My 90 year old mom had RLS during the month of June 2017 and she no longer has it.

[Buhfly]

Hi there, my mom developed RLS after her doctor added a third diabetes med so we assumed that was the culprit. We stopped the new med but the RLS continued. One doctor said her cholesterol med looks like the culprit so we stopped that too, but that didn’t help.

Then she started having RLS during the day as well. (Legs, shoulders, sometimes arms.) Was given a light narcotic once at night. Soon that was no longer effective. It was heart wrenching to watch her suffer with no sleep.

In total we took her to the ER 4 times, Urgent Care twice and her primary care doctor as well.

The 2nd ER visit revealed “anemia”. Dr. said she’s malnourished which was a big clue. Found out she was eating ice cream and potato chips. Evidently some meds cause loss of appetite and nausea, so that was the only thing she felt like eating.

I don’t recommend this without a doctor, but I became desperate after 3 weeks. I stopped all her meds except for warfarin and one diabetes med. Stopped her blood pressure amlodipine calcium channel blocker- read that can cause RLS. (Monitored her blood sugar 2-3 times/day and checked BP.) She eventually got her appetite back which was good so she could eat nutritious food.

One of the ER doctors said his sister, father, and he himself have RLS. He offered us no meds bc they tried them all. This forced me to work harder on nutrition.

After the first week we made her healthy food, home made Bone broth - daily to try to heal the gut so vitamins and minerals can be absorbed. Dr. Ohirra’s probiotics, Chicken soup, beef stew made with bone broth. Organic tofu, pastured eggs, lots of vegis. No sugar, stopped artificial sweeteners, Berkey purified water with slice of organic lemon, magnesium flakes in little tub of water to soak feet and rub on legs, Minera salt baths, walk around for exercise.

I read an article “Tricks for Restless Leg Syndrome” which I liked.

I gave her Doctor’s Best Magnesium, MegaFood Iron Blood Builder, Garden of Life women’s multi. Later added Garden of life D2 (Her D was very low), Garden of life Calcium, Garden of Life B Complex.

Also gave her Lecithin Granules, Dr Ben Kim Whole Food Multi powder, Natural Calm powder (caused loose stools), Apple Cider Vinegar, organic coconut oil. She probably didn’t take these last 5 items too much.

The one thing I was going to try next was Himalaya Bitter Mellon (for diabetes), then try whole food smoothies including a little bit of beet tops.…..but her symptoms disappeared.

I feel my mom developed RLS due to an imbalance caused by a lack of nutrients (minerals or vitamins) bc of poor diet brought on by side effects from meds.

I pray all of you find complete recovery from this horrible condition. I thought it was one month of hell, then I see that many of you have had it for years. I teared up. My heart goes out to you.

I just saw a Youtube video that was interesting. Google: Dr. John Bergman Restless Leg Syndrome. He had some good tips. I also googled: An Absolute Cure for Restless Leg Syndrome. It had a lot of success stories of hope.

[Buhfly]

Oops forgot to mention...Dr. John Bergman suggested taking Chlorella to detox. I personally tried taking a few high quality Chlorella tablets a few months ago and got extremely sick. Some people are allergic I guess.

[Cindymcn in reply to Buhfly]

Interesting i too myself havw anemia. I have read on here others do too. I believe this may be a culpret to rls.

[Buhfly in reply to Cindymcn]

Hi Cindymcn, Yes, when I found out about the anemia, I thought about iron and ended up using the MegaFood Iron Blood Builder. (The hospital didn't really give any suggestions on what to do for the anemia except eat better.) For iron I even gave her Trader Joes chicken liver pate because I was throwing everything at her. She was crying saying I'm in agony...I can't take it anymore. Soooo sad. Now I feel for all who have RLS.

I wish you the best...I'll send good vibes your way to feel better.

[Madlegs1]

Your Mum is lucky to have you!😇

Some interesting pointers there.

Thanks for sharing.

