Every month, I’ll be
highlighting breast cancer research that is going on RIGHT NOW! Harvested from
different websites, journals and podcasts, I’ll translate them into
understandable English and share them with you. Today: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restless_legs_syndrome
First of course, the definition: “Restless legs syndrome
(RLS) also known as Willis-Ekbom disease (WED)[1] or Wittmaack-Ekbom syndrome,
is a neurological disorder characterized by an irresistible urge to move one's
body to stop uncomfortable or odd sensations. It most commonly affects the
legs, but can affect the arms, torso, head, and even phantom limbs. Moving the
affected body part modulates the sensations, providing temporary relief.”
Once again, this is something my wife has struggled with.
But instead of breast cancer causing it, it has exacerbated it. She’s had RLS
her whole life (at least since she was six years old!) Breast cancer – double mastectomy,
aggressive tri-weekly chemotherapy (Taxotere + Adriamycin + Cytoxan and the
next day, neulasta), followed by five years of anastrazole – just made it...weirder.
I first experienced when we got married. At night, before
falling asleep, she would move her legs in order to “short-circuit” the odd
sensations. That seemed to work. Then the cancer diagnosis and treatment and as
of right now, it has manifested itself by odd sensations in her LEFT arm. This
is odd because the removal of sentinel nodes and the resulting lymphedema was
in the RIGHT pit and arm (sounds like a medieval British pub, doesn’t it...).
Current research suggests “...exercise, avoiding RLS
precipitants (caffeine, alcohol, antidepressants, antihistamines); exercise;
counter stimulus to sensory symptoms (hot or cold baths, limb massage,
compression stockings, counter-pulsation devices); herbal medicines and
acupuncture; and cognitive behavioral therapy.”
Her first “go to” was to up her calcium intake: “Dehydration,
prolonged sitting, or not getting enough potassium, calcium or magnesium in
your diet can be associated with leg cramps. So can certain medications --
including diuretics, beta blockers and other blood pressure drugs. Sometimes,
these cramps also may be related to an underlying metabolic condition, such as
an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) or a parathyroid condition. Diabetes or
other conditions that disrupt your metabolism can also cause muscle cramps.”
The calcium chews she’d been doing were originally to
counter the bone debilitation caused by the chemotherapy, so she stopped for a
while. The RLS increased and now she uses the calcium chews as well as a hot
water bottle to lower the intensity of the sensations.
As I wrote earlier, we’ve also started a regimen of exercise
together – alternating strength training (after a visit with the Planet Fitness
trainer) and cardio – we usually do a half an hour of stationary biking. The
hot water bottle was a “new development” and has been remarkably effective.
I’ll note here something we HAVE NOT tried, but is a recent development: “In 2014, the
FDA approved a device that provides electrical stimulation to the legs as a
non-medication treatment for restless legs syndrome. Studies suggest this
treatment can be quite helpful. Although it is generally well tolerated, it
occasionally causes a temporary worsening of symptoms, leg cramps, soreness and
motion sickness.” My guess is that this is an outgrowth of the device developed
for those who suffer from chronic pain, what’s called Microcurrent Electrical
Therapy.
Taken all together, the “therapies” seem to be working for
the time being. It’s also light years better than adding ANOTHER pill to her
already abundant storehouse!
Resources: http://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/index.cfm/search-for-guides-reviews-and-reports/?productid=1328&pageaction=displayproduct,
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-04-13/lifestyle/sns-201204131600--tms--mayoclnctnmc-a20120413apr13_1_leg-cramps-restless-legs-syndrome-calf-muscles,
https://www.intelihealth.com/article/restless-legs-syndrome
