Category: Restless Leg Syndrome

Shelly was no stranger to 2:30am. Like many people who struggle with Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), she was used to being awake while the rest of the world was asleep. Finally one night, she had enough. She went online, typed in “RLS cure” and began searching for a solution. What she found would change her life.

When You Just Have to Move

Shelly had been suffering from RLS for years. As a teacher, she was struggling with being exhausted all the time. “It seemed like I never got a full night of sleep, or settled into that deep “REM” sleep. I was continuously being interrupted by my legs tingling, twitching, and jerking. It felt like I just had to get up and move around no matter what I tried,” Shelly says.

When Medication Isn’t Enough

“The symptoms would start around 7:00pm every night. And it just got worse from there. Eventually, I started experiencing the symptoms earlier and earlier in the day. I just couldn’t figure it out,” Shelly says. “If I walked too much, if I didn’t walk enough…I just couldn’t ever find a pattern of movement that would give me relief.”

Shelly went to her PCP, and began trying medication after medication. “Over the counter meds didn’t even touch it. One medication kept me up all night, another one totally changed my personality. I was just out of it all the time,” Shelly remembers. “I really, really wanted to get off the medication and was hoping to find a doctor that would support that.”

The Breaking Point

For most people, there comes a point when you realize just how bad it is. For Shelly, that came on a car ride.

“My son was playing football, and we had to travel about two hours away from home to watch his games,” Shelly remembers. “I could barely make it down there. We constantly had to stop the car so I could get out and move. And it just hit me. I couldn’t go to the movies. I couldn’t sit in the car. As soon as I sat down, I had to get up and move. I was constantly frustrated, and I just wasn’t enjoying the little things in life anymore.”

Searching for an “RLS Cure” at 2:30am

Finally, one night Shelly began searching online and she found a story that got her attention. She read about a woman named Bonnie who had nerve decompression surgery and finally was able to sleep after 20+ years of suffering from RLS. Shelly remembers reading through to the end of her story and being in tears. “I thought, ok, this is it. This is what I’m doing,” she says.

From Michigan to Colorado

Shelly lives in Michigan and was ready to make the trip to Colorado for treatment. She called and spoke with Dr. James Anderson, DPM, over the phone and felt confident in her decision.

“He answered all my questions, and supported my desire to get off medication,” Shelly says. “That was a big deal to me.”

Shelly traveled to Fort Collins, CO, and had nerve decompression surgery on one leg first to make sure she would get the results she was hoping for. And she did.

Dr. Anderson says, “Because Shelly traveled for treatment and she had a great immediate result on the first leg, we felt confident that this was going to be the right approach for her. Ultimately, the goal is to resolve her RLS symptoms. The surgery takes about an hour, and we go in to open up nerve tunnels that have become compressed in the leg and cause these symptoms.”

Within days, Shelly had surgery on the second leg. “I felt a huge difference immediately,” she says.

Life Today

Shelly traveled back home to Michigan, and she slept all night long. “My husband said my legs were so still, he wanted to poke me to make sure I was still alive,” Shelly says, laughing.

“Within a week, I felt like I was back to being myself. I’m finally getting that deep sleep I need. My memory is better. I’m alert. I’m rested. My family just couldn’t believe how immediate the change was.”

“I’m happy to report that I can now go to my son’s football games and sit, and enjoy every minute of it.”

Shelly’s advice for others is this.”If you are struggling with RLS and it is affecting your quality of sleep and day-to-day activities, please consider giving Dr. Anderson and his staff a call. They will be very helpful in answering any questions that you might have. I am truly amazed by how this surgery has helped me. My symptoms are virtually gone. I wish I would have done this years ago!”

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To watch Shelly share her story, click here.

It had been decades since Don’l Butler had slept through the night. “I have had restless legs all my life, ever since childhood,” Don’l says. For most of her life, doctors were not able to provide Don’l with a clear diagnosis. “It was only a few years ago that I finally learned I had restless leg syndrome,” she says.

Here’s her story, and the treatment that finally brought her relief.

Decades of Desperation

Night time comes, and it’s time to settle into bed, relax, and drift off into sleep. But for Don’l, that sleep never came. “I had creepy-crawly sensation in my legs. They would jump at night as soon as I laid down,” she says.

“Steadily, the symptoms became worse and worse. My legs starting jumping and moving during the day as well,” Don’l explains.

Sleeping on the Sofa

Don’l would move into the living room and try to sleep on the sofa because it was keeping her husband up at night as well. “I was kicking him, and it was affecting his sleep too,” she says.

Most nights, Don’l never went to sleep at all. “After awhile, I developed insomnia and then you can’t relax and sleep. It just doesn’t happen. You are awake all night long.”

“I took every kind of medication I could find. I tried patches, everything. Maybe some things would work, but never for very long. The restless legs completely monopolized my life.”

Don’l remembers occasionally dozing off for 5-10 minutes, and then waking right back up again. “The last two months before my surgery, I barely slept at all,” Don’l recalls.

From Oklahoma to Colorado

“My husband was searching and searching. He is the kind of person that once a problem comes up, he doesn’t stop until he finds a solution,” Don’l says. Finally, after searching online, he found Anderson Podiatry Center.

Don’l and her husband live near Tulsa, Oklahoma, approximately an 11 hour drive to Fort Collins. Dr. James Anderson, DPM, spoke with Don’l over the phone about her symptoms, and she decided to make the trip for an evaluation.

Dr. Anderson says, “Having restless leg syndrome is a very devastating thing. It is so hard for people to function during the day when they don’t sleep at night. After meeting Don’l and evaluating her, we were very optimistic that we could help improve her quality of life.”

Hope in the OR

Dr. Anderson performed nerve decompression surgery on Don’l. Dr. Anderson explains. “We believe the symptoms of restless leg syndrome come from certain nerve tunnels in the legs becoming compressed. We go in and surgically open up those tunnels, and relieve the pressure. As a result, many patients experience 80-90% improvement of their symptoms.”

Dr. Anderson uses an intraoperative nerve monitor that was first used for head and neck surgeries to measure nerve function improvement during surgery. “We were the first to use this technology for foot and ankle surgery, and we can see in real time how the nerves are improving,” Dr. Anderson says.

For example, when operating on Don’l, the baseline number in one muscle group measured 1672. After performing surgery and measuring again, that number went up to 2300. “This is a great benefit to the patient,” Dr. Anderson says, “Because we have objective evidence in the operating room that shows how the nerves are functioning better than they were before.”

My Life Today

In April 2017, Dr. Anderson performed nerve decompression surgery on one of Don’l’s legs, and she experienced significant symptom improvement. About a week later, he performed surgery on the second leg. Don’l finally began to experience that peaceful sleep she had been searching for, for so many years.

“I have been sleeping each night, all night, the whole night through. The improvement is extreme. I feel so much better. I was on Gabapentin and I am now off of that medication and don’t have to deal with the side effects. This has been life changing for me.”

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