This is no joke. I have recently found that sexual arousal for a few minutes makes my leg twitching go away. It has worked every time for the last two weeks. I used to have to walk or pump my legs in bed for 15 minutes.
Has anyone else experienced this? It’s much better than the night walking.
Good for you bet you have started something, I have had sex for years and it never made any difference ,xx
I stand 
vindicated 
Orgasm = dopamine release. It's a sure fire way to get at least an hour free of RLS. Better than painkillers.
Re JohnMarg's suggestion. Agree with jools. Probably the best way to distract your brain from pain ever invented. Hope "Big Pharma' doesn't figure this out or they will patent it and and it won't be free anymore. LOL. Just kidding about the patent but serious about effectiveness of "treatment'. Brilliant!!!!!! BTW used to briefly belong to this rls community under original user name burmag; but got mad over something-can't remember what-and resi gned. Using new user name which is meaningful ( irina1975 ). Glad to be back. Will try to be less opinionated. Having a Watchman Procedure to get me off the blood-thinner Coumadin (for a-fib). I'm convinced this will help my rls-at least partially. From my research many medical sources don't see a connection, but my docs are open to the possibilities so I'm happy. Big surg day is January 15th. Can't wait. irina1975
Welcome back. I enjoy your posts; for me, be as opinionated as you like
Surgery for a-fib?
Best Wishes, Neil
Thanks, Neil. T think I was born with an extra 'opinion' gene LOL. . From your question re surgery for afib I may have given the impression that surgery can 'cure' afib. There is no surgery that can do that. (It would be great if there were.) There are different levels of afib. Once someone has an afib episode, they are considered to have an abnormal sinus rhythm. The ideal for everyone's heart is to be in normal sinus rhythm (NSR). And in the early stages of afib it is possible to 'convert' the heart back to NSR. This can happen spontaneously on the patient's own with no medical intervention, or through medications (IV or oral) or through a procedure called cardioversion. Sometimes, after 'conversion' back to NSR, the heart remains there and they have no further episodes of afib. But often they have another episode. If afib worsens and more episodes appear, different goals re treatment happen. The goal may have to be changed from returning the heart to NSR to maintaining a heart rate that remains in afib but is safe. This is done with nedications. This is where most afib patients remain. Meds work fine most of the time but for some peple medication side effects become difficult there are procedures that can lessen the need for meds(some have side effects that make life uncomfortable) or their afib may require further help maintaining a safe 'abnormal' rhythm and there are procedures that can do this. This may be a pacemaker, an ablation or other treatments. Whatever is required, most are effective and enable us to lead comfortable, stable lives with our afib under control. In my case, I have had a pacemaker and an ablation. Both worked well and I am stable and fine but my EKGs will always show 'abnormal rhythm' because my diagnosis is permanent afib. Many patients who reach this stage do fine for years as it is possible to manage symptoms well under the care of an electrophysiologist. But there is nothing that will return some patients back to normal sinus rhythm. Hence you will will not be 'cured' but 'well-managed'. I would like for new afib patients to know they can live comfortable long lives without fear that they are on'borrowed time'. Afib is just one of many modern illnesses that can be managed safely and well with the right care by the doctor and patient working together. I get lengthy but I hope this helps people be less afraid if they are diagnosed with this condition. I was diagnosed at age 66 (now 73) so have lived well for 9 years-and counting.Did I 'overanswer?'
Well said Irina1975 you covered everything I know about A/F. My husband, son and I all have it. Hubby has had 15 cardioversions, 2 ablations, pacemaker and defibrillator and is just fine. RLS and A/F both make you very tired.
Absolutely not. Every experience we have may be useful to many other people. Our daughter has recently had Afib symptoms and cardio has diagnosed POTS.
While looking this up I found other info, which may be useful or not, but it seems that sodium and potassium are involved in the adrenal functions and the thyroid functions so they must be kept in balance.
