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I had it before pregnancy and then its worse now, i get it whenever i get tired at night...when i want to relax! there isnt anything that ive found that works for it so far and from everything ive read they havent found anything you can do during pregnancy since the meds they have for it now are not safe during pregnancy...it sucks but i guess we just have to live with it

What you say about RLS and the meds used for it is exactly what my Dr said. SInce writing that post I have found out and tried a few things. I found out that it is often related to low iron, or B vitamin or folate deficiency, and that iron supplements often help even when there is no detectable deficiency. I tried a supplement equivalent to 35mg of elemental iron, in addition to my regular prenatals, and my legs are definitely better now, 2 weeks later. I just have to make sure to eat plenty of fruit to avoid constipation from the supplement, but so far it hasn't been a problem.

interesting...i'll have to look into that! thanks for the advice sonia!

WOW!!! i thought i was going crazy!!! since being pregnant i have been struggling through RLS with not much help from my dr. :( i am so glad you posted this!!! maybe i need to look into my prenatal supplement to be sure i am getting everything i need. thx, amy

I see I'm definitely not alone with this! My legs are better, but they stil get jumpy when I get tired. But it's not as bad as it was. I also found that having an orgasm seems to stop the RLS just long enough for me to get to sleep. I think I was wearing out my boyfriend because he actually went and bought me a vibrator! But hey, it works.

LOLOLOL, when I reached my 3rd trimester, specifically 32 weeks and up, I had RLS in both legs and sometimes my arms as well. It got so bad that I couldn't even sit on the toilet without it affecting me. I'd come home from work and in less than 5 minutes of sitting down it started up. I had it 24 hours a day! Night time was torture for me. I remember being so sleep deprived, pacing my living room floor just trying to get some relief. Some nights I cried because I was so frustrated with RLS. It was extreme in my case because I was severely anemic the last trimester. I know this is tmi...but I had internal hemmroids that caused me to lose blood almost on a daily basis. Once I went to the hospital they had to get me 8 units of blood before they induced me. After 2 units of blood the RLS completely disappeared. I'm telling you I slept like I was the baby for a few days! It was hog heaven. My son is 11 months now and I still get it a few times a month. I absolutely hate it though. But it was torture when I was pregnant. The doctors at the hospital said even though they don't know exactly what causes it, they have a few ideas. Not having enough iron is one of them. They said thats why it went away once I received blood. Who knows, im glad it's gone!

I have had RLS since I was a teen, but find it gets a lot worse during pregnancy. I find it comes on stronger when I've been laying down a lot during the day and haven't been very active, or when I'm really hot. Hot baths seem to make it worse. It drives me nuts cause I jus feel this constant urge to stretch my legs and then I start to get leg cramps, I have found that getting up and going for a quick walk around the house or outside around the block helps, and cooling the legs off with a cold cloth or luke warm bath helps too.

wow, krc, that's amazing how much the rls improved after you received some blood. Goes to show it probably is iron-related. I bet it's iron- or otherwise nutrition-related in a lot of people who aren't even pregnant and they get put on heavy medications for nothing. I know what you mean about not even being able to sit on the can!