RLS and the gut

Found this on Twitter today, the possibility of disrupted gut flora causing RLS- blog.undoctored.com/a-big-n...

[Poppyrose1]

Yes very interesting and not surprising. I have had many gut issues over well all my life and 50 plus years ago they just thought you were a kid trying to get out of something. Now diagnosed with many chronic health problems I know why and started gluten free and lactose free diet. Trying now sugar free😢

[Hidden in reply to Poppyrose1]

Hmm. Will be interesting to see where all this goes. I've got gut issues too.

[Eryl]

Interesting. At least it confirms my findings that I can control my rls by cutting out sugar and keeping my carb intake within limits. Probably by doing this I'm not feeding the bad bacteria.

[Hidden in reply to Eryl]

Does sound logical, doesn't it? And carb restriction is working fairly well for me as well. It's at least tolerable now.

[Eryl in reply to Hidden]

That might be due to a different trigger. Another of my triggers is Potassium Sorbate (E202) food preservative. You may like to investigate if it affects you. Sorbates have a reputation for causing nerve related problems.

[Hidden in reply to Eryl]

Never heard of it. Will check into that.

[Eryl in reply to Hidden]

Here's one link you may find useful. fedup.com.au/factsheets/add...

[RLSgirl]

Thanks for the post. It seems clear to me that there is a gut connection to RLS since what you eat or don’t eat, how much you eat, and you eat, makes such a big difference to most suffering with RLS.

I wish I understood it better. Or knew what to do to restore a healthy gut. I take probiotics and digestive enzymes everyday, but I don’t think that is enough.

For the past 2 months I’ve also been fasting 1 day a week too just to give my digestive system a rest. But I can’t say I’ve noticed too much of a difference yet.

[Hidden in reply to RLSgirl]

I've just found out about all this myself. The condition is called small intestine bacterial overgrowth or SIBA (gotta have an acronym of course). Here's a link with basic info- siboinfo.com/overview1.html There are specific diets designed by different groups of people to address the problem; this one has some more basic info and a link to compare a few of the diets- sibosurvivor.com/sibo-diet/ Sugar elimination is, of course basic, so I bought my first carton of lactose-free milk to make my own ice cream with stevia, my only real treat anymore. I'd been using regular milk. You can google SIBA and find quite a bit. I started saving some of these websites to a pinterest board so I don't lose them.

Looks like this is a fairly new area of research, and much isn't understood yet about all the gut does to control other things going on in the body. It's incredibly complex, apparently. And if you have access to a doctors' office that practices either functional or integrative medicine, you'll have a better shot at finding someone who actually knows something about it. Just a thought, and I haven't looked- there might be twitter accounts or facebook pages that deal with it, maybe youtube videos. If you or anyone finds anything good, pass it along!

[RLSgirl in reply to Hidden]

Thanks! I just read the overview. It's very interesting that they specifically mention that it causes low b12 and Iron levels causing chronic low ferritin levels. And that the acids the bacteria produce can cause neurological symptoms. Wow!

[Eryl]

I've read recently that taking probiotics regularly may be doing more harm than good. I'll see if I can find it. As I don't take them myself, the reason didn't stick in my memory.

[Hidden in reply to Eryl]

I'd just heard the same; if you find it, pass it along.

[RLSgirl in reply to Eryl]

I'd be interested in knowing more about that; why they think probiotics would be bad to take. I do take them regularly.

[Eryl]

If anyone's interested in finding out more about the general workings of the gut, and its connection to our brain, I'd recommend the book 'Gut' by Giulia Enders. Fascinating and at the same time entertaining.

[Hidden in reply to Eryl]

Thanks! Got it on my wish list when used copies get cheaper. Quite a list of related titles there too.