Alcohol and RLS

[Cazzi129]

Just wondering if alcohol worsens RLS for anyone one else or if its just coincidence for me? Also anyone else's feet always red hot too like burning on fire hot?I have bath with cold water in on a night so I can step in.

[Madlegs1]

Alcohol is a definite trigger for RLS for everyone (afaik).Whether it's the alcohol or sulphides , I have yet to determine, but alcohol free beers seem to be ok for me.

As for the hot feet-- it wouldn't be a common experience in RLS, but sounds more like a neuropathy issue?

[Cazzi129 in reply to Madlegs1]

Thank you for your reply, its not fair bloody alcohol! I do have raybards which in winter is opposite my feet are always freezing and toes go white and blue but in summer they are burning up all time!

[LotteM]

Alhocol is a trigger for many, but not for all. Not for me. Although I haven't tried drinking a lot since I know I have RLS.

[SueJohnson]

Some people are able to drink wine but not alcohol or vice versa. Some people are able to drink earlier in the day.

[ChrisColumbus]

Like many things, alcohol is a trigger for many but not all. Sympathy on the Raynaud's: my dad had this in his fingers but luckily like his other ailments - apart from a weak back and a short temper - this hasn't been passed down. On the other hand, RLS and a predilection for too much chocolate came from my mother 🤨

[Joolsg]

Everyone has different triggers. Alcohol and coffee are fine for me.Keep a food and drink diary.

[Cazzi129 in reply to Joolsg]

Great idea thank u

[Theonlypetied]

I’ve stopped drinking alcohol as it was defo a trigger for me. I’ve also stopped drinking caffeinated coffee and soft drinks.

[Wanted-sleep]

If you have RLS you will figure out the journey off likes and dislikes fairly quickly. With meds get yourself to the comfort spot for dose and be consistent.

[67Waterman]

Hi Cazzi.

Yes, alcohol is definitely a trigger for me. I can cope with two or three glasses of wine (which I usually have of an evening) but if I go wine tasting, or on holiday when my consumption is higher (!), then I go RLS crazy ....

And oh yes, the burning feet! Wonderful that someone else has that. And they are actually hot to touch, so it is not just an "imagined" thing. If I get "hot feet" then I absolutely have to run them under freezing cold water for about 5 minutes. If I don't then there is no way I can sleep, because they just pulse and feel like they are going to explode.

Warm regards, Sally

PS ... I also suffer from Raynaud's .... but when I get the "burning feet", it is nothing like Raynaud's for me - I only get that when it is very cold ...

[Birdland]

I definitely get the burning feet! I have socks I bought on Amazon that have gel packs in then. I keep them in the freezer. They are a big help. As for alcohol, if I even have a tiny bit I suffer all night. My theory is that drinking alcohol raises dopamine for a while then it drops after effects wear off.

[musicforme1]

Yes alcohol does. Now I drink non alcoholic lagers and beers. The choice is quite good. There is low alcoholic cider also I really like too.I am coming off Ropinerole at the moment and finding it difficult to live with nearly constant RLS .Please can anyone give me any advice that might help me.

[SueJohnson in reply to musicforme1]

To come off ropinirole, reduce by .25 mg every 2 weeks or so. You will have increased symptoms. You may need to reduce more slowly or with a smaller amount. Wait until the increased symptoms from each reduction has settled before going to the next one. You will suffer and may need a low dose opioid temporarily to help out with the symptoms especially as you near the end. But in the long run, you will be glad you came off it. Also have you had your ferritin checked? If it is below 100 improving it to 100 or more helps 60% of patients and in some will completely eliminate their symptoms. If you haven't had your ferritin checked, ask your doctor for a full iron panel. Stop taking any iron supplements 48 hours before the test and fast after midnight. Have your test in the morning when your ferritin is lowest. When you get the results, ask for your ferritin and transferrin saturation (TSAT) numbers. You want your ferritin to be over 100 and your transferrin saturation to be between 20 and 45. If your transferrin saturation is OK, then if your ferritin is less than 75 take 325 mg of ferrous sulfate with 100 mg of vitamin C or some orange juice since that helps with its absorption. If you take magnesium take it at least 2 hours apart since it interferes with the absorption of iron. Don't take tumeric as it can interfere with its absorption. Take it every other day preferably at night at least 1 hour before a meal or coffee and at least 2 hours after a meal or coffee since iron is absorbed better on an empty stomach. If you have problems with constipation switch to iron bisglycinate. If your ferritin is between 75 and 100 or if your transferrin saturation is below 20, you probably need an iron infusion since iron isn't absorbed as well above 75. It takes several months for the iron tablets or iron infusion to slowly raise your ferritin. Ask for a new blood test after 8 weeks if you have an iron infusion or after 3 months if you are taking iron tablets. Dopamine agonists like ropinirole are no longer the first line treatment for RLS. Gabapentin is. The beginning dose is usually 300 mg gabapentin. Start it 3 weeks before you are off ropinirole although it won't be fully effective until you are off it for several weeks. After that increase it by 100 mg every couple of days until you find the dose that works for you. Take it 1-2 hours before bedtime. If you need more than 600 mg take the extra 4 hours before bedtime as it is not as well absorbed above 600 mg. If you need more than 1200 mg, take the extra 6 hours before bedtime. Most of the side effects of gabapentin will disappear after a few weeks and the few that don't will usually lessen. Those that remain are usually worth it for the elimination of the RLS symptoms. According to the Mayo Clinic Updated Algorithm on RLS: "Most RLS patients require 1200 to 1800 mg of gabapentin daily." If you take magnesium take it at least 3 hours before taking gabapentin as it will interfere with the absorption of the gabapentin. Check out the Mayo Clinic Updated Algorithm on RLS which will tell you everything you want to know including about its treatment and refer your doctor to it if needed as many doctors do not know much about RLS or are not uptodate on it as yours obviously isn't or s/he would never have prescribed a dopamine agonist at

Https://mayoclinicproceedings.org/a...

