Acupuncture and RLS treatment

[Jrskyhook32]

Anyone have experience withAcupuncture as a treatment for RLS?

[Lenilatt]

Yes, I had several sessions, about 5 I think. Unfortunately, it didn't help at all. Th acupuncturist told me it should have worked by then , so I gave up.

[involuntarydancer]

I tried it too to no avail. This question gets asked fairly regularly and I don’t think I have seen anyone post that acupuncture helped their rls.

[Hidden]

Me too. Had several sessions but nothing gained by it. I would say - save your money.

[Hidden]

It cost me an arm and a leg and did nothing...the only small relief I get is to stand in the shower and run the cold water spray on the back of my legs until they go numb then I can get to sleep..

[Jrskyhook32 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your input concerning acupuncture. I never thought about the cold water. Does it always work ? How long does it work for?

[Peterdh2u in reply to Jrskyhook32]

Hi,

I have found cold water to be the most consistently reliable treatment for relieving the nightly torture of RLS over the last 20 years or so.

I am not so brave as to take a cold shower, but do sometimes use the shower head to spray cold water onto my feet.

The best way for me is to paddle ankle deep in a bath of cold water for 5 to 10 minutes when the twitching starts. As Devon Lady says, it numbs the sensations for long enough to get to sleep. On the odd occasion I don't get to sleep quickly enough or am having a really bad night, it still gives about an hour's relief before needing to do it again.

It also works if you are able to put your feet into a wash hand basin or bowl.

Hope it helps someone!

Peter

[Jrskyhook32 in reply to Peterdh2u]

Thank you. I will certainly give it a try

[Sunshine458 in reply to Peterdh2u]

Thank you so much for the "cold water" idea... I will try it for sure!!! I actually have been putting a cold pack from the freezer wrapped in a towel on my lower back area while lying on my back and I can get relief sometimes with that...chiropractor told me to use "cold instead of heat for inflammation"!!?? I will try anything at the point I am at ... I am 68 years old and if I could stand on my head and make it go away I would try it!!! Best of luck to anyone who is suffering with this horrible curse RLS!!!

[Peterdh2u in reply to Sunshine458]

Those gel coldpacks can be quite severe. I find that cold water on my feet and maybe calves works best for me, but I've never tried a cold pack on the small of my back, so I must give it a try...

I was told definitely cold for inflamation and heat to sooth, but no matter how tempting, might I suggest not standing on your head??!! Go paddle instead!!

[Peterdh2u]

You're welcome. I just hope it gives you some relief. Remember... the colder the better!

[Dougg]

I've been getting acupuncture treatments since last November, along with some other natural approaches. My RLS seems to be getting better, but I can't say whether it's the acupuncture, diet changes, or other supplements. My acupuncturist, who was schooled in China, was careful to warn me at the outset of our relationship that RLS is very challenging to treat. She explained that my situation - which may not be the same as yours - involved my liver and kidney meridians being way out of balance relative to the others, and that it would take some time to get my system back in balance. So far, that's proven accurate.

My current thinking is that RLS isn't a thing per se, with a specific treatment for quick elimination, but is rather a symptom of something else out of balance. The trick is figuring out what that is, and it appears to vary widely by individual, based on experiences well documented on this site. I keep working at it through a variety of modalities, hoping that I'm getting to the real underlying cause.

That's a long way around of saying that, in my experience, acupuncture probably won't give you short-term relief, but could - could - be part of a long-term solution. The jury's still out for me.

Best of luck in your journey.

- Doug

[Sunshine458]

I tried a series of acupuncture $600+ worth with absolutely no relief at all. It was waste of money and time for me totally!!