Hi guys, so you probably already know what I'm about to say but I think I'm onto some good things here.
There are many different causes of RLS so I've written a long list of all of them and I'm going to focus on addressing them.
1. Too much calcium, too little magnesium
So I bet you've already heard about this and started eating more magnesium- rich foods to combat this and it hasn't helped much. Same for me. I drink a ton of milk, which has like 300mg of calcium per 100 ml. I realised that's way too much so I started drinking soy milk which had 7mg per 100 ml. After a few days, I started getting a bit of diarrhoea. I then found out that calcium blocks the laxative effects of magnesium. So basically, if I could get the correct ratio of calcium and magnesium in my body, my muscles would be relaxed and I wouldn't get diarrhoea. I found some products online and bought them immediately. First one is called 'natural vitality calcium magnesium'. Basically it's a powdered drink which is supposed to maintain healthy calcium and magnesium levels. The reviews were very promising and consisted of people suffering from all kinds of illnesses, restless leg syndrome included. I think I definitely have to take this drink once or twice a day. It hasn't arrived in the mail yet, so I'll let you know how effective it is after a week of using it. The second product is a magnesium supplement called 'mgsport 60'. This has mainly magnesium and a bevy of other good vitamins in it. A clinical trial was done using the product which proved that it had a higher absorption rate than magnesium citrate. 3x higher. I have gotten proof of this clinical trial and it is legit, no scam. There are 60 tablets and they recommend you take one a day, but for people like us, I'd say two a day would be needed for the first month. If you're restless leg syndrome has been caused my magnesium deficiency, I've heard it takes like 6-12 months for your body to recover from that. Whether or not that translates to no more rls, I bloody hope so. The tablets cost about $25-35 depending on where you buy them. Postage is variable obviously. That translates to roughly $1 a day since the tablets will last 30 days, so I think this is very fair. The third product is another magnesium one. It's called 'now foods magnesium capsules'. Don't really know much about it as I just found it yesterday. Price is very good and reviews are high, but with RLS you need the very best. If anyone tries it, let me know how it goes. Third product is called 'caruso's super magnesium powder'. This is at my local pharmacy. It's got like seven forms of magnesium in it so I'd guess the absorption rate would be pretty good. Lasts about 40-50 days, very fair price.
2. Iron deficiency
Every rls sufferer knows about this one. I though I just had to load up on iron supplements (some recommended by doctor), which I do, but there's something else you should do. Go get yourself checked for 'helicobacter pylori'. It's a stomach bacterium which inhibits the absorption of iron. I went to the doctor straight away on hearing about this and got a blood test. The test came up negative, so I asked for a referral to get a gastroscopy done. Since its new years break right now, the hospital that does it is closed until tomorrow, so I can't make a booking until then. I will let you know when I get the procedure done and the results that come about it. Not really anything I can do about it except be patient.
3. Medical marijuana
I know people turn their eyes and ears away from stuff like this, but you really need to google medical marijuana and how it can be used for RLS. I have never done weed and rarely drink (since RLS I haven't drunk at all), so it took me a while to get on this bandwagon. I see so many people accounts online of how they took requip then benedine then tramadol then this and that. I have taken sifrol and have just started taken requip, which I will take just in the short term. There is no way in hell I will take those tablets long term, with the constant side effects and variable results, not to mention augmentation. Honestly, medical marijuana might mess up my brain when I'm like 60 or 70 because there have been no long term trials done on its effects, but I want to live my life pain free throughout my 20s and 30s and hopefully 40s. I have heard that doing weed gets rid of RLS completely if you smoke it 2-3 times a day. This is very promising because it sounds like if I can find a good strain of medical marijuana which controls my RLS and has a low THC content (stuff that messes up your brain) then I could be in for something good. I would never smoke it because I don't want to smell like a junkie, but I would definitely vaporise it, which is much much safer and you can do it outside so the only way you'd smell would be from a bad breath. You can shower, brush your teeth and load up on breath fresheners to fix that. If I end up moving on to this, the vaporizer I will use is called 'itaste vv vaporizer 3.0'. It's very cheap, durable and the reviews are very high. I figured if I used this at the park or in a car park every night, it wouldn't be too noticeable. I'd have my medical card on me anyway so I can show that to anyone who feels it's their duty to bring all medical marijuana vaporizers to justice. Medical marijuana is legal where I live, but the actual product won't be available for another 2-3 months so it'll be my last resort. I have no idea how much it'll cost but most people online say that if you use it strictly for RLS, a one month supply can last 3-4 months.
