RLS and the Nidra bands

Do u know the name of the bands?

Hurray! I have been trying to tell folks on these message boards about my Nidra (made by the Noctrix Company in California) for months! Now, I am not the only one!

Google Noctrix or Nidra, Laura, and it is easy to find the company. Their website has a list of doctors who know about the device and can help you get it--if you don't have a doctor well-versed in RLS treatment. I initially emailed them and corresponded with a very helpful nurse. They always have some helpful YouTubes (search under Nidra or Noctrix) showing how it works.

Medicare paid for my bands 100% (maybe because my doctor (a RLS doctor--who prescribed them)--is adapt at justifying their use?

How much of their cost did you have to pay, Ilohs?

Because this is a FDA approved, Medicare approved medical device, it can only be acquired through a prescription.

Like you--after use of the Nidra over some time, I now have symptom-free nights about 1/2 the time. I started using Nidra last April.

I avoided Requip (a dopamine agonist drug) because I read Dr Early's (Johns Hopkins' RLS expert)) website before I was treated and refused when my primary doctor tried to prescribe it. I went through the gambit of RLS drugs (all of those used except dopamine agonists) and take buprinorphine--which works well in combination with the Nidra.

The only problem I have now if I over-stretch my legs or over-exercise them. When I do this, nothing helps. So, I'm trying to learn the right amount of stretching/exercising.

@laura1970
Yes. I put it in the title but they are Nidra bands. Type in nidrarls.com to go to their site. Best of luck to you with your RLS.

@laura1970
Yes. I put it in the title. They are Nidra bands. Go to nidrarls.com online to their web site. Best of luck with your RLS!

For those who can’t or may have trouble getting a prescription for the Nidra bands, this might help. I wear compression sleeves during the day because I have some nerve problems in my right leg due to spinal issues...long story, doesn’t matter. The compression sleeve helps support that leg that has nerve damage. However, I wear them on both legs during the day, for balance. I discovered that when I get restless legs at night, which ironically, I only get in my right leg now since having a hip replacement for my left hip, if I put a compression sleeve on the right leg, it helps immensely. I continue to wear it through the night. Compression sleeves obviously don’t deliver electrical stimulation to the nerves in the legs like the Nidra bands do, but for me, it seems to give pushback, for lack of a better word, to the impulses in the leg. They don’t cure it, but they subdue the impulses.

I like the Blitzu brand as they are thicker, supportive but not restrictive, easy to put on (they send a card showing how to do it the easy way). A good winter weight although I haven’t found a comparable summer weight and often just go without wearing them in the summer because I find them too hot during the day. I do have short legs so although for some reason the white and black versions aren’t too long, the other colors are. I snip the lower part of those, up to the “cuff line” with scissors and then turn the cuff up. Snipping them to the cuff line does not make them run. I throw them in the wash as usual but I hang them up to dry. I have 7 pair in all colors and I’m on my third year of using them so the wear is good as long as you don’t throw them in the dryer.. I get mine from Amazon and right now they’re on sale for $8.99 a pair.

I do joke about asking if Medicare would pay for a hip replacement for my right hip to cure the RLS in that leg too. I have no idea why I no longer get RLS in my left leg after hip replacement but I’ll take it. My right hip is in good shape though so the compression sleeve it is for now. I will ask my doctor about the Nidra device next time I see her. It looks like you may have to have a doctor who knows how to use them however, looking at the Nidra page.

@kildaren96 That is very interesting, Nanci. Before medication and before the Nidra bands (and before I knew it was RLS) I used a large, heavy massager on my leg at night and for years that helped stop the symptoms (until it didn't). Initially, my RLS symptoms were almost always just in my left leg--on much worse on my left leg. I had just injured that leg's tendon (running back of calf down through the arch of my foot) before I developed RLS. I swear that injury is somehow connected with how I experience RLS. I don't think it was causative. But, I do think "other things" affecting our legs plays a part in how the RLS symptoms are expressed. My RLS doctor said the Nidra's impulses were designed to replicate walking. The other thing--besides treating each episode of RLS effectively--is that use of the bands (over some time) decrease the frequency of having symptoms. I read this and thought "oh, sure" but honestly that happened. I went from only a symptom-free night every 6 to 8 weeks (never something I could replicate) to now symptom-free about 1/2 the nights. (Last night was the fourth in a row without RLS symptoms). Unlike Laura 1970, my device was totally paid for by medicare and my supplemental (April 2025). Maybe, her insurance is different than mine or maybe my RLS expert doctor wrote the justification differently. I spoke with someone at the Noctrix Company and was told insurance would cover completely--and it did. I am still subject to horrible RLS nights if I over-stretch or over-exercise (but I'm working on this, carefully). The Noctrix website has a list of doctors who understand how to prescribe (in almost every state--there are a couple states--I think--where you can't get one, at all). The company both arranges for you to meet someone who "activates" the device in person AND someone else who emails every week for the first ?couple months to ask if there are any questions/need any help. You can also talk to this person on the phone. The company doesn't just provide the device--it provides fabulous support. The devise was carefully engineered to be comfortable as well as effective. You just need to be careful with the velcro (I bet this will be improved in the next generation of Nidra's). I had a hair stuck in the velcro and it didn't stick until I removed the hair. The "work" of arranging to get a Nidra is a small price for nights with no symptoms, I think. For me--I had to travel to a different state to pick mine up--I can't stress enough how helpful it has been--it gave me back my life. My RLS was so bad. I was so sleep-deprived. And : ) now I'm not. ---Best to you! Let me know if you decide to pursue getting one and how it works for you!

