EIGHT COMMON MYTHS ABOUT RESTLESS LEGS SYNDROME BY DAVID WIMBLE
Your thoughts on this article please - Restless Legs Syn...
Your thoughts on this article please
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OFgc
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•
I wish it were that simple! I follow a strict anti-inflammatory diet!
On the pregnancy note, high levels of estradiol (one of the estrogens) are linked to RLS during pregnancy.
All I will say now is that I can't wait to hear the conversation that this will spark.
OFgc• in reply to
No provocation was meant on my side. Might I add that the author of this article suffered from RLS for many years and claims to be OK now.
• in reply toOFgc
I understand. I meant no disrespect.
Terry Wahls claims to have completely ‘cured’ her MS and associated RLS by following her own specially devised diet.
I followed it for 8-12 months & it didn’t make any difference to my MS or my RLS.
It is absolutely the case that diet helps a small proportion of RLS sufferers BUT it will not help the majority.
I just wish the evangelical proponents of the ‘inflammation’ theory would accept that everyone is different.
Even the top neurologists in the world don’t know what causes RLS (although they do seem to be getting closer to finding out).
Inflammation due to diet is the latest buzz word to explain all Western disease.
One conversation i am not going to get into. Lots of theories out there. This man's theory i dont agree with at all.
Simple thing to think about - if you suffered with RLS and you could cure it, would you prevent those with money from help?
OFgc• in reply to
I'm sorry raffs, I don't understand what you are saying...
• in reply toOFgc
Yer man caims to have had RLS - like all of us here.
He claims to know how to cure RLS - that all of us would love to know.
The cure is at retreats and seminars, etc,etc that many cannot afford
The result is people are denied a cure, not treatment mind - a cure, because they cannot afford it.
Now - if YOU had a cure, would you not shout it from the roof tops? Would you not post it on every RLS forum, facebook and social media site that would allow you?
• in reply to
raffs he has been on several RLS groups including on this forum and has got removed. He doesnt like it if you try to disagree with him, he gets nasty, he did so to some members on here. He was on the RLS Foundation at one time, he got removed from there. On his website he didnt have nice things to say about RLS-UK or the RLS Foundation, because he was removed. He hasnt got a cure, if anything its a treatment just like anything else people post about on here or other groups. But he insists that his website is called An Absolute Cure.
OFgc• in reply to
I see. I didn't know he is holding seminars and such. I only know his website in which he gives quite a lot of information from his own experience. (I'm not related to him in any way).
His brain is inflamed!
He makes the common mistake of thinking that what has worked for him , applies to everyone.
It's rather like saying that because a cat has four legs as does a dog, then they are the same animal.
Very unscientific article, but thanks for posting- brightened my day for a few minutes.🤣🙄😎
I agree with every word. The best article I've ever read on RLS.
I think Madlegs1 may have it with him thinking his cure is everyone's.
Just in case you are following this thread, Mr Dr Sir, I am open to your treatment - for free AND if I am cured I will work for you for free to the best of my ability until you have gotten 10 times the money out of me.
That's a fair deal in any man's language.
This article gives me hope.
Oh dearie me! I've been severely inflamed for decades, who knew?
Interesting concept, but I actually learned more from the reader responses than from the article itself. Would have been more helpful if the author went on to discuss various causes and "cures" for inflammation. Hard to opine on the validity of the overall premise otherwise.
I think stress is a major cause for inflamation. Being chronically stressed out throws the body off balance. I heard some doctor (sorry cant remember who that was) say that stress is the number one cause for most illnesses these days.
I think that the stress of having that money in your pocket is causing your RLS, so if you give it to me, then you will no longer have that stress and inflammation, and you will be cured! Ta-da!
????
sorry - I am being sarcastic. when I see first hand how much suffering and confusion is caused by RLS, I can't imagine having an actual cure which is supposedly simple, and holding expensive seminars to teach it. There is also something that makes me want to scream when I see someone presenting a simplistic "solution" to a very complex and vexing problem.
As I answered someone else here, I didn't know this person was holding expensive (or other) seminars. I'm here for my husband (who has whole body RLS and never speaks about it nor complains). I must be stupid or naive or too hopeful to accept there is no cure or reliefe at least.
