It doesn't happen every night. Mostly when I'm feeling worn out, or if it's been an especially long day.

It starts as a little tingle -- but within a few minutes, my legs are so twitchy and jumpy that rest and relaxation becomes just about impossible.

My father has it even worse -- his restless legs get so bad sometimes that my MOTHER can't get any sleep.

If my father or I walked into a doctor's office right now, the doctor might prescribe a drug called Qualaquin.

Know what this drug is approved for? Certainly not restless leg syndrome, or RLS. Nope... the ONLY thing this drug is approved to treat is a certain type of malaria caused by a parasite that's pretty darn rare in the United States.

Guess they had to find a way to make money off it, since not too many people in the U.S. are desperate for malaria treatment. Here, the drug is used most commonly for the treatment or prevention of nighttime leg cramps.

Turns out, writing out a prescription for Qualaquin to treat RLS isn't such a good idea. (Surprised? Of course not.)

In fact, use of this drug for RLS is so risky that the FDA actually released a statement alerting consumers to the dangers.

They received 38 reports of side effects including serious and life-threatening reactions. Out of those, 24 reports were of blood-related reactions, including some that resulted in permanent kidney damage or death. Only one report was related to the drug's intended use of treating malaria.

The FDA's solution? Discuss treatment options with your doctor. Contact your doctor immediately if you experience symptoms such as easy bruising or severe nose bleeding. Oh, and they'll be making sure patients get a medication guide when picking up their Qualaquin at the pharmacy.

Nowhere do they tackle the question of getting doctors to stop prescribing this incredibly risky drug. Or the issue of how RLS became the most frequent target of this drug.

Will the company that makes Qualaquin be held accountable for putting the bug in doctors' ears? Of course not.

If someone you love suffers from RLS, please make sure he or she sees this. I'll certainly be sharing it with my dad.

Printer-friendly version