My 94 year old father is having trouble with his legs wanting to jerk while he is sleeping. The doctors don't seem to be much help. Does anybody have any he can try to hopefully get some relief.

Use them. I had it bad when I spent most of the day in an office. Since retiring and being outdoors more walking around the farm and such I’ve not had it to deal with. That’s almost seven years.

I’ve had the syndrome for years until my doctor told me a few months ago to try 200mg of Magnesium Citrate before bed. By golly it worked, seldom do I get the jerks anymore!

My Mom had it pretty bad, but with her I think it was nerves..after my father passed and she was essentially bedridden I didn't notice it anymore.....

Taking a big swig of dill pickle juice before bed helps.

At 94 he doesn't get enough exercise. So that may be part of the problem

I take 500Mg of Magnesium Citrate works great for me. Works great!

Recommended intake of magnesium varies some, but 300-400mg per day is recommended. Most people don't get enough. Almost everyone would/does need to supplement to reach beneficial blood levels.

It will also help control blood pressure.

I've had it all my life, as has both sisters and my mom when she was alive. If you've never had it, it's torture. Right now I take 1mg of mirapex 3x a day and 600 mg of gabapentin. I get along pretty good with that treatment. Both drugs are actually for Parkinson's. My sister has it so bad that she has been hospitalized for sleep deprivation, having went without sleep for up to 6 days. She wears a fentanyl patch for partial control. She is going to the Mayo clinic for testing to see if they can come up with something. All the doctors and specialists have exhausted all normal treatments. Oh, we have all tried every over the counter treatment known to mankind, with no relief.

Magnesium either in an Epson salt footpath or a cream to rub on his legs might help out. Can be used along side oral intake as well.

Magnesium and potassium

I'm doing in home hospice care currently for my father, and too many prior to talk about. Few things to consider in this. 1st is Edema. If having fluid concentration in the legs will increase the restlessness. Compression socks and USE. I have one of the little pedal machines that mocks walking or pedalling a bike while sitting in a chair. Muscle loss or decay is a huge culprit. rOPINIRole HCI is a very common drug. Dads been on 2.5MG in the evening (dinner time) and another 1MG before bed. that helps a lot.

2. Anxiety increases the restlessness. Dad is more extreme now, but when it was mild, he also took .5mg Lopazeran (sp??)

3. Hyper psychomotor agitation makes it worse - risperiDONE .5mg calms the brain down

Terminal Restlessness - seek Hospice care nurse

restless leg syndrome is the felling that you have to move your legs and can't get them to be comfortable. It sounds like what you are referring to is "hypnic jerks", which is what everyone has had when they start to doze off and suddenly jerk awake. Very commonly occur when just falling asleep. Typically not treated medically.

I don't have restless leg syndrome, I have always had an issue though at time with legs cramps during the night. I also have other issues now with my legs I'm dealing with.
That said one thing I have found is vitamins are more important than you think. Two listed above are good choice for cramping. Especially as you age you body doesn't take up vitamins as well.
One of my leg issue improved literally over night. That was after I found out I had very low vitamin D and doctor mega dosed me..
Who knew..
Now I take a daily multi vitamin and a D vitamin. I also take the magnisum at bed time like others suggested. I don't do the potassium any more. Im now also taking a daily B12 vitamin to help with my legs. Not even going to say how I decided on that.
I don't have any medical issues that I take any regular meds for. I only take the vitamins with the D being only one the doctor prescribed.
If you are on any regular meds for anything. You should talk to a doctor before taking even vitamins. All those things mix and react differently for everyone.
Im also finding that using a weighted blanket seems to help. For some reason just feels good having some weight on me. Gotta figure out your own system.

Mac

Thank you everyone for your answers. I am going to talk to my sister about trying some of your remedys.

I had them bad , y nephrologist gave me Gabapentin, it helped but the side effects got to be too much so I quit. Don't get them as much now. Medical THC helped as well

I just ask the sleep doctor I seen today about this , they want to order some blood test to check my iron levels . This is what they were checking for. Most neurologists and GPs will order a Ferritin test. Low ferritin levels can make RLS much worse than it needs to be. If ferritin test will gives them a reading below 50 ng per mL iron isn’t being stored properly in the body. Hope this helps.