The main treatment for people suffering from agonising restless leg syndrome could make the symptoms permanently worse, campaigners are warning.
The condition, which affects up to 10 per cent of the population and is more common in women, causes an unpleasant ‘crawling’ sensation in the legs, mostly at night, and an almost irresistible urge to move.
In those worst affected, it can interrupt sleep, damage mental health, ruin relationships and careers. But drugs called dopamine agonists commonly prescribed by doctors to ease the symptoms may actually exacerbate problems in up to half of patients, studies have found. In some cases the effects can’t be reversed.
Describing the situation as ‘an appalling medical scandal’, the charity RLS-UK says many people have been left with unbearable symptoms, even after upping their dose of the drugs to the maximum level to end their suffering.
Others develop bizarre addictive behaviours such as gambling or compulsive shopping, it says.
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