After reading through this I actually agree with a lot of what it says. I think that some will react to the matter-of-fact way it has written. After all everyone has a different experience with RLS, and have found different things that work for them or that make the RLS worse. Still I do believe that an underlying issue of chronic inflammation form our diets, and lifestyles could be a major contributing factor to all disease.
MYTH #1: RLS is Genetic:I believe they have isolated an gene aberration in RLS sufferers. But my mother, who is a nurse and has study natural health for many years, brought to my attention, regardless of your genetic code your body’s ability to express the gene correctly is based on the building blocks it has to work with. So if your body’s health (especially gut health, since that is the fundamental place that your body collects the nutritional building blocks) is compromised, weakened, or toxic, so will the expression of your genes. So the better the health of your gut, and the better quality nutrition you give it can drastically change the way your body expresses your genes.
So while they have isolated a genetic aberration in RLS, it could possibly only be the way your body is expressing that gene based on the health of your body.
MYTH #2: There are “Two” Types of RLS – Primary and Secondary
From a nautral/nutritional health perspective, and what I’ve learned about gut health, I would say that it is true that a lot of our diseases stem from underlying stress and inflammation in our bodies. Think there is a lot of truth to that. And while I do believe it can be a major factor in RLS (in fact most people I’ve talked to with RLS will also mention that they struggle with other health issues, often gut issues like IBS etc,) which tells me there body/gut is not actually in good health and they probably are struggling with inflammation. The fact that many people find a degree of symptom relief by changing their diet to keto/paleo which is essentially a low inflammation diet furthers that theory. But even if you do get inflammation in your body under control and begin to heal your gut so that it can function properly it does not mean you will be symptom free. While I do feel that it could be a huge part of the underlying cause, I don’t think you can make a blanket statement that that is the only cause.
MYTH #2: There are “Two” Types of RLS – Primary and Secondary,
MYTH #3: Iron Deficiency is a Primary Cause of RLS,
MYTH #4: RLS IS Caused by an Imbalance in Dopamine Levels
I kind of agree with this. If your gut in sick due to years of an inflammatory diet (and the other toxic abuse we do to it like, antibiotics, meds, vaccines…), it will not be able to absorb the nutrients you need like iron etc. if you can heal the gut and reduce inflammation you could possibly start to see your iron levels naturally stabilize. After all doctors don’t have a clue why RLS suffers have the brain iron deficiency in the first place. And if we were absorbing and using the nutrients correctly we could possibly see dopamine, gabba, and glutamate in our brains working correctly.
MYTH #6: RLS is Often Caused by Pregnancy:
I really can’t speak much to this. But there are definitely a lot of changes going on in a pregnant woman’s body. I just wanted to add that one of the cause of rls in pregnant women may simply be that some of the nerves to their legs are being pinched by the extra weight of the baby sitting on their pelvis.
MYTH #7: Aging Tends to Cause RLS :
The longer we live, the more exposure to toxins our body has and the less our body is able to deal with them. In a sense, your body’s toxic load grows over time. So of course we become more inflamed with age. This makes since to me.
MYTH #8: THERE IS NO CURE FOR RESTLESS LEGS SYNDROME
I started down the natural health road about a years ago. Trying to change my diet and give my body the nutrition it needs to heal, first the gut, then the rest of the body. I do believe that our bodies are amazing machines that are capable of healing, but they can only do so much. We can help ourselves by giving our bodies what they need to heal. And perhaps full healing and remission of symptoms is possible. Its nice to think so at least! But depending on the length of time your body has been in a weakened condition, there may be perinate damage, and only partial healing. I’m a year in, and still struggling. But I have seen positive changes in my symptoms over that time. And I hope that I will continue to improve. There is definitely something to the Inflammation theory of disease.
RLSgirl, what a thorough response. I see you are, as me, into the current health discussions regarding, stress, inflammation, nutrition, genes and healing.
I try to follow Doctors like David Perlmutter and Mark Hyman and people like John and Ocean Robbin and Bruce Lipton as their messages are intriguing and hopeful.
brucelipton.com/newsletter/...
Good luck with your journey to health I'm looking forward to hearing positive updates.
Thanks for the info. I've not heard of any of these people. I look forward to looking at the links you've provided! 
I don't follow any doctor. I just know that a generally ketogenic diet and avioding one artificial additive eliminates my rls. I had my suspicions that it must be inflammation related and in the early days of my diet, I suffered mild attacks a few times. I rubbed the effected limb with an anti imflammatory muscle massage ointment which stopped the symptoms in a few miutes, so that is good enough for me.
