I was just having a discussion with someone about nicotine pouches, and he linked an article about some of the benefits of nicotine which included alleviation of Parkinson's symptoms, which then made me wonder if there's any form that would be beneficial for RLS? Anybody tried this?
Just curious, everybody here is so well-informed and I don't think I've ever seen it come up, but it's always nice to have another potential tool for fighting this thing. Or conversely, to know if it's something to avoid as a trigger. I've smoked the very occasional cigar over the years, but have no idea if it had any effect one way or the other as I never thought to look for a connection.
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AnotherRLScase
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Here is my list of what helps and what hurts. Some things that can make RLS symptoms worse for some people are alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, sugar, carbs, foods high in sodium(salt), foods that cause inflammation, foods high in glutamate, ice cream, eating late at night, estrogen including HRT, dehydration, MSG, collagen supplements, electrolyte imbalance, melatonin, eating late at night, stress and vigorous exercise.
Some things that help some people include caffeine, moderate exercise, weighted blankets, compression socks, elastic bandages, masturbation, magnesium glycinate, fennel, low oxalate diet, selenium, 5 minute shower alternating 20 seconds cold water with 10 seconds hot water finishing with hot water for another couple of minutes, hot baths, distractions, CBD, applying a topical magnesium lotion or spray, doing a magnesium salts soak (Epsom salts), vitamins B1, B3, B6, B12, D3, K2, and potassium and copper if deficient, massage including using a massage gun, vibration devices like therapulse, using a standing desk, listening to music, meditation and yoga. Keep a food diary to see if any food make your RLS worse.
Have you had your ferritin checked? If so, what was it? Improving your ferritin to 100 or more helps 60% of people with RLS and in some cases completely eliminates their symptoms. If not when you see your doctor ask for a full iron panel. Stop taking any iron supplements including multivitamins that have iron in them 48 hours before the test, don't eat a heavy meat meal the night before, fast after midnight and have your test in the morning before 9 am if possible. When you get the results, ask for your ferritin and transferrin saturation (TSAT) numbers. You want your transferrin saturation to be over 20% but less than 45% and your ferritin to be at least 100. If they are not, post them here and we can give you some advice.
Hi there. I haven't posted before on this forum but read everyone's contributions every day. I'm so grateful for all the advice, sharing and questioning. Thank you all.
Yes ! ..is my answer. I do find that nicotine me helps a great deal. More on that below.
My situation: I have had rls all my life. Went on pramipexole about 10 years ago (because I didn't know any better and I was getting desperate). Kept my dosage extremely low (1/3 of a 0.8 tab) and even then not every night (until the last couple of years)..but still felt, by early this year, that it was beginning to augment. So I made my way off it. I am generally averse to taking medications and do not want to go on pregabalin nor gabapentin. So I keep exploring all possibilities.
I use nicotine, smoking hand rolled tobacco, to manage my rls, along with a pretty strict dietary regime.
I have been a bit wary to post my experience with nicotine here as of course smoking is really not good for anyone. But , at the moment, I feel it balances out in terms of risk and misery!
I have tried nicotine patches but was allergic to them ( I may try again at some point). I tried vaping (using the cleanest vape liquid I could find ) but it didn't work nearly as well.
I have one small roll up (I buy good quality aditive free tobacco) before bed, and then have a couple of really small ones ready if I should need them in the night..which I often but not always do. Just a few puffs is enough to do it.
If rls starts in the evening, which it does if I slip up on my diet or if I am unwell with a virus and so inflammation is raised, then I'll have a roll up during the eve rather than/as well as at bedtime.
I am no biochemist but I have researched and read as much as I can to try to understand why nicotine stops the rls. No way could I relay that info here as it's so complicated and I struggle to remember and retain the complexities..but there is definitely a link between the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and the balance of glutamate, dopamine and iron in the brain.
If anyone has done further research on this, or would like to do some then I would be so pleased to hear your findings.
I hope this is useful. As is so obvious from this forum everyone's biochemistry is unique and different things works for different people.
I am still thinking of trying other ways of getting the nicotine in to my system as smoking tobacco is obviously not great. But I do have to say that a few puffs on a roll up does stop the rls pretty immediately and it's hard to let go of that avenue of relief.
In case anyone is thinking that it is the act of smoking that is doing the trick, rather than the nicotine itself I can promise you that it isn't !
As I don't want to be smoking every night I am still looking at other things that help, so that I can maybe do a mix of things. I have 2 questions: if I take a very small dose of pramipexole 2 times a week do you think it will still augment?? And, if I try codeine, is it better to have it with paracetamol, or on it's own?
Never tried nicotine patches but I used to be an on/off smoker and although I kept reading that nicotine worsened RL S I found that on the days I smoked my symptoms were slightly alleviated. The only thing I have discovered is we truly are all different and sometimes you may be one of the small percentage not affected by the drugs most people cannot tolerate and you may have side effects from medicines other people say are safe for RLS.
Well, that is interesting! Here's an article with some benefits (studies not included). I used the pouches for a week when I quit smoking (40 years ago). If you're rolling your own cigarettes, you might try adding some cannabis to the tobacco.
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