Does magnesium help: Hi ive read loads... - Restless Legs Syn...

Restless Legs Syndrome

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Does magnesium help

Warriorchick13 profile image
14 Replies

Hi ive read loads and loads about certain vitamins and minerals helping with rls if your not getting enough of them. Now a few years back I started a healthy eating program for a bit to lose weight and my rls seemed to be managable I dont know if this was just a coincidence, or conected to my sugar as I have found out that I have diabetes last year and when my sugars are high my rls seems worse. I just wondered if anyone has tried this. I am going to go back on the combination of vitamins that I took when I was on my diet. Im really frustrated atm as im getting very little sleep and my doctor wont give me a higher dose of ropinerole, Im currently on 2mg which used to work but now it doesnt. I didnt get to sleep till about 2 in the morning then i woke up at 4 and then fell back asleep at about 4.45 and then my alarm goes of at 6, but im that tired I snoozed it till 7 which is not good. Im gonna have to try and catch a few hours late afternoon, but ive got loads to do and Im so tired, my house is an absolute tip :(. But im just sat here now drinking coffee as ive got to go out at 10 and am out all day so dare not go back to sleep. Anyway after my rant im going to make my next cup of coffee, oh and i tried cutting out caffene and it didnt touch my rls lol so back to the coffee in the morning :) lol xxx

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Warriorchick13
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14 Replies

I am jumping up and down clapping my hands that you are looking

at diet so closely and that you did say that it is making a difference..

I have been reaching to the moon with this diet thing..I'm concentrating

on whole foods that I must eat to be of optimal health..(outside of eating

some pie last night)

RLS can come and go randomly..(nightdancer said) It can just disappear for

weeks, months and then suddenly it pops up again..so it is so hard to

know that it's the diet or the unpredictable rls hiding away for a while.

This is encouraging for me to hear this though..

My doctor stays away (far away) from the max dose of my pramipexole

which is 3mg..for RLS..the highest that any of my doctors will go is 1mg.

If that's not working, they will talk with me about trying something else..

I wonder what's up with that.. I am current trying to scale back my medicines.

If your sugars go up, worse can happen than RLS..but it's interesting that you

put that together..I would think that you will control the sugars to help that RLS

stay away..I know it's easier said than done..Kudos to you for being successful

so far. =)

I cannot say a thing about coffee..some are very affected by it..some can drink

a pot of it and sleep, have their legs still..I am certainly not one of them..

One doctor told me that naps can work against your good night time sleep schedule

unless the nap is less than 15 mins..(impossible for me- I'd break that alarm) If

I am going to nap, it's an hour or more. haha..

Warriorchick13 profile image
Warriorchick13

Twice its happend with me healthy eating and including more veg in my diet like the large bell peppers and brightly coloured ones like that. But like you say it can be a coincidence. I thought it was going to stop when my sugars came right down. However I was waiting for my neice at an appointment yesterday and my legs started so I tested my sugars there and then and they were the lowest they have ever been grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Having said that it wasnt the worst its been and I think when my sugars are increasing from low to high I think thats when it starts really bad. I bought some vitamins the magnesium ok ones so I will let people know if my rls starts to get better. Im sure its hit and miss what professionals say about rls :( xxx

ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional

Please paste that into your browser..to read it. It's so worth

your time.

This article might be the most important that ever existed for you to read.

Please check the drug interactions..it's critical for you to know this stuff.

Warriorchick13 profile image
Warriorchick13

Ty will have a look now xxx

maesllan5 profile image
maesllan5

I've also done the diet thing cutting out caffeine and alcohol it did not work for me!! Healthy diet fruit veg salad plenty water red meat once a week or no red meat, meals made fresh every day no salt added, no sugar only natural sugars that's in fresh food. I used a nutritional book as a guide. 21 years I've had a good diet and exercise (can't exercise as much as I used) but I walk every day, getting RLS worse then ever recently!!!!!!! also been down the vitamins road waste of money for me. So not sure were to turn?????

Not given up!!!!