Hope this helps guys. The really frustrating thing about rls is that everytime I find out about something new, I have to wait days and weeks for it to arrive in the mail or before I can get my results back from the doctor. You have to be aggressive with it, otherwise you'll just be miserable. I'll keep you guys posted on what I said above.
Cheers
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Backtobasics95
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Am with you on the medical marijuana, but we have to remember that this group is mostly from the UK, maybe 1/3 from the US, and it is not available to most people here.
Don't see how it's a joke. Also don't see how they are done irrationally. I am attempting to solve the iron problem through a procedure done in a hospital, a quite common procedure actually. I'm just a guy suffering from RLS whose sharing his methods with others so that maybe someone else finds a solution.
So I bet you've already heard about this and started eating more magnesium- rich foods to combat this and it hasn't helped much. Same for me. I drink a ton of milk, which has like 300mg of calcium per 100 ml. I realised that's way too much so I started drinking soy milk which had 7mg per 100 ml. After a few days, I started getting a bit of diarrhoea. I then found out that calcium blocks the laxative effects of magnesium. So basically, if I could get the correct ratio of calcium and magnesium in my body, my muscles would be relaxed and I wouldn't get diarrhoea. I found some products online and bought them immediately. First one is called 'natural vitality calcium magnesium'. Basically it's a powdered drink which is supposed to maintain healthy calcium and magnesium levels. The reviews were very promising and consisted of people suffering from all kinds of illnesses, restless leg syndrome included. I think I definitely have to take this drink once or twice a day. It hasn't arrived in the mail yet, so I'll let you know how effective it is after a week of using it. The second product is a magnesium supplement called 'mgsport 60'. This has mainly magnesium and a bevy of other good vitamins in it. A clinical trial was done using the product which proved that it had a higher absorption rate than magnesium citrate. 3x higher. I have gotten proof of this clinical trial and it is legit, no scam. There are 60 tablets and they recommend you take one a day, but for people like us, I'd say two a day would be needed for the first month. If you're restless leg syndrome has been caused my magnesium deficiency, I've heard it takes like 6-12 months for your body to recover from that. Whether or not that translates to no more rls, I bloody hope so. The tablets cost about $25-35 depending on where you buy them. Postage is variable obviously. That translates to roughly $1 a day since the tablets will last 30 days, so I think this is very fair. The third product is another magnesium one. It's called 'now foods magnesium capsules'. Don't really know much about it as I just found it yesterday. Price is very good and reviews are high, but with RLS you need the very best. If anyone tries it, let me know how it goes. Third product is called 'caruso's super magnesium powder'. This is at my local pharmacy. It's got like seven forms of magnesium in it so I'd guess the absorption rate would be pretty good. Lasts about 40-50 days, very fair price.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Here we see you buying 4 products that effect/contain Mg, (you state you are taking three) – that is way too much you do not know what all that will do to your system. Also to base things on reviews is not a good idea if you are going down that route throw a bar of soap in your bed and forget about the rest! For your safety please PLEASE read the links below, heart attacks can be fatal:
Every rls sufferer knows about this one. I though I just had to load up on iron supplements (some recommended by doctor), which I do, but there's something else you should do. Go get yourself checked for 'helicobacter pylori'. It's a stomach bacterium which inhibits the absorption of iron. I went to the doctor straight away on hearing about this and got a blood test. The test came up negative, so I asked for a referral to get a gastroscopy done. Since its new years break right now, the hospital that does it is closed until tomorrow, so I can't make a booking until then. I will let you know when I get the procedure done and the results that come about it. Not really anything I can do about it except be patient.
