From the first moment my wife discovered
she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even
ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have
received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than
mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started
this blog…That was four years ago – as time passed, people searching for
answers stumbled across my blog and checked out what I had to say. The
following entry appeared in January of 2015.
First of course,
the definition: “Restless legs syndrome (RLS) also known as Willis-Ekbom
disease (WED) 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
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