Adhd and Restless legs

[Madillc]

Does anyone know if there is a correlation between the two? Anyone have both and take medication for either? Have been interested as my daughter has recently been diagnosed with adhd and have read how dopamine plays a part in both. I've yet to find anything substantial myself.

[ChrisColumbus]

I've read in this forum that low iron levels can be linked to ADHD: it certainly can be to RLS of course. Ive just seen this:

psychologytoday.com/us/blog...

And I've also read here that ADHD medication can impact RLS:

healthunlocked.com/rlsuk/po...

[Madillc in reply to ChrisColumbus]

Wow great article. Thank you very much

[Hidden]

Yes.

Individuals with restless leg syndrome (RLS) have an increased risk of attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder (ADHD).

RLS sufferers with involuntary leg movements during sleep are more prone to experience ADHD symptoms.

Quality of sleep explains the association only to a limited extent.

[Oscarcat63 in reply to Hidden]

That's interesting to know. Thank you

[Hidden]

And most ADHD meds stimulate whereas many RLS meds suppress (eg neurotransmitters) or sedate.

So in addition to being at increased risk of sleep disorders, people with ADHD also struggle with insomnia as a result of medication.

There are some non-stimulant ADHD meds but based on my very limited understanding, these aren't as effective.

So, getting the balance right is very tricky.

[SueJohnson]

If your daughter also has RLS, she should take her ADHD medicine in the morning so it wears off by the time she needs to sleep. Does she or are you just worried, she will get it? ADHD doesn't cause RLS, so if she doesn't have it now, there is no reason to think she will get it just because she has ADHD.

[Typicallygaslit]

This is my impression, yes. They are so similar you could easily be misdiagnosed, but they could also overlap considerably - no one knows for sure. I don’t know if I’ve had ADHD or just RLS throughout my life. I have a very contradictory condition. Maybe when I was younger I could have gained from stimulants, but I will never know. At this stage in my life, neither stimulating nor calming drugs help. But the opioid Buprenorphine does help level things out somewhat so I’m working with this idea.