You claim worried about H. Pylori yet when you get a negative result you go looking for a gastroscopy – again this does not make a pile of sense to me – if the H. Pylori isn’t infecting you and your test shows this – what do you hope to get from the scope? The big problem with Iron in people with RLS is not the stomach absorption but the storing in the brain – read the posts on here, (I’d particularly recommend Nightdancer), and again you are throwing a variety of Iron supplements without knowing what exactly is going on in your body, again taking this in too high a dose can kill:
I know people turn their eyes and ears away from stuff like this, but you really need to google medical marijuana and how it can be used for RLS. I have never done weed and rarely drink (since RLS I haven't drunk at all), so it took me a while to get on this bandwagon. I see so many people accounts online of how they took requip then benedine then tramadol then this and that. I have taken sifrol and have just started taken requip, which I will take just in the short term. There is no way in hell I will take those tablets long term, with the constant side effects and variable results, not to mention augmentation. Honestly, medical marijuana might mess up my brain when I'm like 60 or 70 because there have been no long term trials done on its effects, but I want to live my life pain free throughout my 20s and 30s and hopefully 40s.I have heard that doing weed gets rid of RLS completely if you smoke it 2-3 times a day.
This is very promising because it sounds like if I can find a good strain of medical marijuana which controls my RLS and has a low THC content (stuff that messes up your brain) then I could be in for something good. I would never smoke it because I don't want to smell like a junkie, but I would definitely vaporise it, which is much much safer and you can do it outside so the only way you'd smell would be from a bad breath. You can shower, brush your teeth and load up on breath fresheners to fix that. If I end up moving on to this, the vaporizer I will use is called 'itaste vv vaporizer 3.0'. It's very cheap, durable and the reviews are very high. I figured if I used this at the park or in a car park every night, it wouldn't be too noticeable. I'd have my medical card on me anyway so I can show that to anyone who feels it's their duty to bring all medical marijuana vaporizers to justice. Medical marijuana is legal where I live, but the actual product won't be available for another 2-3 months so it'll be my last resort. I have no idea how much it'll cost but most people online say that if you use it strictly for RLS, a one month supply can last 3-4 months.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Here you talk negatively of RLS suffers taking cannabis, (MJ is a slang word used to put people off Cannabis as it links it to Mexicans, (read about Harry Anslinger, yes that one, to find out more on that). You then talk about messing up your head in your 60’s/70’s there is no evidence of this and studies are out there:
(that was the first one I found straight off google there are plenty of pieces of research out there if you look.
Everyone and all cannabis is different so there is no way that you can say 2 – 3 times a day will work – you ‘heard’ something and are happy to go with it yet it appears to me anyway you haven’t properly researched this. I find a HIGH THC as opposed to a low THC content is best – but then again I have read, spoken to users and used trial and error to find this out. Why in the name of God, Mohammad, Yahweh & Buddha would you be driving to a park to take the Cannabis especially if you think there may be bother – why not just go to your room/bathroom, (if it’s not your house and you have no garden).
Hope this helps guys. The really frustrating thing about rls is that everytime I find out about something new, I have to wait days and weeks for it to arrive in the mail or before I can get my results back from the doctor. You have to be aggressive with it, otherwise you'll just be miserable. I'll keep you guys posted on what I said above.
First point – it tells me you grab at everything you read and try it without due consideration. You talk about being aggressive – that is a sure fire way to put you at odds with your Dr or even get you struck off your GP’s practice. I would certainly not advise aggression. You can certainly be resolute and come armed with knowledge and ensure the Dr understands but to be aggressive, well poor advice again and we’ll leave it at that.