"These essential minerals are critical to ensure a steady heartbeat so that muscle and nerve fibres will fire when they are needed. They also ensure that blood pressure remains stable. It is my contention that most all Afib is caused by or directly related to these chronic imbalances and deficiences which lead to electrical failure in the electrical conduction cells of the heart". Dr Robert Thompson "The Calcium Lie 2" goes on to say that treatments for osteoporosis can cause Afib as a downstream effect from robbing the heart of mineral stores.
Again, too much info to type here, but Afib is obviously another complex condition. I am glad you have control.
Neil
Thanks, Neil.You hit the nailon the head. In 1984 I had larynx cancer and am currently fine. My only residual problem is a whispery voice from the radiation. I call it my '1-900-telephone voice and my daughter (and others) love it because I can't yell. But that's beside the point. In 1984 treatment wasn't as precise and I had surgery and radiation. Because of the radiation I had to start thyroid med. Was told they would keep me on a high dose to prevent possible thyroid cancer down the road. Well, I never got the thyroid cancer but years of too high of a thyroid dose caused my a-fib. That wasn't known back then and I'm not complaining. Could have been worse and I'm still here. But it does remind us how all our body systems really need to be in sync. Will look for Dr Thompson'sbook. I'm such an information junkie LOL. Recalcium. So many foods in the US are 'fortified'withcalcium-like that is a good thing. I believe we get too much calcium and not enough magnesium. Also it's hard to eat enough potassium rich foods to counter balance allthe sodium in our processedfoods. The ratio is off.But that is probably a subject for another day.
And it's a big subject. Dr Thompson has a video on youtube so you can have a preview of his book from his lecture. It's difficult to follow without getting bogged down but it made me interested enough to buy the book. If you go fo it, make sure it is called the Calcium Lie 2, as it is the up to date one. ( I am an info junkie too, you never would have guessed
Yes I would. Your posts show much research. Thanks for the specifics so I'll get the right book. It;s 9:30am here .More later off to the doctor.
I don’t think you can have too much information. It is your body and you need to know what is happening. Problem comes when trying to sort out information and misinformation. Nowadays we are learning more and more about the various systems within the body because we are able to see with electron microscopes etc what is actually happening. Consequently many of our doctors who trained many years ago and have not kept up are out of date and just manage the symptoms using pills instead of trying to get the body back into balance so it can function properly.
Bananas are very high in potassium
Another book you might enjoy,The Pioppi Diet....cardiologist A seem visited village in Italy where average life span is 100....why? Few carbohydrates, sugar and stress,more good like,fish, veg and fruit,and written really well.Not just a diet book, discusses lots of cardio issues.
Thanks. Very interesting and informative . Will google it later today. irina1975
Have read the Calcium Lie and I gather from that and also Sanjay Gupta that magnesium is v important. See The Magnesium Miracle. You need bio available forms though. I don’t think cutting out salt completely is good either but you need sea salt or Himalayan pink salt cos they have all the other minerals which the Body needs
Hi GrannyE, is Sanjay Gupta the Ayurveda guy? I started looking for different angles for a cure for my RLS (I am sure it is diet related) and found a lot of sense in the Ayurveda principles but it required meditation etc., which is good but I know I would not keep it up.
That is what took me to 'The Calcium Lie' and 'The Autoimmune Fix'.
These things took me in turn to biochemistry, which is fascinating but difficult to keep a handle on the balances of vitamins and minerals which are all inter-related.
As you say, we must not cut out salt (except table salt which has had the goodness refined out of it) but rely on sea salt which has the nutrients we need, maybe with a second look at sodium.
I have decided for myself on a gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free diet for three weeks to heal my gut. Then I will try LDN to rebalance my immune system and get off DA's etc totally if I can.
Neil
I like your informative helpful post. Thank you
It makes my legs worse 🙄
Maybe you aren't doing it right or enough 
Lol well it works well on my husband as he is fast asleep in seconds 😏 we're I am pacing the floor 🙄
Wake him up again
maybe you're doing it wrong it does help mine.
