Can RLS Make You Unfit for Work?

For some time now I have been thinking about writing a blog on the subject of incapacity for work. I see and hear little about this subject in connection with restless legs. However, it seems quite imaginable to me. The consequences of RLS are major and this does not always seem to be sufficiently recognized.

 It is also not an easy topic to discuss among fellow sufferers. A bit of a taboo. It is probably difficult for everyone to recognize that you can no longer keep up with it all. Work, home, social, etc. If you are not fit, however, at a certain point it becomes quite complicated to keep doing everything you did before.

In this blog I will go deeper into the topic. I ask the following questions:

1. What is the impact of restless legs?
2. Can you become incapacitated for work by RLS?
3. Is incapacity for work sufficiently recognized by RLS and recognized by employers and the medical profession?

Sleep

Not sleeping well is a disaster. It affects everything you do. Body and mind need sleep to cope with the days. If you structurally do not sleep enough, your entire system will suffer.

RLS is an erratic condition. One night is worse than the other. However, in a few percent of the population, symptoms appear every night. Without exception. You can hardly imagine this if you are used to sleeping without problems.

Everyone sometimes sleeps less well for a night. When this situation becomes chronic then you really have a problem. You do not feel well physically. You almost inevitably have to deal with stress mentally. Depression lies in wait.

Restless legs is a progressive condition. This means that the complaints get worse over the years. Moreover, you can no longer get rid of it. Not exactly a pleasant prospect.

Function during the day

Ideally, you will wake up refreshed from the night’s sleep in the morning, ready for a new day. You have recovered physically and mentally from the previous day. You can look forward to the activities on the program with confidence. You’re looking forward to it.

I have been dealing with RLS for more than five years now and I don’t really remember what it used to be like to get up really rested in the morning. There are days when I feel a little less tired, but I always have to take into account much less energy than someone who does sleep well.

I have not had a regular job for years. A very small part-time job is the maximum that is achievable. On the days when I work out of the house, I just hope I won’t have an extra bad night beforehand. Knowing that I can keep the day before and the day after that off, I can keep the stress over this under control. However, working several days a week would be problematic in this regard.

For the past six months I have been doing some work here and there from home. I have realized for a while that it is best for me if I can see each day when I have enough energy to work for a few hours. If I don’t observe myself enough, I will get even more complaints from the RLS at night than I already have.

Incapacity for work

I live on my own and have no children. Actually, I have never had much money or possessions. I get by with very little. However, not everyone lives in the same circumstances as I do. And make no mistake, my circumstances are far from easy.

However, when you are dealing with restless legs from a regular job outside the home, with a partner and children, it all becomes a whole different story. You must have a very good safety net and support from people around you to keep daily life livable.

The longer you suffer from this disruptive sleep disorder, the more you are heading for a serious burnout. Someone in a temporary position is likely to lose his or her job. Another will end up in the sickness insurance scheme and will have to deal with the manager and the company doctor.

Whether there is a lot of understanding from the employer and the company doctor for a disease such as RLS remains to be seen. The same goes for colleagues who may not have heard of restless legs and may feel that you are acting out.

It was probably difficult to tell about it. Telling about a disease like RLS can fill a person with a feeling of shame. You don’t want to be seen as a whiner at all. All not really beneficial to your well-being.

Recognition from doctors and employers

Fortunately, I have never been in a situation of incapacity for work during an employment relationship because of my restless legs. Before that, I had already taken measures to reduce my workload so drastically that this would not happen. I took for granted the mini-income I had left. My autonomy is everything to me.

In the past, however, I sometimes fell ill during a job with complaints that were somewhat more vague than, for example, a broken leg. Employers, of course, differ from each other, as do doctors and company doctors. In my experience, however, understanding is shorter the more elusive the illness becomes. I previously wrote a blog about MUS/SOLK (Medically Unexplained Symptoms).

In a disease like RLS, it would be good if doctors and employers were more aware of its impact. I don’t know how many people in the Netherlands are faced with an untenable situation at work because of their restless legs. I don’t think people talk about this that easily.

It would be good to do more research into this and to make the results widely known. If we assume a few percent of the Dutch population that has to deal with the severe variant of RLS, we are talking about between 170,000 and 340,000 people. That is quite a few.