I have been diagnosed at a Sleep Centre, as having serious restless legs. My movements were measured at an average of 66 per hour, every night again. They classify over 50 movements per hour as serious
I have also for many years suffered with gastric reflux. My gastroenterologist currently prescribes me 10 mg PPI ( omeprazole) and 20 mg of H2A ( famitidine) daily
A recent study ( Earley E.J. et al in Sleep Vol 44 issue 4, april 2021) showed that there is a strong replicated association between PPI use and RLS risk even after controlling for many factors which influence RLS risk and blood iron levels. The study showed also that there is a possible association of H2A with RLS.
The causes are uncertain although previous research has suggested that these drugs enzymatically block gastric hydrochloric acid production. And the subsequent increase in gut pH appears to reduce absorption of non-heme dietary iron.
But the advice to RLS sufferers is clear. Avoid PPIs and H2As
So i consulted my gastroenterologist and asked for a drug to help my gastric reflux which is not related to making my RLS worse
He said simply; there is none.
I believe in this forum.
I believe there are many you RLS sufferers who,like me, also suffer from gastric reflux.
And I believe some of you might have managed to reduce your gastric reflux without worsening your RLS
Please, please, if you can suggest something,tell me
I don't want to have to choose between having either bad RLS or bad gastric reflux
Thank you all in advance
Written by
thorp
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I don't suffer from reflux but know a friend who had great success with Symprove probiotics after 2 months. There's also VSL. I know gastro enterologists are now beginning to accept the benefits of pro biotics and improving the gut microbiome. It'sexpensive but it might improve your reflux AND as a result stop the PPIs triggering your RLS.
PPI’s do absolutely nothing for me except relieve nausea. They also increase my restless legs. First of all think diet. Chocolate, tomatoes, citrus fruit, alcohol, red wine, high fat foods and carbonated drinks/mixers in particular. To a lesser extent anything mint, caffeine, raw onions and garlic. For me chocolate is a real horror but most of the others affect me too. Secondly you may have gastritis caused by these foods so you need to heal the oesophagus and stomach. I have tried virtually everything going and the best things that work for me are mastic gum and DGL (deglycerated liquorice ). Take these for about a month and control your diet and see the improvement. Unfortunately if you have a hiatal hernia causing your symptoms you may still suffer but maybe not to the same extent.
Hello. I hope this doesn't sound trite, as I also suffer from painful gastric reflux (and have RLS), but I have found that the best solution is to eat some pieces of apple or drink a glass of water with a few teaspoons of apple cider vinegar in it. The other night, when I had reflux and no apple to hand, I tried an over-the-counter antacid tablet and, sure enough, suffered from RLS during the night.
My doc actually just advised me to also take a few sips of Gaviscon liquid when I feel symptoms. My gerd is silent but has caused my vocal cords to swell and I have a great deal of problems swallowing.
Definitely keep a food diary and try eliminating one by one to see if it helps. I found that anything with vinegar would trigger severe gastric reflux. Also strangely enough raw carrots. Eliminating these cured my problems. Also drinking a full glass of water before meals.
GERD and Reflux treatments have the biggest disconnect between "Functional Medicine" and Traditional symptomatic treatment. Most cases can be helped with the addition of MORE stomach acid (HCL with Pepsin), digestive enzymes, ginger, Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice (DGL), d-Limonene (natural orange peel oil), and others.
That said - the actual CAUSE might be Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). You can actually be tested for this or (like me) just assume you have it and initiate some treatment. I used this (and still do) treatment - the herbal treatment - with good results.
Well this is interesting. After having my RLS very much under control by taking chelated iron, I suddenly was troubled by it again. After suffering a stomach ache and sore throat, my doctor tested me for H. pylori which came back positive. She diagnosed me with GERD too. The treatment consisted of four different drugs, one of which was omeprazole.I took the course of drugs for two weeks, as prescribed. I didn’t know there was a correlation between omeprazole and RLS. I kept the prescription on hand but now I do not intend to take it again. This was all within the last month, so I sure hope my RLS settles back down. If I had to choose between the two I’d take the Gerd over the RLS for sure.
Sure hope some of the suggestions above are helpful!
Hi, so sorry!_ just in case, any sign of UARS or OSA (in particular, the first) in your sleep center results? ....as it looks remarkable association between RLS/PLMS and UARS/OSA....