Works every time but nobody talks about it.Well done you and nicely put!
Very classy suggestion.
Best show this to my wife!!!
I have been reluctant to mention it but have found masturbation gives relief to a RLS attack.
Don't admit that!!! I tell my wife it HAS to be sex But yeah there have been time I too have used masturbation effectively for my RLS, although as said I would prefer sex. Fair play Scottie99 for manning up.
I have had RLS since I was 13 (that's my earliest memory but it may be even longer than that) and I masturbated a lot to help the RLS whilst I was single, but as a married person its not so easy or regular. But sometimes in the middle of the night I pop downstairs and have a little go and it really does work for a short time; most of the time. I badger my other half for sex but sleep is more important apparently!!! And again the relief is only for a very short time.
I wouldn't know it's been too long to remember
But I do know that Sifrol increases ones sex drive but luckily for me thats one OCD side effect that I can control
That reminds me - Mirapexin drove my sex drive through the roof, so much so I could hardly get it out of my head. It was horrendous, especially since my wife refused to start taking the Mirapexin
Just enough ‘arousal’ works better than ‘the full monte’ for me, the dopamine release can give me an RLS-free hour’s sleep. When on DA’s (2mg patches) the extra dopamine release caused me to pass out and fall badly when I went to the loo. That took the smile off my face! Gabapentin makes ‘arousal’ a bit more difficult, Tramadol makes it more intense. Have fun experimenting!!!
Thx for posting John. May I add to the chorus that, yes, the act of being or getting myself aroused already helps when I have a rls-attack. Orgaam doesn’t seem necessary, but sure helps too with falling asleep afterwards.
I have been wondering, though, whether it is the pure distraction or the change in the hormonal-neurological balance. I assume one doesn’t exclude the other.
Additionally, and sadly, having passed menopause atousal dorsn’t come as easily any more. Being tired constantly AND taking gabapentin and tramadol do not seem to help either. Don’t know whether gaba or trama is the culprit. When I happen to find out, I’ll post. We are all different, and re rls that is a bummer, and of course men are different from women 😏.
Our bodies will be tensing different muscles and moving so that mechanical action will help. Obviously sex is quite distracting so that is a help too. I believe the release of dopamine and endorphins are the ones to really thank.
I also found arousal hard to achieve once I passed menopause. Still, I keep trying, since it does seem to help for an hour or so. My doc says to take more iron, and just prescribed Clonazepam which worked wonderfully last night.
What's Clonazepam??
I don't sleep anymore because of ELA, maybe this would help me...
Thank you.....
That should be RLS....
It is the generic form of Klonopin. You can google it for more information. What is ELA?
I've just recently been prescribed Clonazepam as am reducing Sifrol (your Mirapex) for fear of augmentation. And because of Clonazepam I now take zero sleepers which I've been on for 30+ years. And if my kitten doesn't wake me I can get 8 uninterrupted hours sleep. Sheer bliss.
Umm just thought .... no Sifrol = no sex. Diddims. LOL
It works for me either way.and yes it does as an added bonus help you fall asleep.thank you for bringing this up I thought I was the only one.
I think that it makes sense! As someone who has studied anatomy and physiology - the science of it makes absolute sense. The differing nerve stimulation, the flooding of the lower pelvis with blood would all serve to make that completely understandable. It would interfere with the nerve jangling that is the onset of an RLS episode.
MENTAL HEALTH and RLS and SEX
Sex almost always works for me! Even just the arousal will stop or postpone my 20+ years of RLS. If I forget my evening dose of 0.375 mg Mirapex, it's hopeless. Is it the dopamine release, or are we altering our thoughts? I do not wish to offend anyone here, BUT...
