Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS)

As a child, approximately once a week, I will wake up in the middle of the night in tears because of severe pain in my limbs. The muscles were so tensed that I would punch my limbs and not feel a thing. The pain reached its peak whenever I'm in a state of unconsciousness or semi-consciousness. So what I had to do is get out of bed, walk around and force myself to be fully awake. Needless to say, I dreaded nights and the possible pain awaiting me. I saw several GPs and a specialist but none of them could give me the right diagnosis.

A few years ago,  I decided to consult Dr. Google. I typed in my symptoms and to my surprise, my symptoms were matched to a particular disorder. I took comfort in knowing that whatever I was facing, I wasn't alone. There were others like me. Also, I could put a name to my disorder. It was called Restless Leg Syndrome.

Symptoms

RLS leads to sensations in the lower legs between the knee and ankle. The feeling makes you uncomfortable unless you move your legs. These sensations:

• Usually occur at night when you lie down, or sometimes during the day when you sit for long periods of time
• May be described as creeping, crawling, aching, pulling, searing, tingling, bubbling, or crawling
• May last for 1 hour or longer
• Sometimes also occur in the upper leg, feet, or arms

You will feel an irresistible urge to walk or move your legs, which almost always relieves the discomfort.
Most patients have rhythmic leg movements during sleep hours, called periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD).
All of these symptoms often disturb sleep. Symptoms can make it difficult to sit during air or car travel, or through classes or meetings.
Symptoms may be worse during stress or emotional upset.

source

Fortunately, the pain slowly subsided as I grew older. My limbs still hurt at night but the pain is now bearable. There's two possible reasons for this: 1. my tolerance to pain has increased or 2. the pain subsided. Either way, although I was and am not cured, I was thankful that the situation have improved and I accepted that the pain would always be part as my identity.

Sometime last year, I went on a 12-week fitness challenge. Embarking on that challenge, I improved my fitness regime and more importantly, cleaned up my diet. I eliminated almost all forms of bad carbs (mostly wheat), sugar and any other processed food from my diet. In summary, within weeks, I became fitter and healthier. But the thing I really did not expect was that, without realizing, the pain in my limbs went away. Two months into my health regime,  I had a moment of epiphany as I was lying in bed one day. I realized my limbs have not hurt for a while. I did not want to celebrate prematurely because the pains might come back. But deep down, I was happy that I could possibly have a life without constant physical pain. What that meant was I could enjoy a deep uninterrupted sleep. Which in turn, meant that I didn't have to wake up and feel like I wasted 8 hours, not being productive yet not fully resting. I was also much more alert, refreshed and productive during the day.
I found that my cognitive processes worked much quicker. In summary, I felt quite alive.

But earlier this year, after the Christmas period and the Chinese New Year celebrations, I became more slack with my health regime. I ate more junk, processed food, wheat-based food and exercised less. I was still much healthier than before but definitely not as healthy as few months prior to that. Slowly but surely, the pains started returning.

Last Friday saw me making chicken and avocado wraps for dinner. That night, I had slight pains in my limbs but it was still bearable. I had the leftovers for Saturday lunch and dinner. Saturday night, I went to bed at 12.30 am but could not fall asleep until 3.30 am. I lay in bed in excruciating pain. I haven't felt that degree of pain in a while now. I also haven't had that many consecutive wheat/bread meals  in a while. I made the connection. Wheat was a possible cause of my pain. I once again consulted Dr. Google and found that many other RLS suffers also suffered from gluten intolerance. Months ago, I vaguely knew that "bad food" triggered inflammation but I didn't realize that wheat specifically, was especially bad for my body. So last weekend became a weekend of reflection, planning and visualization for me. I tried visualizing my life without gluten and what that meant - no cakes, no pasta, no bread, no biscuits forever. That also meant a reduction of pain and a good night's rest. That's definitely possible. I just have to redefine what good food means to me. That means, re-adjusting my taste buds and opening myself to the opportunity of exploring different recipes and world cuisines that is not so wheat-based. It will be an interesting and exciting journey ahead.

I'll probably post in another month or so, to let you know how I'm going with this life experiment!

Increase energy levels

The past two months, I've been running really low on energy. It doesn't matter how much sleep I get and how much I exercise, I'm still constantly lethargic. I find that I'm only 50% efficient most of the time and I didn't like it. In a moment of desperation, I googled, "How to increase energy levels".

I came across an old article by one of my favourite blog authors, Michael Hyatt. A lot of what he wrote made sense. I'm trying to slowly implement the steps he prescribed in my life. For the past two weeks, I've started drastically reducing my usage of social media. I love most forms of social media and I like to keep up with popular blogs and websites, but I find that it was using up a lot of my time. So right now, I've reduced it drastically, limited myself to a limited session of social media (about 20 mins) per day (blogging excluded). Now that I have a little more time in my hands, I use that time to read. I've been reading a lot more these days. I'm pretty happy with my small change in habit =)

In about a week's time, I'm going to try implementing other steps he suggested in his blog. I'm pretty bad with taking supplements but if I want to increase my energy levels, I just got to suck it up and down them.