_ if answer is yes, I would suggest you taking a look on Dr. ENT, Steven Park"s Book " sleep interrupted" (and his web articles) in which he discuss a lot on relations between acid reflux and UARS (even minor ones);
_ a flavor at the beginning of the booK: "Both these events prompted me to think about other curious things I had observed in the previous few years of practice. Almost every patient with a sleep-breathing problem such as UARS or OSA had some degree of throat acid reflux. Furthermore, many of these same people preferred not to sleep on their backs. The kind of acid reflux that we see in an ear, nose and throat practice is different from the typical heartburn acid reflux, or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). When the acid reaches the throat, it is called laryngopharyngeal reflux disease, or LPRD. In most cases, LPRD is silent, the only symptoms being throat clearing, post-nasal drip, a lump sensation in the throat, hoarseness, cough, choking, or difficulty swallowing. This is probably one of the most common conditions that an ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor encounters every day. Interestingly enough, there are numerous studies that show an association between the following pairs of conditions: LPRD and OSA,2 GERD and asthma,3 LPRD and chronic sinusitis.4 In many of these studies, treating the former sometimes, but not always, heals the latter. As I began to research hundreds of articles, I began to see a pattern. In the linked examples given above, LPRD has been shown to be associated with OSA, and LPRD has been shown to be associated with chronic sinusitis, but there appeared to be no cross-linkages, that is, I could find no papers reporting a connection between OSA and chronic sinusitis, for example."
I had a test showing blood in my stool, and was followed up with a colonoscopy, which as normal, so next I underwent an upper endoscopy which showed that I have gastritis and Barrett's Esophagus. Further lab tests showed that I suffer from an autoimmune condition which is causing atrophic gastritis, basically my normal stomach tissue is being replaced by abnormal cells because my immune system is attacking the lining of my stomach. It has lead to pernicious anemia, also autoimmune in origin. My doctor placed me on proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and it made my RLS even worse. I discontinued those medications. My doctor gave me a product called sucralfate which only coats the lining of the stomach and allows it to heal. I only take it at night and it has helped me without affecting my RLS. I have also started taking a probiotic, which has also helped immensely. As suffer from four different autoimmune disorders, I wonder if RLS may fall into the category as being a side-effect of the my overactive immune system, although I understand RLS is not itself an autoimmune disorder. Anyway, using a barrier product such as sucralfate will allow your stomach to heal, also it will help the night time acid reflux from affecting your throat, leading to Barrett's Esophagus. It does not prevent your stomach from producing acid, which is needed for your health. As DicCarlson posted on this forum, there is a thought that the problem is not too much stomach acid, but too little. Anyway, since beginning to use of sucralfate at night plus a probiotic, my stomach symptoms have virtually disappeared. My RLS continues to be an issue, and I have Obstructive Sleep Apnea which also affects my sleep despite using a CPAP machine. But one problem at a time, and I am slowly improving on all fronts.
Have you tried eating your main meal at lunchtime and having a very small amount to eat about 6pm followed by a walk? Then nothing else to eat and a small amount of water only in the evening. I also cut out dairy. This has helped me I believe, to reduce my gastric reflux so that now I only need Gaviscon Advance maybe once or twice a day.I haven’t considered a link between reflux and RLS-mine has always been mild and intermittent.
Thanks for your information, it has been very useful to me. I had my RLS leg symptoms under control since three years and for about 15 days I have been seeing them appear again at night; I did not know why it could be but you have opened my mind: I have been taking omeprazole for 15 days because I also have to take anti-inflammatory pills for a traumatic ailment and the doctor prescribed them because I have suffered from esophageal reflux for many years. Here is the explanation, THANK YOU.
I have acid reflux after certain meals but I do not take omeprazole daily and for life as prescribed by the digestive doctor, because I read that taking omeprazole for a long time could damage the heart; so when I have a little heartburn, I use pills that are not medicines but a nutritional supplement based on Aloe Vera, Chamomile and Licorice, and I can continue my life without many problems.
…to eat my main meal at lunch time no matter how inconvenient
…To not eat anything in the evening after 6pm
… Stay away from unhealthy snacks
…. Eat as much fresh food as possible
…..No coffee after 2pm
…..8 glasses water a day
I follow this to the letter & don’t even know I have Gastric Reflux… when I don’t it flares up & then I know all about it!! A good stand by medication in those fiery times is grated apple! Works every time…
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