We never seem to discuss the psychological aspects of RLS. For me, my emotional health clearly affects my RLS intensity. From the comments on this blog, it seems that many of us take some psych meds. I take WELLBUTRIN XL (bupropion hydrochloride) 300 mg. for ADD and depression and ?? I have PTSD from childhood violation. Are we (all) on psych meds because of sleep deprivation insanity? Or, are we (all) experiencing psychological issues, which affect our RLS? Why do we NOT discuss this? The last time I posted a comment about mental health and RLS, I was attacked. Bring it on...
I think you are on to something with your suggestion of various psychological issues. Here is something I have been tracking down that should be of interest to many on here who also have problems with sleep. That is the adrenal glands. Yes, they have an impact on one's psychological health and are in turn affected themselves by one's state of mind. They are also the glands that, when out of sync with one's Circadian Rhythm, wake one up in the middle of the night. They also, AND PLEASE ANYONE READING THIS, TAKE NOTE OF THIS, set off the Sympathetic Nervous System (Wikipedia has a good article on the SNS, with pictures) which rules the Flight or Fight Response by stimulation of many of our glands and nerves thruout the body. At its worst, this stimulation can be a full blown anxiety attack, or it can be less intense to varying degrees but where stimulation can be felt - racing mind, prickling skin, twitching, wakefulness, heart pounding, etc. This is where the EXTRA STIMULATION to the nerves causing pronounced RLS comes in. This is the supposition I have been working on.
This is why I have been approaching my RLS --and having a lot of success -- from the other way around. I noticed that when I had great problems sleeping that, AFTER Awhile, my RLS started up badly --NOT right away. When my sleep was good, my RLS was also very minimal and not troublesome. So, I suspected that the sleep problem was causing my RLS to be much more pronounced, not the other way around. (And, particularly, my problem sleeping (and worse RLS)happened after a devastating family tragedy and its aftermath in 2010.)
So, my approach has been to work on my overstressed adrenal glands. They can be at various stages of what is called Adrenal Exhaustion or Adrenal Dysregulation in various books and articles. Also info can be found under HPA Axis Dysregulation (Hypothalamus, Pituitary, Adrenal.) And, after a bit of trial and error, and tweeking, I am now counting UPWARDS the nights that I sleep well, and DOWNWARDS the ones that I don't. And, YES, my supposition about RLS being rudely kicked into overdrive when not sleeping well, seems to be true. When I sleep well, I have little or no RLS, when I am wakeful and overstimulated, my RLS is also. There is a big connection here.
However, I must say that I have Primary RLS (since a child). Also I do not take drugs for RLS. So I do not know about Secondary RLS or anything particular about the various medications other people on here are taking.
If anyone wants to ask me about this, please feel free and I will try to answer in a timely fashion.
I have been sleeping so much better this past year due to some things I have learned on this sight with regard to food and vitamins . I have lost about 30 pounds and am at a normal weight now. I think this has helped me sleep better and calmed the rls. I changed meds from mirapex to gabapebtin as well. I Had been in high anxiety mode due to family stress for the past couple of years and gained 30 pounds. I think the anxiety did contribute to my RLS and of course the weight gain. Crisis is passed in the family and things have been much better. I do believe that for me high anxiety is at least one factor in my RLS. My RLS really started seventeen years ago at the sam time we suffered a terrible family crisis that was so painful and difficult to talk about I think that caused a lot of anxiety and I had awful restless legs and insomnia. I wish i had known more about RLS because I could have found relief and avoided so much insomnia. The two feed off of each other and cause....well... more anxiety.
Sorry so long. I guess I’m saying it might be a good idea to consider how anxiety fits in to all of this.
You got it. There is definitely a connection and I am glad to see someone else has made that connection as well. They do feed off of each other. That is why I decided to approach it from the other way around, meaning I was taking iron, magnesium, etc, for RLS which helped sometimes, but NOT when I could not sleep.
So, ultimately BOTH issues have to be addressed, rather than blaming the RLS for everything. That is my point and what I have been pursuing (and posting) for sometime now. It may not work for everyone (especially, sadly, the people who have Secondary RLS caused by an accident, surgery, or other illness) but I think that one should consider that their sleep problem may have a different cause and need a different approach, beyond treating their RLS only.
