I think I have a Syndrome
During some funky hours of television viewing, I came across a commercial that, to me, was hilarious. It featured a woman who was sitting (or attempting to sit) in a reclining chair, but couldn't because of the dreaded Restless Leg Syndrome. Of course, prescription medication is available (and highly encouraged) for this malady. No, RLS is not when your leg gets bored and restless, but apparently that description is not too far off the mark. I'm not denying that there are some legitimate syndromes out there - like Down Syndrome, Turner's Syndrome, and Premenstrual Syndrome. A syndrome, after all, is simply a group of symptoms that characterize a disease or undesirable condition. However, do we really need a name and a medication for EVERY group of symptoms that people have? If so, then I wonder what I would need to lessen the effects of Chinese Restaurant Syndrome, which is an MSG reaction characterized by chest pain and a burning sensation all over one's body. I am especially concerned about my Yellow Nail Syndrome that I sometimes get after I keep nail polish on for too long, although it could also be due to bronchitis (although not in my case).
posted by Notta Wallflower at 4:14 PM
8 Comments:
My husband has it too. As Julia says, I think it disrupts MY sleep, more than L's.
L was happy to find a doctor that FINALLY believed him, when he described his symptoms. L gets blurred vision from the medication, so we're stuck with vibrating legs. :(
Julia and TSHS - Sorry, I didn't mean to offend by my post. I just sometimes think about how this country is full of names for everything, because if there's a diagnosis, then there can be pills. I'm going through my own struggles with my son being diagnosed with ADD. I'm probably one of those weird parents, but I don't want him medicated. I just don't believe that medication is the answer for everything.
No offense taken!
You're absolutely right about medication. As you know, we're going through the same struggle. :(
I've talked to a lot of parents about this issue. It seems that one medication leads to more meds to correct the side affects of the first med. I don't believe that a young kid should have to ride that rollercoaster!
My gosh! Who doesn't have restless leg syndrome every once in awhile?
I think these drug companies are crooks for trying to market it.
Don't feel bad about your kid having ADD. You learn to channel that energy right, and he'll amount to great things. I'm under the impression that ADD is a good thing.
Might drive everyone else around them nuts, but ADD people can focus better than people without it. You might be thinking I don't know what I'm talking about, but I do. An ADD person can work on a program for ten hours straight. Someone without ADD cannot do that.
I think 90% of people in my industry have it.
This must be what my sister has. We all used to tell her to quit moving her legs... poor thing - now I feel bad.
If they develop a pill to help you deal with something, they've gotta come up with a disorder and give it a funky name so they can sell the pills.
ZS - Don't get me started on pharmaceutical companies! While I'm not sure that ADD is a good thing, I think that K needs to learn to focus without meds. He does not want to be on meds, the reasons for which he has shared with me. I happen to agree with him. He has seen me go off of anti-depressants because I don't want to go through life medicated. However, I realize there are times when meds are needed, even if for a short time.
Laura - That is more my beef - that there is a pill for everything out there. Is it really for the consumer's benefit? I don't think so...
Notta - You know a real good cure for depression? Hard exercise. It's been found that a heavy sweat will even out the seratonin levels.
I'm very anti-drug as you know. I think those pharmacetical companies are doing dangerous things to our bodies. Who knows the side effects long-term? Nobody, because none of those drugs are older than 30 years.
I don't even pretend to have the answers, but I do know that depression can be beaten. I've seen it done, but it takes a lot of work.
As for ADD, the good thing is one can focus on what they're interested in, but the bad thing is they can't focus on what other people want them to focus on. So it's good for a computer programmer, bad for a student. I didn't explain that part very well I guess.
I've seen programmers with ADD pull all nighters and turn out some amazing code. Regular people can't do stuff like that. It really is too bad all those programming jobs are going overseas, because it's something I'm sure K would be good at, especially with his high I.Q.
ZS - Actually, all I needed to keep my depression in order was a change of climate (steady rain worsened it dramatically) and going on walks regularly. Also, I have to carve out "me" time for myself each week because I get down when I feel like I can't keep up with others' demands of me.
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