Regarding the genetic connection. I believe that your genes don't give you rls, but your genes affect your sensitivity to the foods which cause the inflammation. Like some people can't eat strawberries or others can't eat nuts.
Scroll down this thread and watch Dr TERRY WAHLS speak (among other things) about gene expression and epi genetics.
Could you post the name of the ointment please?
The one I used was Voltarol Pain-eze, which contains Diclofenac. I suppose that any anti inflammatory, even pills would work, but they're not recommended for long term use (anything more than a week), so sorting out the diet is the best long term answer. It might be useful to remember when you get caught out when eating out.
These two chiropractors talk about RLS and nerves being pressed. (don't know the right term in English).
youtube.com/watch?v=hMJT6Cj...
They are describing rls as a brain problem, where I believe the problem lies with the receptors in the limbs, which are more sensitive because they're inflamed and send more signals to the brain ( to use their analogy, something's caught on the throttle). The reason why chiropracty works for some is that their bone misalignment is causing pressure on the joints which become inflamed, and the inflammation puts pressure on the nerve receptors. If you haven't got bone misalignment, chiropracty won't help you.
• in reply toEryl
This is the first time I've seen any reference to chiropractic for RLS that wasn't just dismissed off-hand. I've had a lot of experience over years of dealing with back problems and I can say that it initially helped me a lot early on. And now if I stress my lower back, it's a safe bet I'll be up walking half the night. Just speaking from experience.
• in reply toRLSgirl
Wow! Well stated RLSgirl! Your explanations are helpful, so thank you!
• in reply toRLSgirl
I would tend to agree, RLSgirl. At least I think that inflammation is a rather large piece of the puzzle, if nothing else. My reasoning is that we live in a basically very toxic society with diet being one of the main factors, which may be why diet changes work for so very many. After reading Perlmutter, Wm Davis Jr and others who warn of the dangers of carbs in general and modern wheat specifically, I have wondered about a possible connection between RLS and our processed, grain-heavy diets that most of us were raised on. It's pretty much a given anymore that this modern, processed diet mess is at the root of most of our chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer's, and now even cancer. And with RLS so common, I've often wondered if there isn't a connection there as well.
But diet isn't the only toxic factor- we're absolutely surrounded with all kinds of man-made contaminants that could well play into the big picture. Personal care items have heaven-only-knows what in them that can be absorbed into the skin, municipal water has chlorine and fluoride, well water probably has all kinds of chemical fertilizers and pesticides from run-off, plastics are absolutely everywhere, etc, etc. Switching to eating natural foods that haven't been processed, and reducing or eliminating carbs and processed vegetable oils is a big step, but apart from going caveman, how does anyone get away from all this? Then add the drug factor. Medications are all foreign to the human body, thus the side effects. Though I understand that so very many have no choice. Just making the point that we're surrounded with toxic, inflammatory garbage every day. Of course it's all speculation, and as everyone knows, everyone reacts differently to everything. But diet probably isn't the only inflammation-producing factor. This guy may be basically correct, but to make a blanket assertion that he's got THE answer is a little gutsy!
OFgc• in reply to
So true. Keeping ourselves away from harmful chemicals is such a challenge. I switched to natural shampoo and body lotion (still need to move to better soap - those things are expensive!!!) and try to eliminate chemicals as much as I can. I don't use laundry softeners or air perfumes (those scented oils which are so popular) as all of these put out partials into the air we breath. I try to by as much fruit and veggies as I can and to eliminate processed food to the minimum. Getting off gluten and dairy is challenging. And yet there is still so much more to do...
• in reply toOFgc
Can I step in here again? Yes, I agree about toxins being everywhere. My husband and I buy flouride-free toothpaste and other personal items from the health store and we buy organic black tea for me. We live in Norway where the diet is healthier and the toxins are less, but when we do move back to the States (from there) where the diet is not as healthy and concern about the toxins is nonexistent, we have talked about playing it safe. We would get a water filter that takes out the hexachrome, etc. and eat organic foods.
OFgc• in reply to
Lucky you.
• in reply to
Yeah, I'd like to eat organic, produce AND meat, but it's just too expensive right now.
OFgc• in reply to
Everyone speaks about wild caught fish, grass fed beef and pastured eggs and butter. We have none of the above in Israel...
