Patients with Restless Leg Syndrome should be properly diagnosed and treated, reports the CBS affiliate in Boston.
Sandy was diagnosed with restless leg syndrome or RLS, a condition that affects about 2% of adults and 0.5% of kids. For some, it’s devastating.
“I saw so many doctors and took so many medications and it was the bottom,” says Sandy who became so desperate, she even thought about having her legs amputated and contemplated suicide.
As luck would have it, Sandy found one of the country’s leading experts on RLS at Mass. General Hospital in Boston, Dr. John Winkelman. He says RLS can be misdiagnosed.
“They may focus on the sleep disturbance and unless the doctor specifically asks, ‘Do your legs bother you?’ they may not put two and two together,” says Dr. Winkelman.
The American Academy of Neurology just released new guidelines on the treatment of RLS, including several medications as well as non-medications like exercise, leg compression devices, and even intravenous iron.
Read more at www.boston.cbslocal.com
