Restless legs syndrome can seriously affect the quality of life of the sufferer. Not only does it affect their ability to sleep, but it also affects their daytime too, as fatigue sets in.
In a study in India, from 653 patients complaining of insomnia or leg pain, 100 were diagnosed with restless leg syndrome (RLS), with women outnumbering men by 2:1. 94 of these sufferers had moderate to severe symptoms of RLS.
Before this study, 80% of these patients had been to on average 5 consultants without diagnosis of RLS (including neurologists & psychiatrists, etc). However, in many cases there were misdiagnosis like arthritis, calcium deficiency, worms in the stomach, depression, anxiety and stress.
All of the 80 patients that had been misdiagnosed were prescribed drugs, which in many cases are simply not effective in the treatment of RLS.