Almost cured

[GEMINI1969]

Hi ive suffered RLS midly for about 20 years. Steadily got worse last year. Decided needed a good look at diet. Im not overweight, size 14-16, age 47 and height 5" 7. Cut out the caffeine, drink lots of herbal teas (previously hated them) whittled down the dairy, cut out wheat and drink at least 700ml of water from about 6-9 pm on an evening. Go to bed about 11pm. RLS all but gone. I reckon the fluid detox and no wheat for me personally has helped. I believe water has helped cleanse my kidneys and liver and cleared out toxins. Ive also taken Activated Charcoal from Holland and Barrett one week on, one week off for 6 weeks and that is supposed to soak up fungus in the body. All in all, symptoms have vastly improved to the extent my legs feel normal. Hope this info helps somebody out there xx

[Hidden]

Yep, diet is an important avenue to explore. We need to tease it out if u know what I mean. Is it the avoidance of certain substances that is working for you, or the timing of your food(no late night eating) or is it just calorie restriction in general. Supposedly severe calorie restriction will up-regulate our genetically bad dopamine receptors. We all need to fill in where the program did not.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Or have you changed the flora and fauna in your body to a more RLS friendly one🎉

[GEMINI1969 in reply to Hidden]

Not calorie controlled because i dont need to, ive never smoked and drink very little alcohol and that is usually botanical gin about one to two glasses a week with quinnine Fever Tree tonic water. Im probably more conscious of avoiding anything with chemicals in food and try to eat good wholesome stuff. I dont have a wheat intolerance that i know of, but certainly cutting it out seems to have improved the overall picture. I think lots of water, green tea and activated charcoal are the key elements for me and i can sleep through the night now. Just a really good cleanse. I know what it feels like to have RLS, it is debilitating and i dont think the programme came up with any useful feedback for self help. Good luck x

[involuntarydancer]

That's really interesting. Thanks so much for posting. There seems to be an increasing base of people for whom a diet involving restrictions as to sugar and grain has been of great assistance. Once again I am making a vow to be more disciplined. I don't eat that much sugar but sadly I do like it; t's my birthday today and I got a luscious box of chocs so once they're gone ...

[GEMINI1969 in reply to involuntarydancer]

Furst of all Happy Birthday to you 🍾🎁

I cant emphasize enough...hydrate hydrate hydrate with water, i just use out tap water nothing specially bought although now ive acquired the taste for water again i treated myself to a non expensive filter. Yes, i eat chocolate too, but im careful. Cant stand Quality Street, Roses, Cadburys...laden with E numbers and fake flavours. Yuk. I drink 700ml to a litre of water on an evening just sipping away while sat down, rest of day i have a day job as a Secretary but switched the caffeine for herbal teas. Ive seen a change in my complexion too 😁 No more twitchy legs on an evening. Urine is also clear too. Ive obviously given my organs and in turn, my blood a treat and everything seems fine. Honestly, ditch the foodie chemicals and hydrate. See how you feel after a week. I dont go to the gym either nor am i overweight - just average!

Doctors and Pharmaceutical companies strive to sell you drugs, big business for them but not so good for us as one drug tends to trigger other problems. Viscous circle. I dont live in a health foodstore either but i believe what you eat truly reflects who you are. Dont cut your treats but just make sure they are 'clean'. Lindt, Hotel Chocolat and Green & Blacks my faves. I never buy cake anymore, i make it now. And so much more fun and satisfying. But back to the water...give it a go. Fingers crossed for you.

[involuntarydancer in reply to GEMINI1969]

Yes, I'm with you on the quality choc issue - Lindt is my big weakness. My daughters are very environmentally aware and vehemently discourage use of anything with palm oil in it which cuts out all cheaper choc. I have replaced a lot of caffeinated drinks with herb teas which I actually enjoy. Interesting about the water and also the charcoal tablets. Just have to get organized now .... Like you I am not particularly overweight (most excess fell off me once I stopped taking pramipexole). I wouldn't be doing it for weight loss purposes only to improve rls.

[KellyDBrille in reply to GEMINI1969]

Well, you know what worked for you, but I have a feeling it was probably more the activated charcoal and cutting out the wheat than it was drinking more water. The latter isn't going to change one's microbiome or remove any fungal pathogens, but if you're gluten intolerant, stopping wheat will heal intestinal permeability, and using the charcoal will help gut dysbiosis, which is STRONGLY correlated with RLS.

[Eryl]

Did you cut down on sugar intake? I've found that my RLS has gone since I started avoiding sweet foods and avoided large doses of high calorie foods.