SLEEP THIEF

SLEEP THIEF,
RESTLESS LEGS SYNDROME
Virginia N. Wilson, edited by Arthur S. Walters, MD
Galaxy Books, Inc., 1996
P.O. Box 1421, Orange Park FL 32067
316 pages, paperback, $16.95
ISBN 0-9652682-0-9

Reviewed by Lynne Lamberg

Creeping, crawling, prickling sensations in the legs characterize Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS), a disorder that forces those who have it to keep moving in hopes of obtaining relief. Typically worse in the evening and at night, RLS hinders sustained sitting and sleeping. Some persons experience related annoying symptoms in their arms.

Many physicians know little or nothing about this disorder, which afflicts 12 million Americans, Virginia Wilson asserts. Persons with RLS often report that physicians trivialized their complaints or attributed them to hysteria, stress, or depression. Wilson herself saw many physicians over decades without receiving effective help. She was not diagnosed with RLS until 1986, when she saw a sleep specialist for the first time. She was then 73. Medications exist that may relieve symptoms, she learned, although finding the right one and the proper dosage often requires trial and error.

Correspondence with others with RLS prompted Wilson to start The Night Walker Newsletter, and led eventually to the founding of the RLS Foundation. In Sleep Thief, which is written for persons who have RLS or wonder if they do, Wilson details her experiences and those of other patients. She supplements these reports with commentaries from 15 physicians, all researchers and clinicians who treat RLS, credited in the book as co-authors and contributors. Authors' royalties from the sale of this book go to the RLS Foundation.

The book's unflagging theme is its strong message of encouragement and hope. It urges persons with RLS symptoms to persist in seeking care until they find a physician who listens to them, and works with them to alleviate the problem. The book provides detailed guides to specific medications and coping strategies. It also discusses the impact of RLS on marriage, social life, and work.

Frankie Roman, MD, a sleep specialist who has RLS, offers an informed first-person report. When on call at night as a medical intern, he relates, he often paced hospital hallways trying to relieve the burning and aching sensations in his legs. He often missed morning report, unable to awaken on time.

Roman advises persons with RLS to adhere to strict sleep hygiene measures, eliminating coffee and other caffeinated products; to sleep in, since the best sleep in those with RLS historically occurs in early morning hours; to seek flexible work hours with a late start time; and to wear slip-on shoes that facilitate easy stretching. He advises physicians with RLS to share anecdotes with patients. "Knowing someone has walked in their shoes is a very comforting sensation," he says. He also suggests a strategy anyone could employ: Wear a pager. When you need to get out of a meeting, page yourself so you may leave without incident.

An extensive list of scientific references and an index further enhance this book's value to both health professionals, and to patients and their families.