Thanks for YOUR input!
Also, I would like to say that one does not have to have a family tragedy or any other sort of tragedy to have insomnia caused by high stress, causing one's adrenal glands to become unbalanced and stressed out. It could be illness, an accident, job related or relationship related, etc stress that causes one to get caught in this spiral of unbalance.
Just keep that in mind.
For me anxiety plays a big part in mylife.And has for years. I'm 73and still working on getting a handle on anxiety (and fears). Trying to stay in the present and stop always looking for the 'what ifs' in life. Suggestions welcome.
Lauraflora, I found your article interesting. Very similar to myself. I have had chronic primary insomnia since I was a teenager, even last night I had 0 minutes sleep. This brings on my restless legs not the other way round. Can you tell me what you are doing to support your adrenals.
Some very good books to read are by Julia Ross, the Mood Cure and The Diet Cure. Together they have very good info on sleep problems and how they affect one's health. She uses amino acids, vitamin and minerals. There are several other books from which I have gleaned bits and pieces of info, as well as websites. Sometimes, the explanations need to be gone over several times before one 'gets it.' And then again, what may work for one person, etc.... mental-health-matters.com has a great article on b complex to restore the adrenals. synergyhw.blogspot.com has, in its listing of catagories - under supplements great info on thiamine deficiency and altered circadian rhythm/adrenal fatigue . These are only some of the places I have got info from.
For my RLS I take the iron bisglycinate 25 mg, as many people have posted on here. Also magnesium @ 600 mg before bed. and since I take b complex I get plenty of folic acid. Plus eating my veggies from my garden.
BUT, for adrenal support, I take several times a day, 50 mg of B Complex, maybe 100 mg of Vit C. Now, I started adding in allithiamin ( a form made from garlic recommended on the Synergy Health and Wellness site.) Then as per Julia Ross, I take late afternoon, mid evening and then again before bed 500mg or so of tryptophan (she at first recommended 5-HTP, but then said it can stimulate the adrenals so tryptophan is better) and a time-release 3 mg melatonin. If I wake up in the night, which I usually do for the bathroom, I take those 2 things again. This is to set one up for sleep by helping to manufacture one's own serotonin and melatonin, which is usually depleted by repeated stress. (not being able to sleep sets one up for more not being able to sleep.)
I also take before bed pregnenolone 25 mg (the mother hormone of the adrenals, and dhea 25 mg. another adrenal hormone that opposes cortisol and can help balance it out. Now, these are hormones, over the counter here in the US, and I suggest you do some reading up on them as I don't want to be prescribing things for people since I am not a doctor.
I would say that 90 percent, these things have really helped get me to sleep. BUT, THEY DO NOT stop a cortisol spike if it happens. I know, as I have tried taking more when I realize what is happening, to no avail. Now, here is the interesting thing, when I said above that explanations need to be gone over several times before one 'gets it'. I read in several sources how maybe one needs a bedtime or middle of the night snack if woken up suddenly. But, I did not get it until in Ross's book (one of them) she explained just what happens if your blood sugar drops and the adrenals over-react sending cortisol to protect the brain from the lack of glucose ( I think I remember this rightly) which is what causes the cortisol spike. adrenalfatiguesolution.com/waking in the night has an explanation also on high or low blood sugar at night.
So, tho I have many less of these spikes, I still get them maybe once every few weeks (or if I have had dinner early and no food for some time, I now realize.) And I get up to have something to eat, some wholegrain toast or Wasa crackers ( a bit of wholesome carb is recommended.) And it WORKS, so far, as I have only had to do this a few times in the last few weeks, when I decided there may be some merit to it after all. ( I had never been into bedtime or middle of the night snacks before.)
Another thing that can upset the adrenals is the electrolytes being out of balance. More sodium than potassium can set off the adrenals, the other way around calms them down. The adrenal cocktail, which Dic Carlson posted can be found at healthyhappybeautiful.com. metabolichealing.com/electrolytes and the adrenals has info also.