[musicforme1 in reply to SueJohnson]

No wonder I was suffering ! I had reduced my tablets too quickly. I thought I’d cut down by .50 mg and so I counted how many I’d taken during the day and found I’d accidentally cut it down to .75 !That was 3 tablets and also I’d just started a new migraine injection also which could have contributed to my RLS . I was suffering night and day. Now I’ve just reduced it by .25 and it’s a lot better for the moment. We’re also experiencing very hot weather which isn’t good for RLS !

[Cazzi129 in reply to musicforme1]

Hot weather is the worst for it isn't it. Had about 2 hours last night my feet were litreally on fire n throbbing n moving then the legs n right arm kicked in. 😒

[Eryl]

Anything which raises blood sugar levels increases the amount of insulin released and insulin is inflammatory which is the root cause of RLS.

[Zyxx in reply to Eryl]

Interesting - is that the consensus, or your theory, or the theory of some researchers, or…?

[Eryl in reply to Zyxx]

Here's one that agrees that RLS is an inflammation issue but I have tackled mine without their supplement.

[Zyxx in reply to Eryl]

Which one, Eryl?

[Eryl in reply to Zyxx]

Sorry, forgot to paste the link in. Lots of information on the site. If you read the page entitled "How I Ended My Restless Legs…Naturally," you will find cause "3. How Inflammation is at the very Heart of Restless Legs"

[Zyxx in reply to Eryl]

Thanks Eryl

[collageartist52]

Alcohol flairs RLS for me. And yes, i do experience burning feet. Also extremely itchy toes. I have mentioned before on this forum that my greatest freedom from RLS has been cutting out oxalate foods. There is definitely a process to do that. The expert on “getting off” oxalates is Sally K Norton. I was on pramipexol for years, also gabapenten, clonopen, got to the point where nothing was working. Now i am off all meds. This, after 15 years of RLS hell…so you can believe me or not…i got off antihistamines and ppi’s which are both a huge trigger for RLS and that helped somewhat. but getting off oxalates, and no collagen (ie bone broths), no non-stick pans.these were the final keys to my success. No more burning feet, no itchy toes and no RLS.Pharma can help but it all becomes a vicious downward spiral of pills and more pills. Try stopping all oxalate foods for 3 weeks and see how you feel.

[Joolsg]

Just noticed the burning feet point. I normally have freezing feet ( MS) but when I was on Ropinirole, my feet would often be very hot ( sensation and by touch).I just realised I haven't had that since getting off Ropinirole.Maybe it's a reaction to meds?

[charlie1234567890 in reply to Joolsg]

I had burning feet while on Mirapex.

[Joolsg in reply to charlie1234567890]

Interesting. Has it stopped now you're off Mirapex?

[charlie1234567890 in reply to Joolsg]

Yes it stopped after I quit the mirapex.

[Theonlypetied]

It was more that they hindered the effectiveness of Pramipexole so symptoms were worse.

[Eryl]

I found this by googling 'inflammation and rls'. There are other results to the same search. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/222...

[Eryl]

Also lots of results to 'diet and inflammation'. I have reduced my inflammation and RLS by avoiding processed food (including bread and other wheat based foods) and refined seed oils. uchicagomedicine.org/forefr...

[Grammieof4]

I drink about 3 ounces of white wine almost every night. On the nights that I don’t I don’t see any difference.

[Eryl in reply to Grammieof4]

The inflammation caused by high insulin levels can last for weeks especially if you have other cuses so it's quite possible not to notice if you only abstain from alcohol for a couple of nights.

[Aurora913]

Cannot drink alcohol of any kind. It sets my legs off really bad. I take Diazepam and a sleep gummy at bedtime, rub in a little progesterone cream on my legs and eat food with plenty of potassium. Most nights my legs do not bother me at all. Only when I'm not getting enough potassium do they act up. And it's taken me almost 60 years to work out this plan. Hope this helps somebody.

[WideBody]

I can only drink one beer. I didn’t quit drinking, drinking quit me. I get really bad hangxiety.

Weird thing is, I used to drink, just can’t anymore. Yes alcohol is a huge trigger for me.

[MumofSam]

Alcohol isn’t a trigger for me - if anything I sleep better and am RLS free most of the time when I’m drinking. Obviously that’s not a healthy solution and, as I said, it doesn’t always prevent RLS either. So at the moment I’m laying off the booze and paying the price by worse sleeping, and it’s when I wake up and can’t get back to sleep that my RLS tends to kicks off.

[McClintok]

My husband's feet burn a lot. I got him a water foot massager and it helped.

[McClintok]

My husband's feet also burn and I got him a water foot massager and it helped.