My partner benefited as when I first met him doctors wanted to put him on meds for blood pressure and cholesterol both very high for a 40 year old, he been a healthy man for along while now. :)

in reply to maesllan5

Though cleaning up your diet didn't help with RLS, it helps

to keep your body in better condition by benefitting the heart,

liver, the way that you look and how you feel. I can cope with

RLS better with the "good diet." When you are giving up red meats

then watch your B12, Iron levels..Have them checked every so

often. I gave up red meats entirely and though my body loved me

for doing it, I was depleting my B12 so now I am eating it again

in low to moderate rates...I also take b12 shots for life.. my doctor

said that if I stop them, my RLS will get worse..and so will my other

dealios that I have going on.

I realize that fish is a good source of vitamin B12 and there are lots

of others ways to get it but for some reason, my body liked the

red meats..and absorbed it more. =)

courtland14 profile image
courtland14

yes, for me MAG PHOS (magnesium phosphate) helped enormously. This 'phase' of rls started after a back op in January and had me on my knees without sleep. However I googled for some remedies and saw mag phos, so tried it and it worked more or less straight away. Of course I was pleased as no heavy meds were involved, I know it doesn't work for everyone but worth a try. get from your health food shop and you can check out my posts on the subject on this site. good luck and keep us posted.

in reply to courtland14

Thanks Courtland! =) Welcome to the forum and thanks for

sharing your information. Are you taking any kind of meds at all?

That's almost unheard of that just taking Magnesium Phosphate

worked for you...Lucky person! =)

Eating the "right foods" taking vitamins, minerals etc etc. not having sugar, caffeine, etc etc, does not work for most of us. Only a few, will any get relief from following that type of regime. Why it doesnt work for everyone is a bit of a mystery to me, apart from everyone is different.

Carol456 profile image
Carol456 in reply to

certainly does not work for me either, and most of the things they say that make it worse , well they dont bother me either, i got my RLS from my mum

Warriorchick13 profile image
Warriorchick13

I remember suffering a little sat down for a long time at desks at school, however, I cant remember how far back it went as I changed my diet to a vegetarian one when i was around 14. But my rls definatly gets worse when Im on a period, so I cant remember wether it started when I hit puberty or when i changed my diet :( But I always have heavy periods so again thats iron lol. I really am clutching at straws that my diet is to blame so I can some how stop it, caus its making me depressed at the moment the sleep im getting is minimal

in reply to Warriorchick13

warriorchick, are you taking medicines? I forgot what you told me...

It doesn't take long for a depression to start when you can't sleep.

We really need to talk about your medicines so you can get out

of that funk by getting a little sleep...

Did you get a chance to check out rlshelp.org ? They have

the most updated lists of medication and talk about iron intake

and storage of iron..I think that it's time for you to go into the doctor

to have them check your iron, ferritin, B12, D for starters..being

on the normal low end can make you feel horrible. The symptoms

can include depression, pain, weakness, loss of concentration,

being overly tired, like you are pulling a train with your body everywhere

you go...it's a big energy zapper. maybe you need more iron than

just that one tablet..Please get it checked soon..I want for you to

feel better fast. =)

Warriorchick13 profile image
Warriorchick13

Hi Im sorry ive not been able to reply for a while, since starting on the tablets called Magnesium OK, they include b vitamins in them as well. I have had a bit of an improvement in that my rls isnt starting as early before I go to bed and if it does start then it doesnt go on for quite as long which is still that Im having bad sleep but am able to sleep for up to 4 hours at a time now, and the other night I slept right through for nearly 9 hours woooooohooooooo. However I am aware that my sugar levels affect it as well as my sugar was high the other night and I ended up not getting to sleep till gone 1 but then did stay asleep once I got to sleep. Im going to concentrate on getting my diet right, as im not long diagnosed with diabetes its all new to me so I need to get on track with that and I am on meds for it now. I will keep you updated with my progress. I dont like going to my doctors as they drag there feet and I feel like I have to fight for everything and if these vitamins are working for the time being then hopefully as they build up in my system and my diet gets better my rls with reduce. Although I dont hold out hope for it going completly but if it reduces enough so I can get some sleep its better than nothing lol xxx

BevyAnn profile image
BevyAnn

I tried magnesium and it did nothing i tried Vitamin E also nothing Potassium nothing. Got instant relief with no side effects what so ever with Klonopin like some are saying and never had to take more than 1 mg and my rls was real real bad before that I was getting maybe 2 hours sleep a night, falling asleep while driving home from work because of being so tired, only by the grace of God I lived to get a Dr. who knew what to do, sleep study and seizure control med 1 mg Klonopin

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