RSL and dairy

[janland]

Hi.. could anyone tell me please the association with rls and dairy products.. lactose..casein.....kefir... cheese...lactic acid...etc..

Thank you

[Joolsg]

Don’t think there is any association. Unless you’re someone who finds dairy products are a trigger for your RLS.

No food or drink triggers my RLS but many people find that sugar, alcohol and caffeine are culprits.

Do you find dairy triggers RLS for you?

[Graham3196]

My body doesn't like Lactose so I use lactose free milk in everything and no butter. Strangely I am allowed Camembert and brie and old vintage cheese. Whipped cream is OK but if I.want liquid cream I have to have lactose free. I found I can probably tolerate about a half cup of normal full cream milk per day but its easier to say that I will eat zero and then I have some tolerance if there is s bit of lactose in something I have eaten accidently or because it was too delicious to forgo.

[Tapir]

I have found that dairy products are a powerful trigger for my restless legs. I don't believe it is due to lactose because many tablet formulations contain lactose as a binder and they don't cause an attack. I suspect it is due to a protein but I have no proof.

[debb1109]

Hi there, I have been vegan for the last year and have not found any difference to my RLS symptoms, which I have been suffering with for around 15 years or so. I hope this helps.

[LoisTonya]

I was put on a dairy free, gluten free diet. It didn’t help the RLS. Amazingly cutting out foods containing histamine has virtually cured my RLS. I’ve just started reducing my Dopamine Agonists. Bananas, avocados ,fermented food, tomatoes, spinach and citrus fruits are the main things I’ve cut out.

[janland in reply to LoisTonya]

Very interesting..

What are the histamine foods please ?

Thank you.

[janland in reply to LoisTonya]

Hi.. I've read several times that anti histamine tablets can cause restless legs to be worse..?

[LotteM in reply to janland]

It can. Especially the sedating ones. Cetrizine and (des)loratadine are fine. I use the latter (on prescription), and the former occasionally when I forgot to bring my meds and need one.

[janland in reply to LotteM]

Thank you..

I'm getting confused really..

I think if the body has more histamine than it can cope with (due to lack of or enzymes not working)

Then this leads to inflammation which causes restless legs?

Is this correct..?

Yet if one takes anti histamine.. that also causes restless legs..?

So our bodies need less histamine..?

I've read also that an overload of histamine causes migraine s ?

[LotteM in reply to janland]

I just know roughly about which meds generally make RLS worse. I am quite sure this is based on experiences. I don't know why these several types of meds male the RLS worse. I do know that histamine-inflammation-rls is a too simple relationship. Our bodies work through a huge maze of redundant(?) pathways. I mean, there are many pathways to achieve something, and everything is intertwined, and if one pathway doesn't work for some reason, there are often other ways to get the same or a similar result.

Hm. Not sure if I explained that clearly. I hope you get the idea of what I meant to say.

[LoisTonya in reply to janland]

So I understand. It’s a paradox! Thyme and ginger are natural anti histamines and I sprinkle fresh thyme leaves on many of my meals and drink ginger cordial in hot water instead of tea after my main meal.

I’ve been experimenting for years and this new diet is the first thing that’s worked. I reduced my pramipexole by a small amount a couple of weeks ago and shall reduce it further in another week. So far all is good.

[janland in reply to LoisTonya]

Thank you so much for reply..

Yes.. truly a paradox..

I've had restless legs for 10-15 years.. and like you always researching and experimenting.

I really don't want tablets from doctors..but I've tried codein..

Well.. I've tried loads of different things..

Just sent for 5 htp.. serotonin..

Also recently I've upped my levothyroxine a bit... because I think thyroid hormone works in a circadian rhythm..? Probably connected..

In fact lots of ways the body works are connected... and the older we get...our bodies don't work so well internally and vitamins etc are more difficult to assimilate...I believe.?

I've also just bought the book..

"How I cured restless legs with a bag of sand"... Lots of interesting information..

I'm taking CBD oil as well now..

In the past week...the restlessness has gone down slightly...

I would say I have periodic limb movement very badly in conjunction with restless legs..

I sleep with legs propped up on a big cushion as well.

Would welcome any thoughts you may have on all this

Best wishes

Jan

[LoisTonya in reply to janland]

I tried the CBD oil - no help.

I couldn’t have coped without the dopamine agonists, first Ropinerole then Pramipexole but, as I said, I’m gradually reducing the dose. Fingers crossed I will be able to get off it.

I haven’t seen the book you mention - sounds bizarre! I’ll try and find it.

[LoisTonya]

I’ve cut out bananas, avocados, tomatoes, spinach, citrus fruits, yoghourt. There are probably more but these have done the trick. I’ve reduced my Pramipexole by 1/4 of a tablet. In a couple of weeks I’ll make another reduction and, so far, RLS is fine

[Nettypet68]

I see someone else has mentioned histamine, kefir is very high in histamine, old cheeses as well, Google Histamine Intolerance and low histamine foods, something I will have to look into as well as didn't know it was connected with restless legs, I get allergic symptoms with cheese and kefir, which lead me to histamine.

[janland in reply to Nettypet68]

I have read that anti histamine tablets can aggravate restless legs...?

[Nettypet68 in reply to janland]

Yes they can, antihistamine tablets just dampen down the histamine they don't get rid of it.

It just means trying to avoid high histamine foods and foods like left overs as the longer you leave them the more histamine there is in them. For example fish, from the hour it is caught it gets histamine, even frozen fish, I can't eat fish either but would like to try eating fish if we caught it and gutted and cooked it there and then.

Here is some info, I googled this DOA and it also came up with a supplement, I haven't tried it. When I spoke to a dietician about this she just gave me a list of foods high in histamine, I haven't got much further.

healthline.com/nutrition/da...

[janland in reply to Nettypet68]

Thank you for that information...

I'm really surprised about the fish containing histamine...I love fresh fish and eat it a lot..

But it's a known fact that fish is best when eaten fresh.... but I didn't know it gets more histamine in it..

Nor did I know about leftovers..?

I eat those to save money..!!!