Below is a snippet of Michael Hyatt's blog entry:



Here’s how I keep my energy level high:

1. Connect with God. This is where I start each day. You were not created to function without a connection to God. He is the ultimate energy source. Trying to navigate life without Him is like trying to ride a motorcycle without starting the engine. You can do it, but it only works downhill. Unfortunately, a lot of life is uphill. The way I connect is by reading several passages from the Bible and then praying. I am also mindful of His presence throughout the day.
2. Keep a positive attitude. This is crucial. “For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). Negative thoughts deplete your energy. Positive thoughts replenish your energize. Attitude is not something that just happens; you choose it. Even in difficult circumstances, you can choose to have a good attitude. And, it whether good or bad, it will have a direct impact on your energy.
3. Watch your mouth. Obviously, your thoughts influence your words and actions. But sometimes, it feels like my mouth has a mind of its own. It just runs out of habit. Someone says, “Hey, how ya doin’?” Without thinking, we say, “Well, I’m surviving.” Or we might say, “Hangin’ in there.”
   Guess what? That becomes our exact experience. We say it, and it shapes the way we perceive reality. That’s why, by faith, I always say, “I’m doing great.” (If you don’t believe this, then you need to practice this gratitude exercise!)
4. Feed your brain. You’ve heard the old saying, “Garbage in, garbage out.” This applies to the world of computers, but it also applies to your brain. I stimulate my brain by constantly feeding it new and stimulating content. Some people complain that they don’t have time to read. Hogwash. You have 24 hours in your day—just like I do. What you really mean is that it’s not a priority.
   I have a friend who recently gave me this excuse. When I probed, I discovered he was spending two hours each evening watching TV. Nothing wrong with that, but don’t tell me you don’t have time to read. You can’t afford not to read, not if you want to grow and be energized.
5. Exercise daily. I think this is one of the most important things you can do to “turn the tide” and start feeling more energetic. I know it’s counter-intuitive. You think, I don’t have enough energy to exercise or I’m tired now. If I exercise, I will be even more tired. Wrong. Regular exercise will boost your energy more than almost anything else you can do. It stimulates your heart and oxygenates your blood. This directly increases your energy level. Besides, if you exercise, you will lose weight. Those excess pounds also consume energy!
6. Take a good multi-vitamin. Personally, I don’t think you need a handful of vitamins and supplements every day. But a good multi-vitamin is essential. If you eat a lot of processed food, this is especially important. Most of us just don’t get the nutrition we need from the food we eat. I take Vitamin Code Men’s Multivitamin. It covers the basics. It is a multi-vitamin and multi-mineral. I take two capsules twice a day.
7. Drink a gallon of water a day. This is another great energy replenisher. You will especially notice the difference if you switch from soda drinks to water. It may take you a few days to notice the difference, but getting sugar out of your system and water into your system will definitely even-out your energy. I find that this also has a way of reducing my appetite. Sometime we think we’re hungry when we are really just thirsty. Drink 8 ounces of water an hour before a meal and notice how it curbs your hunger. More water will also increase your metabolism and keep flushing your body’s waste.
8. Get plenty of rest. Most people I know don’t get enough rest. Everyone is different, but most adults need seven to eight hours a night. Most people I know are trying to get by on five or six hours. When you don’t get enough rest, all kinds of bad things happen. You get grumpy. You reduce your ability to handle stress. And, according to some research, you may gain weight.
   Perhaps most significantly, you negatively impact your body’s auto-immune system. When you get run-down, you increase the likelihood of getting sick—and that’s definitely a drain on your energy.
9. Eat high-energy foods. The main thing to avoid here is the bad or fast-burning (high glycemic) carbohydrates. These are the ones that your body quickly turns to sugar. You get an initial boost from them as the sugar hits your blood, but you then hit a “trough” that is lower that your energy was before you ate them. Carbs in this category include white potatoes, white rice, and white flour (or white bread). Worst of all, the energy that isn’t burned gets stored as fat.
   Instead, eat slow-burning carbs like sweet potatoes, brown rice, wheat bread, etc. I also to eat more frequent, smaller meals. (I eat five or six small meals a day.) This keeps your metabolism up and your energy on an even keel.
10. Avoid energy-depleting people. Let’s be honest. Some relationships are toxic. You know the type. Some people are so negative they are a giant energy drain. Others are so positive, you get energized just being around them. Obviously, you want to surround yourself with enough positive people so you can keep your energy level up. And, you want to have this same kind of effect on others. Sometimes, you just have to tell people the truth. Not only for your sake, but for theirs.