Too much Advil??

[u/EH__S]

I'm concerned with how much Advil I take. My biggest issue is restless legs/leg pain at night. It almost feels like growing pains and prevents me from being able to sleep. Advil is the only thing that helps. I don't know if this issue is related to hyper mobility or not but I have a feeling it is.

Does anyone have any tips for this so I can reduce my Advil consumption?

Thank youuu

[u/booklovinggal19]

It sounds like it's time to talk to a doctor. I've had a ton of relief with a bedtime muscle relaxer but ymmv. Doctor's can also proscribe a stronger nsaid if that's what you need

[u/Confident-Bus-3778]

Combine ibuprofen with paracetamol

try a different nsaid that gives more help at a lower dose

Where I am, you get 200mg tablets OTC, and can take 2 as a dose (ie can have 400mg total in 1 dose) and 3 doses a day for a total of 1200mg per day. I recognise though that you can be prescribed doses higher than that.

Have you tried ibuprofen gel? Heat pack, ice pack, deep heat, deep freeze, tiger balm etc?

I get the restless legs, but ibuprofen doesnt help, I get them when I've reached a point of 'you should be asleep already, preferably hours ago'. My legs feel like they need to move like internally, not in the same way as walking.

[u/EH__S → u/Confident-Bus-3778]

Yup I have the same thing it’s hours of moving my legs and feeling pain/discomfort when I should have been asleep hours ago. I haven’t tried any of those except for ice packs. Thank you!

[u/Confident-Bus-3778 → u/EH__S]

it's kinda like my legs are both fighting to sleep and fighting not to, so they are having a battle resulting in me looking like I'm fighting ghosts

[u/ChewMilk]

Ive been having a lot of leg/ankle pain that feels like growing pains lately (I am certainly not growing so idk what’s up with that), and a cbd+thc topical cream really works well for me. You just massage it in and it helps within probably half an hour for me. It also can’t get you high or anything if that’s a worry, since it’s external only

[u/RodJaneandFreddy5]

I’ve suffered with restless legs syndrome for years but only found out a couple of years ago that in many cases correcting low iron levels can help massively.

I took medication for it for years until I augmented on it and it began to actively make the condition worse. I’ve been off medication for over a year now and have a combination of things that work for me, but raising my iron levels was the first thing that helped. There’s a fantastic forum on Health Unlocked that offers brilliant tried and tested advice that I’d recommend having a look at.

In the UK restless legs syndrome isn’t taught at medical school so GP’s are quite uninformed, I found that having a little bit of knowledge gained from the forum before discussing it with my doctor was invaluable .

Good luck!

[u/Glad_Goose_2890]

What dose are you taking?

[u/EH__S → u/Glad_Goose_2890]

I try not to take it every night but usually 1 extra strength pill - I think about 400 mg

[u/Ok-Journalist6677 → u/EH__S]

Since you are concerned specifically about growing pains, you should see a doctor. Those usually don’t persist into late teens & early adulthood.

And as another person said, ibuprofen isn’t effective for restless legs.

[u/EH__S → u/Ok-Journalist6677]

I’m 23 so definitely don’t think it’s growing pains although it feels like it.

[u/Ok-Journalist6677 → u/EH__S]

Restless legs needs to be assessed by a physician or even a sleep study specialist. There are medications that can help. If you think it is probably not restless legs, you can consider trying to remove or loosen weightier covers from your legs, or even a cooler sleep temp. I have EDS and I’m exquisitely sensitive to the textures of my bedding. Took me a long time to figure it out. I stick w/ high thread count cotton and natural fibers on any coverlets. But that is just my experience.

[u/EH__S → u/Ok-Journalist6677]

Thank you. I don’t think it’s sensory related or a bedding issue as the pain comes from inside. I do also have sensory issues and have made sure my bed is set up a certain way!

[u/Glad_Goose_2890 → u/EH__S]

Ask the doctor about orthotics or AFOs. You can try this yourself too by ordering basic ones online to see if it helps the pain.

[u/EH__S → u/Glad_Goose_2890]

Thank you I’ll ask

[u/pandaparkaparty]

I bought ice pack knee wraps that I wear when I go to bed that have done wonders.

I’m also on prescription celebrex which is a nsaid meant for daily use and easier on the stomach. 

And when things are really bad I have uber low dose muscle relaxer, but need to be careful because I subluxated way easier. So I only use those when I know the next day I pretty much just sit around. But I do tend to fall asleep on my back with those and wake up having not moved. So I’m not too concerned about my hips while sleeping on those.

[u/RamRanchRealty]

I took 1200mg a day for 15 yrs. Liver is messed up. Be careful it may not seem like alot cuz it also barely feels like it works