There is a lot of info out there, if one knows where to look or can figure out what to look for. I hope I have covered at least some of what may be helpful to you.
Hi lauraflora. It's 3AM and I'm up looking for answers. Have re-read and made notes on your post about Julia Ross and adrenal info in general.Going to put some suggestions in practice. The world has so much chronic stress for us to get through daily(especially here in the US right now) and adrenals seem to be so overlooked by healthcare professionals.Fortunately my doctors are used to me being an active part of my tx. My deal with them is I will be honest about what I want to do or NOT do re treatment so I don't get too much flack. I've thought my adrenals have been overlooked for a long time and am ready to take this fight on. Thanks for the info-esp specific websites. irina1975
PS One thing I have been doing for years, though I slip back every so often, is avoid watching the news. It's not entirely avoidable but I try to watch limited amounts like PBS news hour. and avoid shows with 'talking heads' arguing and overtalking each other. I miss the old days when the news was presented briefly and factually without a lot of opinions. I figure I don't need the news explained to me. Just give me the facts and I will draw my own conclusions. To be honest I sometimes watch a little CNN. Mostly Anderson Cooper but it depends whose on. The republican/democratic fights and agendas raise mypacemaker. Anyone else's thoughts. And I NEVER watch news before bed. Dr Andrew Weil suggested this approach to news years ago during the O..J trial and I haven't had a tv in my bedroom since. Just a thought about lowering anxiety.
Hi Mum007, Re adrenal help. Here's a tidbit re adrenals.i bought a women's magazine yesterday that caught my eye while in the grocery check-out line. Just a quick blurb from a brief article on adrenal health. It said that drinking a 12 0z. glass of water can lower blood cortisol by 39%. Don't know how this information was arrived at but, it couldn't hurt and is another small reason to stay hydrated.Not very scientific but I guess Info can come from some strange sources.LOL
Certainly worth a try. I know my husband always shouts at me because I don't drink enough. I leave half drunk drinks all over the house. never seem to finish them off.
HiMum007. The formula I remember reading some time ago and try to follow (not always successful). is try to drink 1/2 oz water for every pound of weight daily. ie weight 160 pounds, drink 80 ounces throughout the day. BTW for those who weigh in kilos: 0ne kilo equals 2.2 (US) pounds. Keep drinking. And try to carry a water bottle in your purse. Some are so bulky so I carry a small 'sippy cup' for toddlers. Doesn't take up much room and I always have a way to get water. Plus it Kills me to buy prefilled water bottles; money environment, etc. irina1975
Good information. I also am trying to stay off meds. One thing I am trying to do-though hard- is meditate. Just another way our brain can help us get a handle on pain our bodies sometimes send our way. From what I've learned on this site about augmentation I want to stay away from prescription meds as long as possible. Funny, but none of my doctors have much to say about augmentation. "Nough said.
Me, too. I have been put off by the suffering others have gone thru with augmentation.
But what do you say to the person (to take a random example, me) who has no difficulty sleeping and does not suffer from insomnia except when sleep is disrupted by Rls or the drugs required to quell the symptoms?
And just to anticipate a potential answer, I am intermittently drug free. When I am drug free I do get the occasional Rls free night and will always sleep like a baby on those nights - thus I am well rested but invariably the Rls returns.
I am not sure if my Rls is primary. It came on in pregnancy and never went away.
I do not think that my approach is applicable for everyone. I was putting info out there for people who do have sleep problems, so that they might do some trial and error on their own, after doing some research. There are probably many different issues going on with different people as pertains to these things and RLS. There is more than one way to skin a cat, as it were. But I think my info may be helpful so SOMEONE and that is why I speak up about what I have learned or tried or used successfully.
