UPDATE Tried TENS Unit for My Limb Movements

How disappointing and frustrating! I have had good results from acupuncture for a variety of things, and hope you can find a good one who can help you.

kteague wrote: I think my next effort will be acupuncture. Never know unless I try.

Google for a recent study that showed some relief from sleep apnea with a certain acupuncture treatment. Maybe the practitioner can do both treatments (limb movement and sleep apnea) in one session. What I remember about the sleep apnea study was that they specified precisely which acupressure points to puncture (or whatever they call it). This had something to do with getting the tongue muscles to help hold the tongue forward.

From the Mayo Clinic website:

More information on how to select an acupuncturist are available at the Web sites of the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (http://www.nccaom.org) or the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture (http://www.medicalacupuncture.org).

Best of luck for quick relief.

Thanks for those links, So Well. I've been focusing my research on the TENS, so now I'll shift gears. I just wish I could check into a facility and say "Figure it all out" and leave after they did. But that's not gonna happen, so here I go again...

Just made an interesting observation. I had been meaning to look back at the calendar to see what date I had my EMG and compare that to my sleep log. I remembered the doctor saying if I had any relief at all after the EMG, it could be an indicator that acupuncture may help because some of the acupuncture points were also used for the EMG. Turns out the night of my EMG is the only night I noted that I slept deep. The next few nights I was unable to sleep in the bed much at all due to the coughing, so I could test much. Maybe my brief help was as much from the EMG as the TENS. Oh well.

It stinks when you see a light at the end of a very long, dark tunnel, only to find yourself back at square one. I admire that you keep plugging away at this. I hope acupuncture will help.

Sorry to hear the TENS therapy didn't pan out, Kathy! Here's hoping to a better acupuncture trial!

I must be really sleep deprived. I FORGOT to make the calls today to get the ball rolling on the acupuncture. Also forgot to order and pick up my other meds. ARGH! But speaking from a bit calmer state of mind at the moment, until I do the acupuncture, I'll keep putzing around with the TENS. Just won't expect too much so I don't get disappointed. Gonna "get buzzed" here soon and see what the night brings.

Glad I didn't give up from the frustration. Last 3 nights I have gotten blocks of decent sleep with minimal wakeups, and it seems even when some movements begin, they are milder and not the torment of before. Time in bed and sleeping since my hissy fit - 2hrs 15mins, 3 hrs 45 mins, and last night, 5 hours! All nights were with one hour before bedtime of the 4 electrodes placed very close together on on both sides on the lower center back, actually buttocks down almost to tailbone level. In other trials I had placed them a bit higher and further apart, and had poor results. We'll see. It is not my intent to beat this subject to death. Once I posted the topic, I feel an obligation to report both successes and failures, as others with PLMD may see the thread, and if can trailblaze and save someone else the grief, that's my intent. And wouldn't want anyone to run out and buy a TENS unit prematurely. Will give posting a break for a bit and report back after a while unless there is something noteworthy.

For some reason I had assumed you were putting the electrodes on your legs. Did you ever find any information about where you should place them for PLMD?

Just want to add my best wishes for success with the tens treatment Kathy and SWS! As with all the other forum members who responded, I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers for a successful result from this treatment! You are two great people who have helped many, and I wish you all the best! Just got to see this thread after being on the road for awhile!

Steve,
ufo13

SleepingUgly wrote:For some reason I had assumed you were putting the electrodes on your legs.

Probably not. That is one of the things about acupuncture that confuses most Westerners, the place of the treatment many times seems to have no relationship to where the symptoms appear. When I was doing acupressure I would work the symptom areas only for the intellectual benefit of the receiver so they felt they were getting their moneys worth. The upper back and the top of the hips and maybe the groin area as well as the toes would be the areas I would have worked on as well as the neck and shoulders.

SleepingUgly wrote:For some reason I had assumed you were putting the electrodes on your legs. Did you ever find any information about where you should place them for PLMD?

I found general placement information, like in the quide SWS gave a link to, nothing specific to PLMD. Some RLS info mentions "on the legs" but that is still wide open to interpretation. In my experimenting, I have tried both before and during sleep. Placements include mid & lower bilateral back, lower back & upper back of thighs, upper & lower back of thighs, backs of upper thighs & back of lower legs below calf, back of lower leg just below knee & lower back of leg below calf, outer sides of lower leg (where most pain occurs), inner and outer lower legs just above & behind ankles, inner and outter surrounding knees, inner and outter sides of feet. Utterly frustrated with all the experimenting, I decided to pick one and stick with it and accept whatever degree of relief it gives. The last 3 nights of having them clustered tightly on the very low back/buttocks have done better for me that all the other placements. Whether that will prevail remains to be seen.

Kathy I don't know how long you're leaving the TENS on but here's my times. In my 20s (back in the dark ages ) I fractured low back vertebra that left me with chronic pain from cramping muscles -- I wore TENS all day and into the evening with the slow rise and fall patten at a pretty high rate -- did this off & on as the pain varied for a yr or so until I was able to become more active and the muscles quit cramping. Back pain (where I had scarring from the first episode) from limping when I broke both leg bones at the ankle in one leg; 4 pins, 2 in each bone, I limped and used a wheelchair at first (I have lousy balance and a set of crutch was terrifing), a walker, 1 crutch, and then a cane for about 18 mos. Playing around, I ended up using the TENS on the muscles above and below the scarring for at least an hr or 2/day off and on for about a yr...again, until I was able to be active enough that the muscles relaxed, lengthened, and quit cramping all the time. With the falling on my shoulder injury, the doc wants me using TENS no longer than 20 mins...no way, I use it 1-3 hrs at a session, on the days when the pain/cramping is dreadful. Now, I have one of those pedal gadgets which sits on a table and allows me to stretch those muscles in ways I couldn't before, so I haven't used the TENS in several wks as there is much less cramping and pain. 95% off the diclofenac 'cept for cold rainy days...ginger tea seems to be working out quite well for me with pain control.

Muse, I sure don't want cause to gain as much experience as you've had with the TENS. Why did your doctor want you to limit the time used on your shoulder? Are there drawbacks with this treatment, or dangers? I have new electrodes on order and once they arrive I may try my current placement overnight turned down on low. The ones I'm using now have to be wrapped to keep them from loosening. Still got to get to the store for some ginger to try.

kteague wrote:Still got to get to the store for some ginger to try.

Be careful with ginger if you have high blood pressure. One of the things it affects is your blood pressure to change the blood flood which is why it helps with migraines if you take it early enough.