Opinion

[graciebes]

I want to ask people's opinion.As I said in an earlier post I'm on pramipexole and really want to come off medication altogether.I have read on here people take Magnesium citrate and vitamins. I am wondering if that will ease my restless legs.I'm sick of not sleeping and the amount of weight I've put on although I don't eat much cap, just can't shift the weight .I would value people's opinion.thanks 

[Hidden]

Some people get RLS due to deficiencies in things such as magnesium and Iron and then if the deficiencies are treated the RLS clears up.

IF your RLS is idiopathic the magnesium wont help I think. I've tried to go drug free in the past but unfortunately I've had this all my life and isn't caused by a deficiency as I still get RLS even when taking Iron and magnesium supplements.

Good luck.

[Hidden]

I agree with raffs. if you have Primary RLS the genetic type then there isnt anything but meds that seem to work.  Secondary RLS is from a underlying condition and you may benefit from taking vitamins etc and they might help reduce your symptoms. I have    tried magnesium, iron, etc and none helped.  

[graciebes in reply to Hidden]

Hi no one else in my family suffer from RLS , ill give it a go , can't say then I didn't try , thanks for your opinion  xx

[beady3]

Well I don't think you will get much luck without some sort of med for your rls,I take Tramodol and am quite happy with that nothing is 100 percent  ,I also have mag salts in the bath which I think helps ,I haven't had any probs with wieght , give it a go. Good luck x

[graciebes in reply to beady3]

hi I am at the docs on Tuesday so after explaining I hope he can come up with something.we have moved to Spain recently so hope he's had dealings with rls and can understand me ,although he speaks English pretty well .

[John_naylor]

Also worth looking for triggers in your daily life. Note what you have eaten, drunk, times of eating, going to bed, activity level, stress level etc and the severity of your RLS that evening. I find spicy food, big meals, eating late, more than a pint of beer, sweets, driving at night, lack of an evening relaxation before bed all increase symptoms but my best discovery was potatoes! Cutting out potatoes made a vast difference though I can still have a small amount of mash.

Good luck.

[Hidden]

I have been able to halve my medication (pramipexole and patches) by stopping HRT and citalopram.  I take iron, vitamin B and E, and cod liver oil.  I only have a couple of glasses of wine at lunch time - if I go over that then I suffer that evening.  I don't drink alcohol in the evening.  I have drink caffiene free tea and coffee.  I have tried a Tens machine - no joy.  I have also tried magnessium - again no joy.  One thing in the evening which helps, but not a lot is rubbing my feet and legs with lavender oil.  I exercixe daily.  Albeit that I have been able halve the medication - I have not been able to come off it completely.  RLS really is a nightmare.  It isn't just 'twitchy legs' it can make life impossible!  I hope that one day I will be totally drug free, but I can't see it happening in the short term. 

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Hi HMM. What type of iron do take. For me the only kind that helps is ferrous bis-glycinate.  And I have to take it on an empty stomach away from all other supplements and at night or during an attack.  It helps every time without fail even though I have the iron stores of Hercukes.  If I take the iron in the morning it will do nothing for my night time RLS.   I'm very glad that you found the drugs that are making your RLS worse. Not many peopke realize that HRT can bake RLS much worse than it has to be as well as the SSRIs.   So can statins , calcium channel blockers, antacids known as H2 histamine blockers , sugar substitutes and metformin.   I bet if you took the right kind of iron at night you might not need any medications to sleep. 

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

I am taking Ferrous Fumarate, but will try and get ferrous bis-glycinate. Don't know what the difference is!   Thanks so much for the advice.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Generally speaking you want a form of iron that is as broken down as possible.  Iron is a heavy metal and there are some forms, probably the fumarate, that barely cross the gut barrier much less the brain barrier.  I don't know HMM, it just works, from the first pill.  However I started from a point wherein I was taking no prescription meds so my dopamine receptors were at baseline.  On the other hand, Mr. X was taking 2mg of ropinirole in the mid-afternoon and then again around 8pm I believe.  He took 4x18mg of ferrous bis-glycinate in the morning and then in the afternoon and from the first day he did not have any symptoms until late in the evening when he felt a few twinges.  He indicated that 3:30 in the afternoon was the latest he ever wanted to wait to take the ropinirole because his symptoms are severe.  So I guess the iron works for non-medicated as well as medicated patients.

[Pippins2]

Gracie please be aware that stopping the Pramipexole cold turkey is not advisable. Also it normally causes a severe increase in symptoms so a strong painkiller is usually necessary. X

[graciebes in reply to Pippins2]

Isn't taking a painkiller better than taking med?I am fed up with lack of sleep, weight gain which I cannot shift(making me so miserable) and of course the RLS.Someone suggested rubbing Vicky into my legs , well I'll give it a try, to see how I get on . 

[Pippins2 in reply to graciebes]

Yes some of the experts are now recommending painkillers as a first line treatment instead of the Dopamine Agonists 

[graciebes in reply to Pippins2]

I've had RLS for over 20 years so try h painkillers instead of me d's , hope they work