I do not have any suggestions for someone who sleeps well, but another thing I have read for RLS is calcium citrate, which is easily absorbed and used in one's body. You might look into that. I have come up with calcium in a few different places. It can help to calm the nerves themselves. But I don't suppose it is as easy as taking only one thing. Also chiropractic, as it helps to realign the spine, which can be irritating the nerves, esp. from pregnancy.
Thanks, l/f. Actually I never thought of a chiropractor ... though it is many years now since I was last pregnant but I suppose the damage my still be there. Certainly the Rls is!
Interestingly, yesterday I went to my Chiropractor, whom I see about every 5 weeks, for many years. I had, I don't exactly know why, NOT told him about my problems with sleeping and my suspicions about the adrenals playing a big part in it. It came up somehow in conversation last time about using tryptophan, so when I saw him yesterday, he pursued the conversation. Maybe I had figured that an adjustment over the whole spine would catch those things.
Anyway, yesterday he did a special maneuver for the adrenal glands themselves. He said to keep an eye out for any particular changes. SO, last night I went to bed and lo and behold, I DID NOT WAKE UP UNTIL 630 THIS MORNING!! I have NOT slept thru the night for several YEARS. Even while the tryptophan and other things I wrote about have helped greatly with sleep, I still always wake up at least once per night, sometimes twice. I can get back to sleep, but still.
SO, this may have been a fluke, or not. It may not continue every night. But I will report back to him and have him continue with whatever he did. I think we are on to something. He said the goal is to have balance coming from the inside, not having to always use something from the outside.
I slept so soundly and dreamed so deeply and remembered my dreams. I dreamt about making soup.
Oh that sounds fab. I had zero hours sleep last night even without the restless legs. You are very fortunate to have found a good chiropractor. Unfortunately I fear most of them near me wouldn't have a clue what I was talking about and I have already spent a few thousand pounds on trying sleep cures.
Also, since I have had my sacroiliac (tailbone joint) go out many times, probably due to a few falling incidents in my younger years, he always puts that back in place. When it is 'out' my RLs will act up, as the nerves going down the legs (particularly the left one) get pinched.
So, in that way he has helped prevent it from being worse, (besides his adrenal treatment of last week.)
Many chiropractors are versed in RLS treatment, as it is something they learn about in their training. So from that perspective alone you might find one that can help. Also he recommended calcium citrate, to help calm the nerves themselves.
Don't know if you saw my posts about these other suggestions, but they do not cost any money particularly. One is for the Adrenal Cocktail heaalthyhappybeautiful.com (electrolytes and adrenal glands)
And another is chriskresser.com/intermittent-fasting-cortisol and blood sugar (why going without food for a long time is not a good idea for anyone with stressed adrenals.)
If you are able to sleep during the day, but not at night, look up about your circadian rhythm being off. It is those adrenals again, plus hypothalamus and pituitary.
Don't have many details but I remember reading somewhere that low back pain/problems could contribute to rls so a chiropractor may be an answer for some. Maybe "Dr. Google' can turn up some info. Hope so. Often it's up to us to do the research and share with docs!Let us know what the chiropractor says.
I too find that if I am having sleep problems my RLS is much worse. Having a bad night sleepwear so now up trying to distract myself see if I can calm my legs down and get back to sleep. My mum and grandfather had it too so does one of my Son's I feel so guilty about this as he has had it bad. I am not on drugs for RLS but take Tramadol for pain and this has helped a lot. So I can understand this train of thought.
If anyone's interested, research depression meds side effects-particularly Prozac (fluoxitine). It's listed 'decreased interest in sex' asaside effect for some for years. I took it for a while and this is one reason I stopped. Plus it wasn't that helpful for me.
I've had RLS forever so I got nothing to blame. Remember having it before school age, so that would be 4.
Good honest post...anything that can help with RLS is really useful and this one is fun too!!..well done
Thanks, paule46, I also sleep with a bar of SOAP and have tried pantyhose (fun?), odd for most men. Both seem to help??? Sometimes...