I checked and there are no doctors in NM. The closest is 352 miles away in Mesa AZ. Since my hip replacement and only having it in one leg now, it’s not so bad, not like it used to be. I also walk over a mile with my dog each day using my All terrain Trionic Veloped Rollator. I have spinal issues that affect that right leg and may be part of the RLS although to be fair, I had RLS before I ever developed the spinal issues. I think that the walking during the day helps. I tend to get at least 6000 steps in most days. Not that I’m actively trying, I just try to stay active as it takes my mind off my aging body aches and pains. The brain can only focus on one thing at a time so I try to give it lots of hobbies and activities to distract it. That includes sewing, knitting and quilting so not all of my activities are highly active, but active enough.

I’ve also been a poor sleeper most of my life and it’s become much worse in my 70s. My doc tried gabapentin and I didn’t like the gaba “hangover” the next day for me, even with a small dosage of 200 mg. Now I’m trying trazadone at 25 mg although I can go up to 100 mg. I’ve found a sweet spot of 37.5 mg, lol. I have to cut the 50 mg in half (that’s the smallest it comes in) and then cut a half in half, to get there. I’m mostly getting close to or over 6 hours sleep now but it is in two segments. I’m happy though because before it was 4 hours or less with 2-3 interruptions each night.

Although my compression sleeve doesn’t take it away when I get RLS at night, it does help. I put it on and stand at a setup I made for my ipad and usually move around while I do the NYTimes puzzles, online jigsaw puzzles, do online solitaire games and listen to the Calm music app at the same time. With the trazadone, altough I take it an hour before I go to bed, I get sleepy again within 45 mins and I’ve had enough relief of the RLS during that time that I can go back to bed and to sleep.

I’ll keep my eyes open though for a doc in NM. I would drive to Albuquerque which is 50 miles away. NM only has a statewide population of 2 million so we’re lucky to find a regular doctor, much less a specialist. My husband and I are thinking of moving if we’re lucky to make it into our 80s where we hope, healthcare will be more accessible. I don’t know though…my brother lives in Oceanside CA and even he has problems getting good medical care in SoCal and he’s close to San Diego. More doctors but also more population clamoring for them.

I am so glad however, that you have tried this and had success. Severe RLS is no joke. Even moderate RLS is no joke. I’m happy that there are companies trying to find solutions for all us sufferers.

@kildaren96 I feel like I know you, Nanci, you write so vividly about your struggles. A hip replacement is a huge deal. Recovery from that takes time. And, I think you are so smart to fill your life with (pleasant) distractions. I can identify. I first read about Nidra in the medical literature and found an email and contacted Noctrix Company. The reason it's not available everywhere--yet--is because they have to establish support people in the state. So, I bet New Mexico is coming. I live in KY but see a RLS doctor by going to Ohio. Ohio had Nidra available before KY--so I questioned if I could go there to be "activated." The answer was "no" for a YEAR, but last April the company allowed me to have mine delivered to a friend who lives in Northern Ohio. On the way home, I stopped in Columbus and had the "activation" in my motel room. (Activation is only adjusting the settings and making sure you can put it on correctly--takes an hour.) Because I had reached out to the company--exchanged emails with a nurse--I received an email saying now I could go to Ohio to get the device last April. I suggest you contact Noctrix so you will know (immediately) when Nidra is available in NM. Yes, you can just check their website, but getting email notification could be more timely. Also, tell them that Albuquerque would be the best place for a RSL doctor to be located : ) It doesn't hurt to have them realize there are potential customers in NM. I was very impressed by the fact that they emailed me to say "you can have one now." I think they are extremely cognizant to the hardship RLS places on us. I understand that you are managing your RLS now--you aren't in crisis. But, when you are able to get a Nidra, you should. Your compression stockings are a good stop-gap. My RLS presents as pain--in my thighs, not calves. I have a sack of rice in the bed and sometimes lying with my thigh against the rice-sack (a hardness) would allow me to go back to sleep. Similar to your stockings. Last February my goal was to manage my RLS--live with it/cope with it---I never imagined I could have nights without any symptoms. Nidra has done this for me. (Last 5 nights in a row--no RLS symptoms, at all). Oh, and with the Noctrix company--it's not just the device. You need to exchange these pads on it weekly. (Sticky stuff--to conduct--like on an EKG or a TEDs, sort of). These are UPSed to me every four weeks (paid for by Medicare). The Noctrix Company has treated me like a valued customer and also as someone who suffers without their help. They have a network that makes sure the device is used properly and the pads are always supplied as needed. Really, I feel they are a class-act. Nidra is now available in Kentucky. I'm glad I didn't wait and went to Ohio--getting one months sooner. I was in crisis (or bordering on crisis) since the summer of 2020. I developed insomnia on top of the RLS and because of the RLS. Etc. I understand your situation isn't identical to mine. But, like me, you look for solutions. I may not be on this message board forever---but when you get a Nidra, be sure to tell others. Pass it forward. Best to you!