I have been treating my foot and legs with red light/ near infrared light with the Leanne Venier Red juvenator biophotonic led light matrix #3 formula lights over the past 3 months. My treatment was for multiple fractures of my foot bones and ligament and tendon sprains.
Over the course of a month or so I began to notice a decrease in my RLS syndrome and an improvement in my sleep on most nights. I still take 100 mg of Gabapentin everynight at bedtime but this rarely kept me symptom free before using the red light therapy. I use the lights right before bed for about 20minutes, 10 minutes on each leg. For the past 6-8 weeks I have infrequent RLS symptoms and if I do have symptoms they are easily relieved by use of the massage gun for a few minutes on my calf muscles.
This marked improvement in the quality of my sleep was a totally unexpected side effect of the treatment for my foot injury. I have since found this article:
Mitchell UH, Myrer JW, Johnson AW, Hilton SC. Restless legs syndrome and near-infrared light: An alternative treatment option. Physiother Theory Pract. 2011 Jul;27(5):345-51. doi: 10.3109/09593985.2010.511440. Epub 2010 Oct 26. PMID: 20977377.
Hope this information might help others out there that have access to red/light/ infrared light.
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maxkat22
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Yes I have several articles saying it can help some people. I glad it is helping you.
But 100 mg of gabapentin is less than the starting dose. Since you still have RLS symptoms why not try increasing the gabapentin? Increase it by 100 mg every couple of days until you find the dose that works for you. Take it 1 to 2 hours before bedtime as the peak plasma level is 2 hours. 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 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 ." If you take magnesium even in a multivitamin, don't take it within 3 hours of taking gabapentin as it will interfere with the absorption of gabapentin and don't take calcium within 2 hours for the same reason . 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 at Https://mayoclinicproceedings.org/a...
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.
Meanwhile 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, 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, vitamins B1, B3, B6, B12, D3, K2, if deficient, and potassium and copper if deficient, massage including using a massage gun as you found out, 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.
Many medicines and OTC supplements can make RLS worse. If you are taking any and you list them here, I can tell you if any make RLS symptoms worse and if so may be able to give you a safe substitute.
Increasing the gabapentin has side effects for me of daytime grogginess and dizziness when getting up in the night to use the bathroom. I’m happy with results I’m getting with 100 mg and red light therapy.
Fair enough but you might want to try switching to pregabalin. Although it is basically the same drug except you don't need to divide the doses, and the side effects are basically the same, some people find that the side effects that bother them on one don't bother them on the other. Start with 25 mg.
that’s interesting ! I presume this is some kind of proper machine therapy that’s you’d go to a hospital for ? Not the kind of thing where you can buy a consumer device 😅
Infrared may be the same no matter what makes the light. I have designed and had made a IR device. There are small differences in wavelength from one LED maker to another but not much strong evidence that one is better. I would not be agains people buying off of eBay/Amazon for $50 or less and seeing what it can do
For other reasons I too am doing red light therapy at a clinic alongside PEMF therapy which has been absolutely astonishing for pain.
I had already had a few sessions of red light and was I still in debilitating pain . I walked from the red light therapy bed and did 20 min PEMF treatment on my lower back.
I could not believe 1 session for 20 minutes $49 and pain free . For the first time in Years I went for longish walk my husband would say jump out of the car and I could normally I would be gingerly slow.
I’m so pleased you are getting relief and hope that main others do to. I have been studying this type of of new science all day .
I am most definitely noticing that anything high sugar or fake sugar overrides and increases my buprenorphine dose.
For anyone struggling with a sweetness i found a sweet sweet alternative on iherb.
R x Allulose no calories and actually has health benefits. It does not behave the same way as sweeteners of sugar as always due your own research. Scientists are raving about the health benefits .
Your pain relief results are fantastic. My positive outcome with red/infrared light therapy with regard to RLS took at least a month of daily treatments right before bed for significant results. I have occasionally tried to reduce the amount of time to 5 my minutes on each leg but this reduced the effectiveness.
I also noticed a reduction in pain and swelling of my foot with the bone fractures and sprains.
I’m very interested in the possible increase in bone mineral density with the use of PEMF. This article reviews the areas of treatment that are being studied. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
Yes I use the Redjuvenator # 3 which is a small (approximately 12”x12”) red light and infrared light box available for sale on line. It is big enough to use on my legs and feet. The specifics are in my original message above.
Greetings from the US! There is a machine made by Anodyne which uses near-IR and did well in some limited research / case studies. I've been looking for a chiropractor or physical therapy clinic or the like nearby that offers the device for therapy; that way I could replicate the trials and see if it were worth the investment. I spoke with a rep from the company 12/23 and she said the home model 120 is $1222. anodynetherapy.com/anodyne-.... Fortunately , I've seen used ones on ebay for good bit less.
I've also looked at other units on amazon and elsewhere - my concern is, what if a cheap one doesn't work ??- I suppose I could return it, but I would still be none the wiser about the treatment’s effectiveness 😬.
I’m still searching for a local facility to try the device, will update. Good luck 👍
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