Hi everyone..I write a post on here every now and again as iv been suffering with intermittent rls.
I've had it on and off for years but am always researching for help to cure it as I know it makes sleeping impossible and life miserable to say the least.
So, apart from consuming herbs to help the condition such as ashwaghanda I've come across an article written by Healthline entitled
"10 Best ways to increase dopamine levels naturally".
It really is worth reading..
I am now trying to cut out most animal fats such as creamy milk and substitute with soya or oat milk for tea and coffee..
That's just one of the suggestions..
Also to consume more of certain amino acids in food for protein.. which raises level of dopamine.. that's only number 2 suggestion.
Please read this article from Healthline and let me know your thoughts and feedback.
Best wishes all
Jan
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janland
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I too read this and it is quite good I believe. Will soon begin trying these for my mum as she weans off Pramipex. Still wondering though if it would work during withdrawal.
Sadly most alternative meds or diets don’t help very much during withdrawal. However, there was a trial of a drug called Ecopipam which did seem to help Augmentation and withdrawal symptoms.
There is now an ongoing trial in the USA to study its efficacy during withdrawal but I think you have to be near Texas to take part.
Interesting if you don’t have sufficient dopamine. However - sorry to be negative - people with RLS don’t lack dopamine. The problem is that the available dopamine doesn’t get transported sufficiently over the nerve cell membrane, owing to lack of ‘transporters’. To build these transporters of dopamine, we need more iron in our brains.
It is a bit more complicated than the above with other derived issues, but the above is the key.
Hi..it's very interesting what you say about "transporters" and more brain iron.
I do realize it's a very complicated condition to cure.
My ferritin levels were normal I was told after a few blood tests recently..
I was woken last night again by restless legs..so got up..and had some l tyrosine.. magnesium and ashwaghanda .. which seemed to do the trick of stopping it for the night..
You say you had your ferritin levels tested recently and they came back ‘normal’. But - for people with RLS normal is not enough as that can be as low as 15 or 20. For us, it needs to be at least 75 and preferably higher. It may thus be wise to phone your gp and ask for the actual value(s) and a copy of the results. If you ferritin is in the low or mid range you may consider to start taking iron. Based on the experiences from people on this forum - including myself - iron bisglycinate, aka ‘gentle iron’ works well with less chance of constipation. Please do come back for more advice re iron once you know your ferritin levels.
I couldn't find a link to the article in your post so couldn't read it.s
However, just to reiterate what Lotte says, increasing dopamine levels in itself won't really help RLS. People with RLS in fact tend to have a higher level than normal of dopamine.
As well, RLS sufferers have problems with other neurotransmitters.
The body has ways of finding its own balance so for example, although neurotransmitters are made from amino acids there's only likely to be a deficiency of them if either a) something goes wrong with the mechanisms which make them (e.g. iron deficiency) or b) you have severe protein deficiency.
If a) increased protein intake will have no effect because the body is unable to use it.
If b) it would have to be extreme prolonged protein deficiency, because even with a dietary lack of protein, the body will utilise what protein stores it has to make vital chemicals. You would have major signs of protein deficiency including muscle wasting and water retention.
So in normal circumstances, extra dietary protein will not increase dopamine levels anyway, even if there was a lack in RLS.
I can't comment on the article because I haven't read it, but generally it sounds like a typical one that says you can "naturally" raise various things by taking supplements or particular foods, but unless there is some deficiency, it's really not going to make a difference.
I note the significant point made in this article is
"Dopamine levels are typically well regulated within the nervous system".
Eat more protein - no this doesn't work. In fact the article itself says
"It's unknown whether normal variations in protein intake would have much impact".
Eat less fat - this doesn't increase dopamine levels. It might improve dopamine "signalling" which is what the article talks about.
And so on
Overall this is a fairly well informed general interest article which offers some basic health advice. It does give a balanced view of what might increase dopamine levels despite the misleading title.
There is quite a lot of evidence about the causes of "idiopathic" RLS. There is evidence that the main factors are
Brain iron deficiency.
Reduction in the number or performance of dopamine receptor sites in some parts of the brain, (signalling).
Disturbances in neurotransmitters adenosine and glutamate.
Consequences of a lack of inhibition and hence oversensitivity of motor nerves in the brain, spinal chord and peripheral nerves.
It is a complex genetic disorder, with variations and how the genes are expressed or triggered.
Treatments are symptomatic.
Yes more research is needed and is happening. Ultimately the only "cure" would have to be gene therapy.
In the meantime manipulating dopamine levels is quite a risky thing to do. If you try to correct an excess of dopamine you can cause problems due to an insufficient level of dopamine e.g Parkinsonism, depression, etc. If you try to correct insufficient dopamine, you can cause problems due to excess dopamine e.g. addiction and psychosis.
In the absence of any disorder associated with an excess or a deficit of dopamine, it's best to let your body naturally regulate it.
Since RLS isn't a problem of dopamine deficiency, boosting dopamine levels isn't really a good solution for it
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