Restless Leg Syndrome & Periodic Limb Movement Disorder
Treatment for RLS and PLMD varies. What works for one person may not work for another. The different medications include certain sleeping pills, pain killers, and some drugs used to treat Parkinson's disease (although the two disorders are not related).

• Sleeping pills used for PLMD are Klonopin (clonazepam) and Restoril (temazepam). These drugs reduce the number of awakenings, but have little effect on the movements themselves.
• Pain killers used for PLMD are typically drugs with opiates such as Tylenol with codeine. They reduce the number of leg movements, but don't always reduce the number of awakenings. These drugs are potentially addictive.
• The class of drugs used to treat Parkinson's disease are called dopaminergic such as L-dopa or Sinemet. These drugs usually eliminate both the movements and awakenings, but do have potentially serious side effects such as sudden onset of leg kicks during the day.
• A relatively new drug for the treatment of RLS has been approved by the FDA, REQUIP (ropinirole HCL), in May 2005.

When should I see a doctor? If you're unable to deal with your sleep disorder yourself, and it is now routinely disrupting your everyday life, please consult a doctor. Keep in mind that Sleep Medicine is a medical specialty. Just as there are specialists board certified in heart, lung, kidney, brain diseases, etc, there also are board certified specialists for sleep disorders.

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