[Buhfly in reply to Madlegs1]

Hi Madlegs1, Thank you for being so sweet! I didn't do all that myself...as they say it takes a village. My brother, his wife, my 2 kids and husband helped. Even my 89 year old dad was in charge of journalizing what time and how much medication, all supplements, what she ate, her bp and logged her diabetes results. Journalizing is a good idea because we forget (being exhausted and stressed) what we did from day to day or week to week and it might be easier to pick up on a pattern of some kind of what makes things worse or what makes symptoms better.

Thank you.

[Hidden]

Just finished reading your post about your mum and all the things you did that helped her. I really learned a lot and am going to google the sites you suggested when I finish this post. I too believe that the main connection between rls and getting better is related to nutrition-esp leaky gut and other gastrointestinal problems; starting with our food. Where I live (US) healthy food is often difficult to find-even when sold in healthy stores and advertised as such. It seems even with our supposedly complete nutritional labeling there are many thing that food manufacturers are allowed to omit from their labeling so we really have to dig to see what is going in our bodies. And don't even get me started on what the drug companies use as fillers for medications. At times when I've called them to find out about fillers so I can avoid them, they are not very forthcoming with info. I guess the almighty dollar rules! Anyway thanks for listening to my diatribe, and it's good to find someone who is on the same research track as me though I think you are a little further along. Keep the tips coming. I'm listening. Thanks, burmag

[Buhfly in reply to Hidden]

Hi burmag!

You’re welcome. I’m so glad you were able to pick up some tidbits from my “long novel” haha, although I think you know a ton already….as you knew about leaky gut etc. Speaking of which…during this horrible experience what kept ringing in my ear was the saying, “Most chronic diseases begin in the gut,” so I felt the need to really think about that. I understand bone broth contains glutamine which helps to close up the open junctures in the intestines. I also threw in chicken feet haha…yeah, I know, eeew, but it’s collagen which rebuilds damaged cells in the gut. When bacteria, yeast or undigested bits of food leak out of the intestines into the bloodstream, I believe it causes INFLAMMATION. I read that dopamine imbalance and RLS are both caused by inflammation. I’m no doctor and I usually don’t know what I’m talking about, but in desperate times we need to gather as much information as possible to try to solve our medical issues especially when doctor’s are lost themselves. My son is a pharmacist and we still “struggled” to get through this.

I liked the video “Dr. Bergman Restless Leg Syndrome April 6, 2016” because he balks at the idea that there is no cure for RLS. I think there HAS to be cure since at some point in our lives we didn’t have RLS and then suddenly we have it….”something” changed, the scales tipped (whether metabolically or physically…maybe our minerals are off because food is not as nutritious as it was back in the day as the soil is now depleted…maybe the pesticides we ingest kill the good bacteria in the gut hurting our immune system….perhaps we injured our back.) We have to be Sherlock and try to put the pieces together to solve this puzzle. Oh my gosh I did it again…I just wrote another novel. SORRY!

[Madlegs1 in reply to Buhfly]

When you say that we have not always had rls, do youmean as individuals or as a species?

I've had fizzy legs all my memory life. I suppose we will never know about the species aspect?!

I think the gut theory has a lot of merit- I'm always telling people to keep food diaries.

Great job with your Mum.

[Hidden in reply to Buhfly]

Hi Buyfly, I'm on the same page. From what I find online more and more info/research is being discovered re the link between many problems and the gut; also the link between the gut and the brain. L learned a lot from you experiences with yourmom. There was a surgeon years ago I worked with who used to say''If your plumbing isn't working, not much else matters." WAY ahead of his time.! Thanks, burmag (Burma)

[Hidden]

Well my RLS is inherited so, goes back to where.? When life started..? There is no cure for my RLS, its genetic. so unless someone can change my genes that has given me RLS. I have yet to know of anyone who has "cured" their RLS. RLS is not a new thing, it was noted back in the 1600's .

[Buhfly]

Hi Madlegs, When I said we didn't have RLS before I guess I was thinking of my own family. I remember experiencing RLS when I was young. I experienced it only when I was very sick with a high fever and tunnel vision. When lying down it felt like my legs were trapped like they had duct tape wrapped around each leg and they were somehow suffocating and I kept kicking and kicking to free them and it drove me nuts. My daughter experience the same thing when she was younger. (Maybe that's not even considered RLS to some people, but that's what we experienced.)

Thank you so much and take care.