reluctance to write about it because of the apprehension I've just mentioned, I also like to get paid, which is why this month's article is about RLS.
.....So what is RLS? The best definition is one that comes from the (US) National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: "a neurological disorder characterized by unpleasant sensations in the legs and an uncontrollable urge to move when at rest in an effort to relieve these feelings."
.....In plainer English, a person who suffers from RLS feels uncomfortable or painful sensations emanating from their legs (most often in the area between the knee and ankle, and generally occurring on both sides) when they're at rest or relaxing - in bed, sitting on a couch, on a long car trip, on a flight (although these days, a flight is anything but relaxing - US Air is now charging for water, for crying out loud!!!) - and the only way these people get any relief from those unpleasant sensations is to move their legs, which works for a limited time only, of course. |
.....Restless leg syndrome is a relatively new member of a fraternity of medical conditions that I really hate to tackle - fibromyalgia, social anxiety disorder, SADS, yeast infections, Morgellon's, most "food allergies", whether to supplement the rapidly-aging (moi?) with chemicals and stimulants such as growth hormone or testosterone, and dozens of others - because I know that when I write about any member of this huge and growing family, I'm going to get a lot of people upset, and I don't know about you, folks, but I really don't enjoy getting emails or letters that start with, "how dare you say what you said," or "what kind of an idiot are you, anyway?"
.....I get enough of that at home, after all.
.....But why, you may wonder, do so many people get upset with a discussion of these problems?
.....Because with all these conditions, there is no really good objective blood test or Xray or investigation that can "prove" the diagnosis (or even a definitive test to tell you the best therapy), and that can be |
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incredibly frustrating, especially, of course, for the millions of people who, frustrated with the poor answers they've received from their medical careers about what's ailing them, have instead resorted to diagnosing themselves from web sites that invariably assure them that their symptoms are definitive proof that
 they have Condition X or Y, and some of these people end up spending as much energy trying to convince the skeptics (including often their doctors and other family members) about the validity of their diagnosis - and the need for a particular therapy - as they spend on trying to get on with their lives.
.....This month, however, my editor asked for an article on restless leg syndrome (RLS), so despite my |
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