I initially thought the post was serious but the more I read it the more I saw the lack of research and the chance of killing yourself I figured it had to be a joke. Can I please take this opportunity to advise all reading this not to go throwing a variety of minerals that could kill you without proper research and consideration – TOO MUCH MAGNESIUM OR IRON CAN KILL that is not supposition which seems to be Backtobasics95’s approach - this is FACT.
I hope that clears things up for you and for those reading this.
I am not here to fight I am here to make sure I learn as much as I can and to help others, which if you read my posts I've continually done so please do not take offence at what I am telling you but TAKE HEED, it might just save your life!!
Ok firstly your comment is looooong so I can't see it all at once. I'll address it bit by bit. In regards to the magnesium supplements, I did not say I would take all 4 supplements at once. Rather, I will try one, use it all up in recommended doses, then try the next one and so on. Believe me I'm not that stupid to take all that magnesium on a daily basis.
I don't know you so cannot comment on your intelligence. You didn't make it clear form your post that you would be taking them sequentially and people reading here might not see it that way.
Again your approach is haphazard and ad-hoc. You talk about having to address the problem for '6-12 months' yet you are only going to take each supplement for a month or so at a time, not the proper way to test the efficacy of the supplements nor help yourself.
If you are unable to digest that first post then you are going to struggle when you start to research the effects of Iron, absorption and storage effecting Dopamine, (that is why low Iron effects us RLS suffers).
There is a hell of a lot of study required if you intend to treat yourself!!
In regards to the helicobacter pylori, my father had it as well when he was my age. Luckily he never had RLS symptoms. Like many other people, he had a blood test which showed up negative and then did a gastroscopy and it showed he had the bacterium. I'm with you when you say lack of iron is more in the brain section, however, seeing as this disease is destroying my life, I will have no hesitation in using my private health insurance to pay for a procedure that takes 15-20 minutes. What do I hope to get? I hope they either find helicobacter pylori and I can cure it with antibiotics and get some relief, or they find I have coeliac disease. There are lots of people out there who stopped eating gluten and found their RLS symptoms improved drastically.
I understand your desperation I really do and in the begin I too took a 'pebble-dash' approach - did lots of things at once and hoped something stuck! If you check this is a terrible approach and you will not know what has worked and will continue on that way of going without a methodical approach allowing enough time to truly test the efficacy of the approach.
A more sensible approach to the H. Pylori would be to try say the blood test and if this is negative try the breath test. You read about H. Pylori and went for the test.
I had it and I can tell you you would know if you had H. Pylori and it wouldn't be down to Iron absorption:
Again you seem to have a limited knowledge of the conditions you are worried about as Coeliacs is diagnosed through a blood test and not a scope, (there may be need a gut biopsy AFTER the blood test) you are putting yourself at risk of a host of problems and even life threatening if the Dr doing the procedure makes an error when a simple blood test would be a lot safer.
I would love a link to that research on Gluten and RLS I have ME and have gone gluten free for that and have not noticed any improvement. If you are going gluten free remember barley is used as a sweetener in many foods and it contains gluten. When you start looking you'll find lots of foods surprisingly contain gluten, (please don't forget that link it may help me).
Yeah I hear you. Usually when I look at the reviews I only look for RLS sufferers because for regular people a good review doesn't mean much. Yep definitely understand you when you say to stay on one approach instead of trying this and that. I really think the first two products I mentioned are going to help a lot. I use magnesium gel on my legs every night and for 2 hours they are very calm. I am convinced that if I can keep my Mg/Ca levels where they should be, my RLS will eventually get better. Yeah I'm pretty desperate haha, but I'm definitely past that phase where I try everything I see. A few months ago I was spending hundreds every week, trying to find something. I. Bought a book on RLS so will start reading that and hope to learn a few things. Who knows, I may be correcting you in the future
You will find all the info you could ever need on here. I thought I was educated and knew about RLS - the guys here have taught me different.
