Does your spouse complain that you kick in your sleep? Do you feel an undeniable urge to move your legs? Do you dread sitting on an airplane for hours?
It's possible you have Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS). The disorder is known to affect at least 10 million Americans. Others have yet to be diagnosed.
"You think, 'I'm off, I must be the only one,' " said Annie Flader, a retired administrative assistant who lives in the northwest. "It's like people who believe in UFOs. They won't tell anyone."
Now Flader has set up the state's first RLS support group -- the Las Vegas Support Group of the RLS Foundation. It tells how RLS is a disruptive neurological disorder that affects up to 10 percent of the population worldwide. The urge to move the legs is often accompanied by sensations best described as creeping, tugging and pulling. It is usually worse in the evening or when sitting still for long periods of time.
Flader has suffered from RLS since she was a child. Even as an adult, she could never put a name to the restless urge to move her legs. After surgery under general anesthesia, her doctor told her that her legs were constantly moving on the surgery table.
It affected her daily life, as well. Sitting in a movie theater was torture, she just couldn't sit still.
"The people behind me must have thought I was nuts," she said.
It also kept her awake. She estimated she was getting only three hours of sleep a night. It wasn't until a pharmaceutical company began promoting an RLS drug on television that she realized she was not alone.
"When I saw the ad for the first time, I cried," she said. "I thought, 'Oh my God, that's what I have.' "
Flader went to her doctor for a prescription, but found the drug left her dizzy, shaky and gave her heart palpations.
That experience caused her to look into the possible triggers for RLS and determine that, for her, caffeine, chocolate and dairy products were key culprits.
She browsed the Web for more information. The more she looked, the more she learned. Certain minerals, for example, can be deficient in people with RLS.
Flader was determined to help others with the disorder. In August, she set up a Web site with updates on research and with a blog component where other RLS sufferers tell how they find relief.
Before she took control of her RLS, her husband reported Annie waking him with her kicking legs at least half a dozen times a night, every night.
"If you don't understand what it is, your first impression is that your mate is just a fidgety person," Bill Flader said. "It's frustrating for both of you."
On Nov. 6, the support group had its first monthly meeting at the Sun City Aliante Community Center. About 30 people attended.
Dr. Robert DeMartino, of DeMartino Family Chiropractic, 8985 S. Pecos Road, Suite 4B, was the guest speaker.
He told how sleep deprivation and diet can affect various glands and how unnatural acidic levels, much of it brought on by caffeine and sugar consumption, can be detrimental to the body.
"Nine out of 10 of my patients with RLS have weak adrenal gland function," he said. "That is what we in the medical community call a significant basis for study."
He estimated he had a few dozen patients with RLS.
Judy Schmaltz, a housewife, attended the meeting. She said her mother had RLS, and that she has it and so do her two daughters.
"I get it when I stress out," she said. "I don't get it that often, but when I do, it's bad."
For more information about the Las Vegas Support Group of the RLS Foundation, visit www.rlsvegas.com.
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