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I have been suffering from chronic insomnia and very painful restless legs
at night, and I know some others in the group may also have the same
problem.  So I wanted to share my diagnosis and treatment.

My legs get very, very painful with cramps and achy feelings, an
inability to keep them still, a need to get up and walk around and so
much pain that it interferes with sleep to the point that I only get 2-4
hours sleep a night.  My doctors have finally been able to help me - and
I have been diagnosed with Restless Leg Syndrome.  It is often related
to a diet deficiency, and for us celiac's that may mean it's more
prevalent among us, due to our diet restrictions.  Low iron, B12 or
Folate can contribute to this problem.  There is a very good website
devoted to RLS. http://www.rls.org/

Unfortunately mine was not diet deficiency as all my blood work came back
normal.  But hey at least I had a full blood work up - and that's important
for us celiacs.  Having discussed RLS with a neurologist I am going to start
on Sinemet and if or when that stops working, move over to Klonopin.  It
seems that RLS is very hard to treat, although there are plenty of different
medications that DO help it - each person has to find the right one and be
prepared to switch them around as they seem to work for awhile and then
stop, but with a break and a different medication you can often go back to
the original one.  My doctor has also suggested I take a low dose of iron
daily, even though I had normal blood results they seem to find that adding
a bit of extra iron to your diet helps the RLS.

I am at the point where I would try anything for a decent nights sleep,
having not slept properly now for 9 months I am severely sleep deprived, in
pain, irritable, and unable to cope with normal day to day things.  So I am
praying this helps and I can get back to 8 hours restful sleep again.

Perhaps this letter will help some of the others who are suffering from
painful leg problems and sleep problems.

Chris in California