Last edited Wed Jul 9, 2025, 05:23 PM - Edit history (1)
I have RLS, too, and it used to be really bad. It didn't keep me from getting any sleep, but it disrupted my sleep quite a bit. When it was at its worst, I would thrash around violently, and according to my husband, I would sometimes literally hurl myself out of bed! I know he wasn't making things up, because when it would happen, I would immediately wake up to find myself lying on the floor.
I also developed a problem with long car rides. Anything longer than an hour would bring on the leg twitching, and once it started, I absolutely could not sit still. The only thing that would help was stopping, getting out of the car, and walking around a little bit. I also had trouble sitting through movies and concerts, and would have to get up halfway though to go out and walk around for a while. As time went on, the amount of time I had to spend walking around rather than stitting and watching increased more and more.
I tried to talk to my NP about it a couple of times, but I evidently didn't make it clear just how bad things were. Sharing my husband's description of me "hurling" myself out of bed was what finally got her attention. 
She referred me to a neurologist, and the first thing he did was send me for blood work. After the results came back, he told me to start taking an iron supplement. I was surprised, but I immediately started following his instructions, and my legs improved so much that I didn't need to do anything else!
I definitely still have RLS, but it's much milder and quite manageable now. My sleep has improved greatly, and I haven't woken up on the floor in years! 
And sitting through movies and concerts is no longer a problem. It's literally been life‐changing.
To this day, i am still not clear on what iron has to do with RLS or why it turned out to be a solution for me. All I know is that it works for me, and I take the stuff religiously, because I have hell to pay if I miss it for more than one night.
I'm not suggesting this as a "fix" for anyone else, but as an example of something that worked in one individual case. And as I said in the title of this post, we are all individuals. I'm glad Ambien has worked as well for you as it has, and I really hope that NP doesn't start giving you any static about refilling it. If I was going to give you or anyone any actual advice, I'd suggest seeing a neurologist, because they know more about this stuff than anyone else.
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