I am glad you took no offence at my post, it certainly wasn't meant that way and hopefully you will get some food for thought. I have made the mistakes you appear to be making and I hope through this dialogue you will cut out some of the more erroneous approaches and take a more thorough approach which will help in the long run by saving you ££'s, (or should I say $$'s), save time and maybe save damaging yourself.
I was taking Gentle Iron and Cal/Mag and found after several months there was a notable improvement. I then stopped the Cal/Mag for two weeks checking any difference and as there had been a little drop in how good the RLS was I figured it was working.
Long story short a couple of weeks back on and my RLS was just as bad so it wasn't the Cal/Mag was working, (that's just my experience not saying it will be yours), so stopped it altogether and have stuck with the Iron, (BTW take on an empty stomach with say orange juice for best absorption and be aware other drugs will effect absorption rate). It is only through a good methodological approach that we can weed out, (no pun intended) the approaches that won't/don't work.
And the iron should be ferrous bisglycinate (called Gentle Iron) and should be taken at night before bed.
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Indeed, I had included it but lost the post and had to redo. Thanks for pointing that out.
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Raffs I recently read that Claritin and Clarinex can help ME that is a result of Lymes Disease. For 10 to 20% of people contracting Lyme's Disease the micro-organism with stay with them even after the antibiotics. The Lyme pathogen is quite amazing. All but two or three micro-organisms need iron to survive. Lyme has evolved such that it can use manganese instead of iron. The Claritin does something to the cell wall of the Lyme organism such that it cannot take in and utilize manganese. At least that's what happens in the test tube. Human trials are going on right now I believe. Also, iron will help to feed the "good" bacteria in your body which will then be more likely to be able to fight the Lyme organism. Maybe that's why the iron after all of these months has made a nice improvement in your overall condition.
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Thanks Oolong, will look them up. I don't think its from Lyme's disease as there were no bullseye marking and I wouldn't have been in the position to get bit by ticks, doesn't mean it didn't happen just unlikely and no harm in checking it out, especially as things are so good at the moment.
I take it they wont f**k up the RLS, I know a lot of antihistamines send the up the left.
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I don't have ME but I have low level CFS. My gut tells me it has something to do with micro-organisms. I'm trying the Claritin because it's relatively benign and I have allergies up the you know what anyways. So you had H-Pylori but eradicated it? Were you also diagnosed with SIBO via they hydrogen/methane breath test? Candida Albicans is another pesky, resilient one. One indication of an overgrowth of Candida is a very white/yellow coated tongue, day in day out. Glad you're on the mend****
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I had the test twice once years ago blood test and a couple of years ago breath. The first time I had it and it was terrible, (the good lady wife also had it and it took a terrible toll on her), the first positive and treated effectively with the triple therapy second time it was negative.
I did a complete body detox including candidia, (bloody horrible especially the parsley tea - yuck), no symptoms of it then and none now, (that I've noticed).
How do you mange the CFS, I assume its much in the same sameness as ME.
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A nap will give me a second wind. I am still searching for cause and am grateful for days when I do have energy.
Its Solgar Gentle Iron, easily available from Amazon, Holland & Baretts, etc.
Please read up on it before you go buying it. There are some very informative posts on here; I'm sorry I can't think of the posters names but try Nightdancers, Elisses and Madlegs1 if its not them they will have posted on the thread.
and make sure and understand it, some of it is pretty bloody hard going but the better armed you are with knowledge no matter how hard it is to get it, the better chance you will get a grip of the RLS and live the life you want.
Also, I had no idea marijuana is a slang word relating to Mexicans in a negative way. They use the word on the news all the time, and I guess it's more formal then weed, so I'll keep using it. Also, when I said about using it 2-3 times a day, I didn't mean it would work for EVERY rls sufferer. I meant it works for a lot of people, so that is promising to hear as you could find a medical strain that can work really well when vaporised just once or twice a day. Btw I'm not sure you are correct when you say weed has no mental effects on you after smoking it long term. I know people, my father included, who turned into different people from smoking weed recreationally. I would drive to a park to do it because my mum hates the smell of it in the house. Yeah I did read that medical marijuana with high THC content is better, but I'm hesitant to go down that road due to the psychological effects it can have on you. I will experiment. When you said you'd done trial and error, how did it go? Are you still doing it? Also, don't worry when I said load up on iron supplements I didn't mean like a gram a day. Just at the recommended amount. Also I am keeping my magnesium at a recommended amount. I will keep posted after trialling the supplements. They haven't bloody come on yet, should be here tomorrow.
