Stimulants for RLS?: An idle thought... - Restless Legs Syn...

Restless Legs Syndrome

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Stimulants for RLS?

howbeit-abroad profile image
6 Replies

An idle thought - could stimulants, specifically dopamine reuptake inhibitors (like Ritalin, Adderall, Vyvanse) treat the symptoms of RLS? Intuitively I would think yes, given that dopamine agonists are widely used for RLS.

Presumably the reason this isn't done is that they're wakefulness-promoting, and most people experience RLS at night...? (I experience it primarily during the day and it abates at night, so am unusual in that regard.)

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howbeit-abroad profile image
howbeit-abroad
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6 Replies
Eryl profile image
Eryl

Why on earth do you want to treat the symptoms rather then tackle the cause?

I don't know but am inclined to think not. There are people who take stimulants and still have RLS. It is an interesting idea, especially given there is a clear overlap between RLS and ADHD.

howbeit-abroad profile image
howbeit-abroad in reply to

this is true. Although I think there are people with ADHD and RLS who gain relief from treating the ADHD…?

Eryl profile image
Eryl in reply to

There is clear overlap between the two because they share a common cause, namely high carb especially refined catb diets.

Madillc profile image
Madillc

Been interested in this myself

Jerry57 profile image
Jerry57

I have wondered about this also, since caffeine and kratom alleviate my daytime RLS symptoms.

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