27mo with Restless Leg Syndrome?
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27mo with Restless Leg Syndrome?
Hi ladies -
I think my 27mo son has bouts with RLS. He used to be a horrible sleeper for behavioral reasons -but now there are some nights where he wakes 2+ times - sometimes just tossing and turning - sometimes needing me. I can tell he is very frustrated and very eager to go back to sleep -but can't. There are times when I'll hear him playing his Ocean Wonders Aquarium over and over again - for up to 1.5 hours - just trying to get back to sleep. The basic thing I've noticed are his little legs twitching/kicking to the point I think that is what is keeping him up. This doesn't happen every night - probably more like once every couple of weeks. But it makes for a very long, tiring night for both of us!!!!
Have any of you had this experience with your kids?
What have you found works to relieve the rls?
I feel like I'm failing him on these nights b/c I cannot help him go back to sleep.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Amy
Mom to almost 27mo Garrett - and we are tired today!!!!!!!
I didn't even realize kids could HAVE RLS. Have you talked to your pediatrician about this?
Wow, Amy are you sure it's RLS?
I had it during my pregnancy, the only thing that worked for me was a warm shower before bed, it helped me relax, but I had to go to bed right after the shower otherwise it would start again.
Have you taken him to the doctor?
Please keep us updated.
I haven't asked the doc about it - I guess b/c it is so sporadic and I only get worried after one of the bad nights. I think that he was such a poor sleeper when he was a baby that I am a little used to it.
I did some prelim research online this am and there were some references to this starting in toddlerhood. My dh suffers from it from time to time.
One thing that can trigger it is lots of excercise late in the day - well, my little guy loves to jump - a lot. Last night right before bath, he was on our neighbor's front porch dancing/jumping saying "shake it... get down". Very cute but probably didn't help things.
:0)
Amy
My dh has this and I've wondered about my dd but her's comes and goes so I've never spoken to her doctor about it. My dh will take a shower, stretch his calf muscles and, if it gets bad in the middle of the night, both of us massage his legs for a few minutes. If my dd is having trouble with her legs feeling "jumpy", we usually have her stretch them out for about 10 minutes and I'll do a little bit of massage on them. It seems to help but she's older than your ds. The stretching seems to make the most difference for both of them. HTH It's miserable for us as moms when we can't help our kids.
Found this in an article:
Restless Leg Syndrome:
The symptoms of this disorder include discomfort in the legs (usually a prickly, tingling sensation) that the child might report as pain. Since this interferes with the child's ability to get comfortable and relaxed for sleep, he may have a hard time falling asleep or staying asleep. You can help to relieve these symptoms by getting your child up to walk around the house a bit, massaging his legs, and offering a warm bath or shower.
Little is known about the cause of this disorder, but it is considered to be a serious condition that may require medical attention. If the problem is severe enough that your child is losing significant amounts of sleep, or the pain persists while awake, you should you should contact a medical doctor or behavioral health professional who specializes in sleep disorders.
My DS doesn't seem to have symptoms during the day - I will try the simplest methods first - no crazy running/jumping just before bed, allowing him to walk around a bit if bothering him, warm bath, massage.. and go from there. So hard when he is too young to verbalize.
Ugh. To add insult to injury - he took less than an hour nap. We usually get at least 1.5 hours. Early bedtime tonight... for both of us!
Geesh.
Maybe he is having "growing pains" instead of RLS? Just a thought.
Could be! He has had an incredible appetite the past few days. We had another bad, bad night last night - and my tolerance is pretty high! Ugh!
I'm open to any ideas/suggestions!
Thanks.
Amy
I suggest you take him to a doctor immediately and ask him straight out if it could possibly be RLS. I have this myself and it is miserable. Worse than any pain could be if you have a serious enough case.
If this is what your son is suffering from then he shouldn't have to go through it anymore without something to make it more bearable. Until you experience a bad episode of this yourself, you have no idea how miserable and intolerable it is. Pain, I can handle. I just about go nuts with RLS. I am on medication for it, but when I was really sick, the meds didn't help all the time, and I could barely stand to be in the car for even short periods of time.
Please, take your little one to the dr. and mention that you think it may be RLS. If you don't mention it, they may not even think about that. Since you have seen the symptoms first hand, you can describe them best to the dr. and let him know that they fit some of the descriptions of RLS. Doctors cannot always think of everything right off hand. So don't be afraid to speak up.
If you son does have RLS, he is absolutely miserable. Don't make him keep suffering from something that can be helped. And if the dr. suggests things that you have tried over and over and they didn't work, then tell him. We have tried that several times, and it didn't work. I'd rather move on and try something new.
By the way, being very active during the day can make this worse at night....
Food allergies?
Too much processed sugar intake?
Vitamin/Mineral Deficiency?
Also, try warm Epsom salt baths and let him play and soak as long as possible.
My son experienced this at the same age and when I began to look closely at what he was taking in and not taking in it was a good place to start for me. The baths really helped though!
Here are a couple of interesting websites that you may find interesting. Magnesium is HUGE for symptoms like this!
Sorry if it's not clickable.
http://www.ctds.info/5_13_magnesium.html
http://www.epsomsaltcouncil.org/about_starved_for_magnesium.htm
Thanks!
Amy
Magnesium Link 1
Epsom Salt Link
Just wondering if you ever went to the doctor about this or how things are going. I have never heard of it is younger ones and am just curious. Hope he is doing better!!
Hey there -
Thanks for asking -
We did not go to the doctor - as the tossing and turning seemed to subside. I did make some positive changes in his diet...
I am so glad to hear that those changes may be working. I hope he continues to improve as you have the discernment to see will work best for him.
My DD will be 8 soon and she has dealt with something like this since she was a baby. Not sure it is RLS because different parts of her body jump on different nights.
Ya know when you're in between wake and sleep and your body suddenly jerks and wakes you up? That is what happens to my DD on a pretty consistent basis. When she was a baby, if we immediately put our hands on her back or belly, she would go right back to sleep. If not, she couldn't get back to sleep, no matter what we tried. She is still the same way. If we are near enough to touch her firmly, she will go right back to sleep. If not, we're up forever!!
I asked our DR and he actually said it sounds like RLS but it's probably not. My DD is extremely tall for her age and seems to be always growing. He said it might be because her body is always growing. Basically, he had no idea!!
How is your DS doing Amy?
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