30,years a sufferer.

[Maureen133]

I take 1mg of ropinirole 4 times a day.It does help,but not always.I've just started taking magnesium citrate.I'll let you know how it goes.

[ironbrain]

It would be interesting to know in what way the syndrome affects you (just legs, upper torso), to what extent (just irritation, practically jerking your muscles, etc) and to what degree (gently but continuously annoyingly, intensely resulting in big movements of your leg and/or torso). Also what type of personality you have, e.g. type A, always on edge, persistently have "must do" items in mind, have a lot of unobtainable dreams, etc, etc.

Let us know how much magnesium you take – I'm finding I need to take around at least a gram (magnesium that is, about 2 slightly rounded teaspoons of magnesium citrate) before rI get any result from it and am not sure how my kidneys manage with that amount.

[Gazleebryan in reply to ironbrain]

I get rls every night in my leg and I take 1 tramadol sometimes another if I wake in the middle of the night. I something get it in the upper body if I have had a few stressful days. I have just start taking magnesium in a 375g tablet. Also read some to take a calcium tablet with my evening meal, making sure there is a few hours before taking the magnesium. Only been taking them for 3 days so will have to see if they help, I have noticed that I seem to fall asleep much easlier and the cramps in the morning aren’t as severe I have found that since I have stopped drinking drinks with sweetener in i have reduced my rls most the time. Just stopped drinking coffee to see if that helps as well. I want to try and manage it without the tramadol.

[Graham3196 in reply to Gazleebryan]

I have been told that decaffeinated coffee is better than decaf tea because there are more chemicals in tea. I don't know of any research to support this but my source was a professional dietician who specialises in FODMAP and Low Chemical diets. I have substituted about half my daily cups of tea with decaf coffee (of course with lactose-free milk)

Also I should report that my wife is now on two tablets of a magnesium supplement per day and has had zero cramps. (One in the morning and one last thing at night. She used to have them sometime between about 3am and 8am If she forgets either one of them she will get a mild cramp so increasing the dose to two per day is probably a good idea. Three a day is suggested so she is safe.

Tablets have

Magnesium amino acid chelate ( magnesium diglycinate) 500mg

Magnesium amino acid chelate 750mg

together equivalent to 200mg of elemental magnesium

Sells under the brand name "Ethical Nutrients" in Australia

The joke is that I am now waking up with cramps so I have to buy it as well. I think I will buy shares in the company.

[LoisTonya in reply to ironbrain]

Hi Ironbrain. Magnesium is better absorbed through the skin than through digestion. I have made myself a magnesium spray by mixing equal parts of Epsom salts and water. I spray it all over my body every day. At first it didn’t help but after 2 to 3 weeks my rls improved. Like all the things I’ve experimented with it is difficult to pinpoint why you’re better one day and worse another but I feel this has helped me reduce my Ropinerole from 1.25 mg to 1mg.

[ironbrain in reply to LoisTonya]

I think it's now established that it can be absorbed through the skin, but I don't think it's any better absorbed that way than through the GI tract.

livestrong.com/article/4446...

The other night, after dropping to about 500 mg of magnesium supplementation a day, my 6 mg of ropinirole during the afternoon/evening was again hardly working. Yesterday I upped my magnesium to a good 1 gram and, hey presto, all though the night after just 4mg of ropinirole during the afternoon/evening without a trace of RLS.

[LoisTonya in reply to ironbrain]

Hi Ironbrain,

It looks as if we’re both on the same experiment - increasing magnesium and reducing Ropinerole

[ironbrain in reply to LoisTonya]

Hi Lois

It's looking like how many trips to the loo I can keep up with, and if or how well my kidneys can keep up with eliminating the extra Mg.

[LoisTonya in reply to ironbrain]

Hi Ironbrain

Might be worth trying skin application . It doesn’t affect your bowels. I don’t know about kidneys

[ironbrain in reply to LoisTonya]

I now see there's magnesium bisglycinate, I might try that rather than the citrate, or for dosing above 500 mg. Wish I'd seen it before I bought the half-kilo of citrate I've just started on.

[Kaarina Administrator in reply to ironbrain]

I take magnesium bisglyncinate and find it ok unlike the magnesium citrate.....

[LoisTonya in reply to ironbrain]

Yes, it’s easy to accumulate a lot of supplements that seemed worth a try at the time but then you find something better.

[nightdancer]

One thing you do NOT want to do is raise the dose of the Ropinerole. You are already on a dose that is too high. IF it is not working as well as it should be or used to , then you could be experiencing augmentation. You should put augmentation into the search box, you will find many, many posts about that, and it may ring a bell with you, see if it sounds like you. But, the absolute worst thing you can do it up the dose, in fact it should half that dose for RLS.

[Kaarina Administrator]

Hi Maureen,

This link on Augmentation may help you: sleepreviewmag.com/2015/02/...