Can I get help

QI AM at my wits’ end with restless legs syndrome, for which I take a cocktail of medication. However most evenings as I lie in bed I suffer muscle cramps, pain and cold feet which causes me to be awake for up to four hours at a time.

I also have Cushing’s disease and have had a triple heart bypass. My specialists and GPs are excellent but they seem to just miss the fact that I am being severely affected by this. How can I make them listen to me?

ATHE symptoms of restless legs syndrome (RLS) include uncontrollable jerking and twitching of the legs, often with a sensation of something crawling on the skin and cramps in the lower legs and feet.

These are usually worse when you are resting or trying to sleep. In many people it is thought to be related to a problem with levels of dopamine in the brain and drugs that boost levels of dopamine, such as ropinirole or pramipexole, can be very helpful.

However RLS can also be caused by underlying medical conditions, such as iron deficiency anaemia, diabetes, chronic kidney disease or a problem with the circulation in the legs. RLS does not usually cause cold feet and this makes me wonder whether the underlying problem is narrowed arteries in your lower legs. Without knowing the medicines you are taking it is difficult to give more advice but it is always worthwhile asking your doctors for an honest answer about your treatment options and how effective they are likely to be.

FOR a long time I have had varying degrees of pain and discomfort in the area at the top of my leg on the inside where the hip joins the thigh or pelvic bone.

It used to be severe for a second or two then would ease. Now the discomfort is constant while either sitting or sleeping on my left side, however it eases off completely when I am standing up.

The area around the pain is very warm or hot. My GP shrugs it off without concern, although he did check for any prostate issues which came back negative. The pain has got worse over the last two weeks. What should I do?

AI THINK the area of your pain is what doctors describe as the groin. There are numerous causes of groin pain and what is most likely depends on your age and if you are active.

In sportsmen, for example, a strain in a leg muscle or damage to one of their tendons is the most common cause, while in older people inflammation in the hip joint, often with underlying arthritis, is likely to blame.

Other possible causes include an inguinal hernia, swollen lymph nodes, a urinary tract or skin infection, kidney stones or a problem in the testes. I suggest you go back to your GP and ask for a thorough examination.

MY cousin has told me she is having radiation jabs at our local hospital. I was shocked and assumed she had cancer. However she assured me these injections are to treat an implant she had in her chest which is disintegrating.

I had thought radiation was only used to treat cancer. Is she telling me the truth?

ATHIS question puzzled me. Radiation (or radiotherapy) is given via an external beam