You can download a copy of the RLS Medical Alert Card by clicking here. This card has valuable information about drugs to be avoided for RLS patients and there is space to add your drugs and other medical problems.
Cardstock copies of this card
are also be available from our group if you do not want to use the free
download and print one up yourself.
To have one mailed, please send a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) to:
Susan Schlichting
P.O. Box 3432
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
or call 310.792.2952
Please add additional postage
for each request over 9 cards.
Mirapex
(pramipexole) - Second drug approved for RLS treatment.
November 2006
The FDA has just given
Mirapex its approval for treating RLS. This drug, which is fairly similar
to Requip (please see our RLS Treatment Page for more information) now offers
RLS patient an alternative choice of an approved drug for treating their
disorder.
May 2005
The FDA has just given Requip
approval for use in RLS. This is the first FDA drug approved for use in
RLS. Hopefully, several other drugs will follow in Requip's
footsteps and get approved. There will be a starter dose titration kit
that should make it easy for physicians to prescribe this drug for RLS
patients.
We are very sad to announce
that Bill Tunison passed away on November 22, 2008.
Bill started our support group and made it the biggest and most successful one
in the country. She served as its leader for several years and also served on
the board of directors of the RLS Foundation.
If you want to know more
about what it is like to have RLS and how Elizabeth "Bill" Tunison started the Southern California RLS Support Group, read her letter to Pickett
Guthrie, the former Executive Director of the RLS Foundation, Inc.
Below is an article written
by our current group leader, Janis Lopes:
Elizabeth "Bill"
Tunison, founder of the Southern California RLS
Educational Support Group, passed away on November 22. This was a woman who
impacted every life she touched by her common sense, wisdom, charm, and her
wonderful sense of humor. "Bill" had a unique way of making people
feel good about themselves and truly valued. She made people feel special.
She suffered from Restless
Legs Syndrome from the time she was a child and it became her passion as she
decided one day to seek out others with the same disorder and thus began the
Southern California RLS Educational Support Group. She was instrumental in this
group becoming the largest support group in the nation and was respected by
everyone in the RLS community.
A memorial was held to
celebrate her life at the Whittier First Christian Church, The church was
filled with family and friends who shared wonderful stories of her very rich
and full life. It was very evident that day that she was loved by all who knew
her.
Should you desire to
contribute to a memorial for "Bill", it was her wish that monies be
given to the RLS Foundation. Helping others who live with Restless Legs
Syndrome was something she cared deeply about and we can think of no better way
to honor "Bill".
Your RLS symptoms -- an
almost irresistible urge to move your legs due to sensations that are worse
during inactivity -- may be a disability that qualifies you to request an aisle
seat during air travel. A provision of the Air Carriers Access Act, 14 Code of
Federal Regulations 382.38(c) provides that if you identify yourself to an air
carrier "that assigns seats in advance" (not all airlines do) as a
passenger with a disability "needing a seat assignment accommodation in
order to access and use the carrier's air transportation services," then
you will be afforded consideration in your seat assignment.
Our
group is under the guidance of the Restless Legs
Syndrome Foundation, Inc. which is an excellent source of information on
RLS. You can also look up other support groups around the country on their web
site.
For a free brochure about RLS and the RLS Foundation send a self
addressed and stamped envelope to:
3006 Bee Caves Road
Suite D206
Austin, TX 78746
Phone: (512) 366-9109
Fax: (512) 366-9189
This is the professional
society of sleep specialists and sleep centers. You can check out their web site homepage.
For other information you can
call or write to:
American Academy
of Sleep Medicine
One Westbrook Corporate Center, Ste. 920,
Westchester, IL 60154
Telephone (708) 492-0930
Fax: (708) 492-0943