RLSgirl• in reply to
I've been doing the same things. buying organic produce and other products and antibiotic hormone free meet... It can get very expensive, but in the end, if it improves my health and overall well-being it will be worth it. I still need to get a water filter. but that really wasn't in the budget for this year. It will be a goal for next year.
It can be overwhelming the more you learn. How is one supposed to get away from all the chemicals!? they are everywhere, even in places you wouldn't expect. ....and then there always is the question in the back of your mind, "Is this really the problem? or am I just being paranoid?" lol But I think there is enough evidence out there show that there is a link between the toxic overload we are dumping out our bodies and the rise of many chronic health conditions.
I just wanted to add that the article I linked above was posted in Dr TERRY WAHLS' web site, a Dr. who recovered herself from MS using nutrition and supplementation.
Here is an introduction of her story
terrywahls.com/about/about-...
I am assuming she would know a thing or two about inflammation and she wouldn't be putting an article in her website if she thought it was worthless or wrong.
Just my way of thinking.
Can I also add, regards a ketogenic diet. Since I've been on one my sleep pattern has improved. I now regularly sleep six hours before waking to urinate, and will usually drop off for an hour or two after that.
Also, something which supports the inflammation argument. My breathing has improved, presumably because lack of inflammation has widened the bronchi and bronchioles.
• in reply toEryl
Ooh, now that’s interesting (about the breathing). That makes sense!
It is nice to know that Mr. Trimble has worked it all out for us, I presume that we will all be `cured` now. Just a few questions on these studies, how was it determined that the cause of RLS is inflammatory? If it is related to dairy products did the study include checking the RLS rates in countries where there isn`t a plentiful supply of these products available? Some of the countries in Africa or the Eskimo people or some of the tribes in remote regions could be a start to compare diets etc.
As to RLS not being genetically linked, I can only say that when I visited my mother who was being looked after in a nursing home in the last few years of her life I used to watch appalled as every few seconds she would have to move her feet about. (she could not walk unaided by this time so was unable to `walk it off`) Also, I myself have RLS and my sister has developed Parkinson's in her late 70s so what would be the odds of this being unconnected?
When I was an infant my mother used to say that I must have `st Vitas dance` (an old saying) as I used to fidget my legs about when asleep and when later in life I played football on a regular basis I noticed that on a Saturday evening after playing that day I had a job keeping my legs still.
This condition didn`t really bother me until after my 40th birthday when I decided to change my profession and become a painter and decorator and within a couple of years, I was walking around through the night (like the rest of you).
There is a common denominator here and it isn`t dairy products as most of us know, it`s tired legs. My mother was elderly and if she didn`t sleep too well her legs would be tired and would worsen her RLS. I now understand why I suffered after playing football (tired legs) and why my RLS got worse after changing my job and climbing up and down ladders all day (tired legs) and also when a lot of ladies suffer in pregnancy from RLS when carrying extra weight, (tired legs) and in that particular case,is not dairy related.
We have a tendency to believe `experts` when told something but an academic brain is no good without common sense and how many of us have heard of `mad professors`?
How many times have we been told that butter is better for you by our scientists and then margarine is better for you? Is aspirin good or bad? What are good cholesterols?
Their answers are as diverse as `chalk and cheese`.
The only thing that helps my RLS is going to bed at a regular time and with a bit of luck, a decent sleep, if not the first night then maybe the next night and then (strangely for our experts to follow) our legs aren't as tired. The problem in my case is I then take chances and try to pinch the odd hour to watch something late on telly or are late in after going to a concert, for instance, and I`m back walking through the night.
Happy Walking and hurry up genetic engineering!
Unfortunately I know first hand how genetics work. I underwent surgery 5 years ago and just recently going over my late mother's papers I found out she had that same surgery 15 years ago, I know I had "her" problem but didn't know I had the same procedure for it). I also have both a brother and sister who are visually impaired. What Epi Genetics speaks of now a days is the choice we have by food choices and environment to switch on and off our genes' expression. I wish we were better at that, right?
(Dr. TERRY WAHLS speaks about it in the link I put on this thread).
We must thank everyone who is involved in research in the quest to find this `holy grail` but must also understand that the description `could` as in `our epigenetic switch could be open` is nothing more than a guess until proven, Respect to the experts but let`s all remember butter v margarine (still ongoing).
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