restless leg syndrome in children

boyohboyohboy wrote: Does anyone have any experience with restless leg syndrome either in children or as an adult.
I am familiar with it in the elderly, but until recently never thought it might happen in children.
Jakob has had what I thought were "growing pains" in his feet and legs his whole life so far..he has never slept well. The older he has gotten and the better he is at speaking I have now come to the conclusion that this is more then growing pains. He told me that he feels like his legs are crawling, and they hurt. He said it wakes him up all the time. He does tell me at least once or twice a day his legs hurt and asks to have them rubbed.
I wondered if anyone had an non-chemical cures for this..to help ease the symptoms.

luvmykids replied: I had it as a kid, and back then especially it was chalked up to growing pains. I still have it now, although not terribly. Eating a banana a day helps, you might ask your dr about a potassium supplement.

I tried an herbal remedy specifically for RSL, I can't remember the name, but it didn't help.

mummy2girls replied: I have had restless legs syndrome since i was little. Sometimes i get up and walk around the house a few laps and lay down it helps it go away, I know there is meds you can go on but i have never asked about it. Through my pregnancy I have been getting them so bad and every night. sometimes i get it only in one leg so if i lay all my body weight on that leg it helps somewhat...

punkeemunkee'smom replied: Taylor has them too recently. I really did think they were growing pains. I have restless legs sometimes and Monica is right a bananna a day does seem to help somewhat.

MommyToAshley replied: I noticed you said he doesn't eat red meat and he won't eat leafy green vegetables. Has he been tested to see if he is anemic? I really don't know much about it so I am not much help, but I would mention it along with his diet to his doc.

momofone replied: magnesium is great for that . most kids multi vitamins contain it.

~Roo'sMama~ replied: I had it when I was a kid, and I still have it now. I've never been to the doctor for it... as a kid I didn't know what it was and never told my parents - I'd just wiggle my legs around in my bed until I fell asleep. Now it's on my list of things that I should probably see a doctor about but never do. It's gotten pretty bad lately though.

boyohboyohboy replied: Jakob still is very selective in what he will eat. I tried to give him a flinstone vit. but he couldnt tolerate the taste or texture.
I am still going to look around for a new vit. we never used one before , because he was on the pediatric drink. he has been off that about a month now and totally on soy milk. He lives pretty much on mac and cheese, and bread and butter..mostly butter and soy milk. and soy yogurt..nothing with iron. he had his iron tested but not since we stopped the pediatric drink. so from what I have read about restless leg syndrome, it can be from an iron deficiency..its potassium that causes leg cramps, so I guess its possible that he could also be low in that, but he does eat a banana a few times a week.
he has always been a poor sleeper, and awakened in the night for a drink, and the dr said that "growing pains" can be relieved with a sugary drink..she explained the science there, but I dont remember what she said. the pediatric drink had sugar in it..
but there seems to be a difference between the restless leg syndrome and growing pains.
he sometimes get these so bad he screams at night and gets very upset for an hour or longer until he finally is able to get back to sleep. I have never felt the muscle tighten, and it doesnt seem like a charlie horse. He gets them in the day as well as night, but worse at night. He told me last night for the first time that his feet wake him from sleep. we see our new allergist in march, and I plan to discuss this with her.

momofone replied: i have seen liquid fruit flavored vitamins at whole foods maybe you can disguise it in a juice. HTH

luvmykids replied:
I used to get horrible leg cramps too, as painful as it feels, try to help him stretch when he says it hurts. It may be more of a cramp that RSL or growing pain but not enough to tighten the muscle. Worth a shot.

The bananas don't eliminate the RLS for me completely, but I do notice a difference if I don't eat one a day or two....might be worth noticing if he gets these pains on days he does have a banana or not.

But I'd definitely try one of the liquid vitamins, even without any physical symptoms, he just has to have those vitamins and minerals.

boyohboyohboy replied: thanks everyone. I am going to start researching vitamins and minerals that contain no dyes or anything that he might react to.

redchief replied:
Good call Dee Dee. Iron deficiency and family history seem to be the major contributing factors for RLS in kids. I read up on it a couple years ago; I have it infrequently.

Here's a link to the article from the Mayo Clinic on it: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/...50104113419.htm

According to that article, about six percent of the children they see in their sleep clinic suffer from some degree of RLS.