help with the sensations in RLS, but can only help with very mild pain and discomfort.

Dopamine Agonists - These drugs have been used for treating Parkinson's Disease since 1997. Since 2001, the FDA approved dopamine agonists for treating RLS. Existing dopamine agonists have serious side effects that are common and often worse than Restless Leg in the first place. There is also concern that it is rarely effective at relieving symptoms of RLS and may make symptoms worse. It also seems to fuel compulsive gambling and other compulsive activities.

Benzodiazepines - Benzos, as they are sometimes called, have many different medicinal effects on the body, including analgesia (pain reduction) and a hypnotic effect (makes you sleep). They are also good at reducing the symptoms of RLS. Add it together and you have a very potent short-term treatment for Restless Leg Syndrome. Short-term, because long-term use comes with serious psychological side effects and the risk of dependency. The more you use benzodiazepines, the higher your tolerance. This means higher doses, more side effects, and higher risk of addiction and severe withdrawal.

Treating RLS with Ultram

The Drug in Question

Ultram is an analgesic drug that treats moderate to moderately severe pain. It is an artificial opioid drug. While it resembles other opioids and is in the same class, it does not have many of the same addictive properties and risks.

You can take it as either a tablet or a local injection.

How it Helps

It dulls the pain and relaxes muscles and nerves to eliminate the creep-crawly feeling, and any other sensations. Because of the relaxation, patients are able to fall asleep and stay that way.

Expanding Use

Use for treatment of RLS is still off-label, meaning doctors prescribe it without the specific FDA label. Clinical testing has shown Ultram is effective.