What an interesting suggestion and I will have to stop my meds to see if it helps. Regular sex is much more healthy
Definitely helps, the Ann Summers way!
Thank you everyone for your comments. I am so glad it was not just me and others can be helped too. Love this forum for all the helpful ideas. I am seeing my Dr at Stanford Sleep Center for my 6 month check up and will ask him if others have the same experience as me. For me, just arousal for several minutes works. Full blown sex and masturbation would help but sometimes the events happen several times a night and I want to be ready.
My spouse and I were attending a medical convention years ago when I shocked the wives suggesting walk in places which would help RLS arthritis and the complexion.They were all horrified glad to know I have fellow comparisons albeit in the year 2018.
This is a fantastic thread and many of the observations mirror my own experience. I have sometimes wondered if Rls slightly increases sex drive. I don’t doubt my husband would be extremely surprised to hear it though which reminds me of the classic Annie Hall scene which cuts between separate interviews conducted by a therapist of a husband and wife.
Q: ‘do you have sex?’
H: ‘hardly ever’
W: ‘all the time’
Q: ‘how frequently?’
H and W: ‘three times a week’ 😉
its not just the sex, its the orgasm that seems to work and as we all know , for ladies ,
that does not always accompany sex.
What? Women get orgasms too? Are you sure? I think that's one of them urban myths along with the G-spot and Big Foot
Oh ha ha ...!
Re the sex - years ago I accidentally discovered that orgasm helped my RLs and now use it if my legs are particularly bad (with or without husband, lol!). As mentioned, it also gives the bonus of helping me relax and often drift off to sleep. On bad nights it gives 2-3 hours relief before my legs start again, but which is much much better than no relief at all. Yet again it is so interesting that it helps some and not others.
Just talked to my Dr today. He said other patients confirm what I posted originally. He said it happens because you take your mind off the RLS and not a biological reason.
Hi everyone...here is a list of natural dopamine "uppers" that have helped me...be creative and make stuff...discover new things...list small tasks...music... intimacy...probiotics... Limit sugar... exercise...establish a visible reminder of times you've achieved something like a journal or X calander... Meditate...green tea..etc.
Wow there's a lot of replies on this topic!!!! I have found that masturbation has helped, but not always, frustratingly so! I haven't tried actually having sex with my husband when it starts as I find someone touching me, sets me off more, so maybe I should give it a go earlier haha. We have purchased a ps4 hoping it would help on distracting my brain, when setting it up, my legs drove me nuts and I was kneeling on the floor with my head down on the carpet!!! Moaning about my legs as usual, but when I started playing the game, it miraculously stopped and I forgot about my tablets!!! I went to bed unaware that I had forgotten until half an hour later I was up cursing that I had forgotten because they were going crazy!!!! Such a strange affliction.
I found out my ferrous iron is really low and I'm hoping that will be the cure, who am I kidding, but my new fabulous doctors have sent me to the neurologist, so this will be interesting!
Good luck in 2018 everyone
Hi Twitchytwitcylegs 🤔,
Ps4? Is that a new Sex thingy me jig that I don't know about? Very interested. 👍
Haha,no just a PlayStation 4, I really must be careful how I word things hehe
Ah, I'm so disappointed. 😂😂☘️
I have been wanting to say this for a long time but was unsure how it would be taken. It must be the total relaxation afterwards. And it IS no joke.
I too have been wanting to say for a long time but just never did. I take meds for my RLS but they alway take about an hour to kick in. Over the years I’ve come to realise that orgasms stop my RLS straight away. Therefore whenever I wake in the middle of the night with rls and know that if I take meds I will still be twitching for at least an hour....I just have an orgasm 😜! It is by far the most effective way I stopping rls!!! Everyone should try it!
From an Apprentice Opinionated woman......great post and very reassuring!thank you
Dopamine!
Why does RLS stop?
Will coming off fluoxetine stop RLS?
continued RLS after stopping statin
My RLS is 99% better and I've been able to nearly stop my Gabapentin