I have a problem with the whole MJ word as said read about the fact that it is down to racism and ask yourself if everyone said nigger would you feel that terrible word is OK because others use it? I mean people will quite happily in a medical situation call it MJ but wouldn't call cocaine Bolivian marching powder or Heroin Horse!!!
Again much more reading is needed on this subject as you appear to have many erroneous ideas about cannabis. Yes some people have problems with it - I took an antibiotic that nearly killed me and put me in hospital on drips for several days.
Again you say "I meant...." that is not clear to those reading and if you are posting saying this is what is good or you've found this info you need to take heed of those reading it and from what I've read you've posted information in such a way that to the uneducated eye it appears that you are advocating this approach yet when questioned you are actually taking a different approach!
For the safety of others please consider how people will understand and interpret your writings, it may just save their life!
If this condition is destroying your life - why would your mother not want you taking cannabis?
BTW you can use those vapes in the bathroom with the door locked and there will be little smell, blow the vapour out the window and brush your teeth, you don't need to shower and spray and draw attention to yourself. Read about them on a cannabis users/growers site to get more reliable information.
I had no idea about the geographical location of the users man but it's only just a suggestion. That really sucks because I've seen some great reviews. I'll keep you posted.
I would love a solution to RLS. A legal one in the UK preferably. I feel like self-harming my legs, it gets so bad. I am prescribed Clonazepam for it. This is a Benzodiazepine like Diazepam. It is also prescribed for epilepsy, so it must relax the muscles.
Please keep me informed of any new ideas? Thanks x
I have not considered marijuana because I am worried about the side effects. I am in Australia and there is a debate at the moment about medical use. I have been surprised that many of the advocates on talk-back radio have slurred speech and difficulty focusing on what they are talking about. I think our proposed laws are intended for palliative care where the long term doesn't really matter. I'm sure a lot of advocates will rage at me but I hear a lot about unexpected side effects. I will wait and see.
Graham3196 I completely agree with you. That's why medical marijuana would be the absolute last resort for me. I've always been the kind of person to investigate and research something before taking part in it, so for medical marijuana I would learn as much as I can about it to gain knowledge before using it for RLS.
I completed a diploma using cannabis before I started working so I could sit to read/type and was getting 2.1 or 2.2 (read a and b) using the right amount is crucial - you take it like a prescribed drug. You wouldn't take Tramadol until you couldn't function why do it with cannabis?
BtoB, I think there's only one cause of RLS which is brain iron dysregulation, but tons of conditions and medications that will exacerbate our already poor dopamine transport system caused by insufficient iron being absorbed by certain cells in certain parts of our brain.
Interesting thoughts about the possible treatment but unfortunately I suffer not only from RLS but osteopenia, so have to take calcium supplements at a higher level than the supplements you describe. It's like being between 'a rock and a hard place' decision-wise!I would be interested in your success rate.
Hi all. Been a while since I posted anything. I had an endoscopy procedure done last week so was waiting for my results to come back before posting anything. I had the procedure done to check for anything wrong in my stomach/intestines that could be causing malabsorption of important vitamins and minerals. I was told by my doctor that I have pretty severe gastritis. Now I'm taking tablets for 8 weeks to treat that. In the mean time I have been vaporizing cannabis every night before bed. I must say, it works magnificently. Only lasts about 5-6 hours, so I'm trying to learn how to make edibles before. I tried a cannabis brownie at a party a few weeks back and had relief for a good 9-10 hours.
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