Синдром беспокойных ног: как диета и образ жизни помогают управлять заболеванием

Restless leg syndrome, also known as Willis-Ekbom disease, is a debilitating neurological condition that affects about 7% of the adult population. It causes overwhelmingly uncomfortable feelings in the body, which forces people to jiggle and move about to get relief. It can affect sleep and lifestyle so dramatically that people with the condition have a higher incidence of suicide. Roger, 68, who prefers not to be fully identified, shares his experience of RLS with Paulette Crowley. My memories of Dad are of him sitting with a little glass of sherry in front of the TV before inevitably saying, “Oh, humf!” when his legs would start jerking around involuntarily. He had to stand and then stomp about to stop his legs from jumping. He had restless legs syndrome (RLS) but it was largely unknown back then. Walking helps stop the restless legs, but only temporarily. There’s a hereditary component to RLS and I remember thinking, “I hope I’m not going to be afflicted with it like my dad and older sister.” But sure enough, I noticed it very slowly starting to affect me when I was in my early 30s. The condition is a sensory motor disorder due to an abnormality in the dopaminergic system, which refers to the network of neurons in the brain that use the chemical messenger dopamine to control movement, reward, memory and behaviour. It’s in a similar class to Parkinson’s disease in that dopamine is affected, but it affects a different part of the brain. It’s a very complex syndrome and there’s no single cause. It’s challenging to describe what RLS feels like, but some people say it’s like having worms or electricity all over your body. It doesn’t just affect your legs, it can wrack your whole body at times, even your arms. At its most extreme, it’s like my body isn’t mine – it feels possessed. Some people think RLS happens only when you’re in bed, but symptoms can kick in any time from about 3pm and last throughout the night. The condition runs on a circadian rhythm. I remember a trip overseas where I had two or three days of bliss because my circadian rhythm hadn’t adjusted to the new time zone. Whatever RLS symptoms I had happened during the day when I was out and about, and I hardly noticed them. The symptoms kicked back in slowly as my body adjusted to the new time zone. Having RLS really disrupts your lifestyle. I dread it when I go to the movies or out to dinner – I’m always wondering if it will start. If it does, there’s an absolute need to kick. I might try to hold it in but that makes it even worse. Then I have to get up and walk around. It’s embarrassing when that happens. RLS also affects families, particularly my partner in bed at night. If I have RLS it will not only wake me up but her as well. She is very tolerant of that but is also a light sleeper. There is no cure for RLS, which gets worse as you age. I’m 68 now and have been prescribed a variety of different medicines over the years but apart from medication, diet is a huge part of how I manage RLS. In recent years, I’ve found limiting sugar is incredibly effective and for a long time, I’ve known that alcohol and caffeine were major triggers for me. So, I don’t drink alcohol, which is unfortunate because I love my chardonnay. If I’m out for dinner and was to have a chardonnay with dessert and then follow up with a coffee, I’d be done for. I can feel the RLS creeping up on me within 20 minutes. It’s just not worth it. Before I identified the sugar side of it, Christmas was always a challenging time. I remember spending it with relatives up north, eating all the rich food, like pavlova, and even a small amount of alcohol. During that week, I basically didn’t sleep. No amount of medication would fix it and I’d be up all night, walking – hence the other name for RLS: “night-walker’s syndrome”. It was absolutely terrible. There’s a link between low iron stores and RLS. It can be a temporary thing for people who are anaemic. Pregnant women, for example, who might have low iron stores, can get RLS. Now, I take iron tablets as part of managing my condition. Exercise is another way to manage symptoms, although I can’t do too much of it, or too little, without causing symptoms. The sweet spot would be going for a bike ride or walk – that kind of thing is fine. But if I were to go overboard on a serious tramp, I’d be more likely to have symptoms. Similarly, if I do absolutely nothing, the RLS will come on. Another thing that really helps is having a hot shower before bed. Brain activities such as crosswords and working on our business help divert my attention away from it. I have a much better understanding of my condition now but even with the great self-management that I have, I can still potentially have an episode of RLS at night. It’s just on a continuum, really. But I must say, over the past month or two, it’s been really, really good after cutting out a lot of sugar and trying new regimes. These days, there’s so much more information out there about RLS, but there are still doctors who aren’t up to speed. I’ve been lucky – I went to my doctor armed with lots of research and he was fine. But I know other people who will turn up to their doctor who’ll be suspicious and ignorant and tell them to “get over it”.