Hi friends,
I just wanted to give an update for anyone it might help. I have been able to minimize my restless legs through an elimination diet, good iron right before bed, and progressive relaxation meditation right before bed. I’ve been symptom-free for a few weeks. For what it’s worth!
Great to hear your good news. A few weeks just has to be significant. Keep a good food diary so you don't slowly slip back into old habits.
Good idea!
Congratulations on your success. Proves that rls can be cured by rigorous diet control. As time goes on, I think you'll start to get to know if you can relax the control slightly for special occasions, and which foods make the most difference, as long as it's only once in a while rather than letting the regular routine slip.
So just what did you eliminate?
It’s really a question of what can I eat that doesn’t trigger. I will admit that it’s been a few months of trial and error and the science is not exact at all. It’s frustrating because I’m trying to be very clear but some days I’ll have a certain kind of food and I can’t sleep and have symptoms, but then another day I’ll have a different kind of the same food and have no problem. Sometimes ill think I’ve eaten one food that is a trigger and it won’t end up being a trigger.So at this point what I can say is what I CAN eat and still be OK are: eggs, chicken, rice, cheese, tomatoes, apples, corn chips, black beans, sweet potatoes, potatoes, almond milk, kale, lettuce, watermelon, and probably more stuff. Looking at the list it looks like grains except rice are triggers , although one night I had strawberry short cake and slept with no triggers. Like I said, it’s been very hard to find hard and full fast rules for myself beyond just “these are what I can generally eat and know I’ll be ok”. I got this idea from Carl at Relaxis foundation. He says that everyone has their own triggers. One person can eat a sleeve of Oreos but one bite of a chocolate chip cookie will send them in to symptoms. I also take 40 mg of iron in Sedorum brand ( my ferritin was 13.5) before bed and I do a relaxation meditation before bed. That has really helped!
My husband has severe chronic RLS of long standing. It affects legs, arms, head etc. Next to no sleep. Had to stop work over it. A form of torture as far as I can see- especially as it comes on with anything that relaxes a person. He is otherwise a fit well man! The list of things we have tried - medical and non-medical- takes page to list.
Just recently, he is experiencing a fairly consistent relief and I am desperately trying to pin down what is bringing this relief. He was doing some fasting of various kinds etc, including restricting eating to match circadian rhythm etc. This led to low appetite, only wanting to eat couple of times a day- but very high physical energy with this.
One thing that is a clear correlation recently is that he did the preparation diet for testing for fructose and lactose intolerance. This is a low fibre very plain diet for few days. It includes foods that would normally be a guarantee of exacerbation (e.g. potatoes, white bread). We are amazed that this has had the opposite effect - no restless legs! He had been putting off these tests- looking for a time when he felt he would be able to withstand the anticipated worsening and days of no sleep etc.
Presume it must be something he usually eats that triggers the symptoms. We will re-introduce foods singly to try and pin down the culprits. Certainly cant stay on the elimination diet foods - too poor in nutrients and unpleasant effects on gut etc. His normal diet would be considered exemplary by the health pundits but..something there is not OK for him.
The only time he has had this amount of relief was many years ago when we thought we had 'cracked it'. The remedy at that time was cherries, especially sour cherries, in the evening: 9 months , no restless legs. Then it just stopped working. There is a trace of melatonin in cherries.
We are convinced that whatever the reasons for RLS ( I am well familiar with all the research findings etc), there is some kind of pattern around food. It appears to be around excessive blood sugar/insulin response but not consistent enough to say.
I am therefore following your progress with great interest.
Everything someone finds helpful is worth a go. What did you eliminate from your diet?
sorry, didn'T Read down far enough, you have answered the question about what you eliminated from your diet.
Well done, that's great news. I am currently on week 3 of the low fodmap diet. No improvement in the rls yet, but will keep going for the full 8 weeks elimination phase. Can I ask which meditation you used, I have not been very successful trying different relaxation and meditation techniques?
I use a Yoga Nidra app on phone (am I allowed to say which one on here?) last thing at night. It is clever as it just directs your attention to one part of the body after the other sequentially. You do not have to try and relax something . In its pure application as a spiritual practice, one states an intent at the beginning of the process, and the idea is to stay awake throughout. Nevertheless, it puts my husband and I to sleep in a very nice way. I suspect that the sequential attention to each part of the body must be shifting the brain's focus all over- and perhaps thks dilutes some stuck state or gathers more resources for us. A great little stand-by.
I tried fodmap for a few weeks too, and then eventually eliminated everything down to three or four foods just to see what I was triggered by. It takes a long time not just one day as I’m sure you know. Is iron issue for you? Taking iron right before bed has been a big key factor for me. I go on YouTube and put in progressive relaxation meditation for sleep and there’s a bunch of stuff on there good luck!
Hi Rsoular, this post is worth bringing forward. I know it's been 3 years and you've probably moved on, but if you could give us yet another update it would be greatly appreciated.
We have been looking closely at fasting research because of the potential of autophagy to break down parts of cells that don't work and then rebuild correctly- including neurones. Wondering if it could repair whatever is wrong with the Substantia Nigra or dopamine producing cells in brain.
That’s awesome news! Way to go!👍
Iron ,Magnesium & Calcium Supplements
RLS update
GABA doses that work for bedtime? 
Ferritin Improvement
