Has anyone noticed that they get tachycardia in conjunction with RLS? For me it’s subtle but still affects my ability to fall asleep, and opiates help calm it down to my normal resting pulse. I get the pulse of an active person when I’m lying still in my bed. I have the same issue with anything that increases serotonin as I discussed a previous post so I believe it’s a sign of high serotonin (or melatonin as the case may be, since melatonin is synthesised from serotonin) and so it’s often triggered by medications.
Any other odd symptoms that fall outside the typical range of leg discomfort?
My RLS attacks usually come on like this: tachycardia, restless feeling in the body and agitated legs, and then finally pulling sensations with a need to throw my legs around and rub them and kick. I have also had diarrhoea at night recently and wonder if it’s connected since it could be a sign of serotonin toxicity.
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Typicallygaslit
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I experienced elevated heart rate this week after a high (for me) carb, too large, too late meal. This reaction is typical for me; I've learned in my 70's that I must eat smaller meals, early in the evening. Another reason I gave up alcohol was due to the same effect. I wear a Fitbit tracker and the difference is notable. I haven't noticed a correlation with RLS flare up, but it ruins a good night's sleep.
Those kinds of meals could raise serotonin levels so it could be a similar issue although I don’t personally eat any type of unhealthy food. I have a real issue with serotonin toxicity and levels naturally go up at night which I suspect is the main culprit. I’m just trying to figure out if it’s in any way connected to RLS as they seem to overlap greatly.
Interesting. According to a quick Google search, lots of healthy foods can increase serotonin. For example eggs, cheese, nuts, pineapples, tofu, salmon, turkey, etc. Seems to be related to tryptophan. No mention of carbs, rice or beans, which were the basis of my tachycardia event.
Yes of course they do, it’s how we get serotonin and we do need it too, I just meant that junk food / comfort food may be more likely to increase it along with insulin and other chemicals, causing a negative chain reaction of sorts that’s then more likely to set off the tachycardia.
I myself am 95% vegan. You said beans? Hm, well I don’t know about all beans but fava beans are rich in dopamine and that may also be part of the problem for you? Rice surprises me, I would have thought it’s pretty inoffensive all round - but I eat brown rice to slow down the metabolism through fibres. I don’t really believe in cutting out carbs as much as cutting out processed and refined foods as I believe they are addictive to people precisely or at least partially because they raise serotonin and/or dopamine more than whole foods (but this is just a theory! There are other neurotransmitters and hormones too).
None of this is very clear at all, I’ve looked and looked and found little to go by. What I do know is that some supposedly healthy foods do make it worse for me and they tend to be either ones that increase B6, which increases serotonin, for instance fortified smoothies, or things such as chocolate and chicory which are known to trigger RLS in some people - e.g. chocolate raises both serotonin and dopamine by a lot. To make matters more complicated I’m also sensitive to anything that raises dopamine. But I can’t not eat obivously so I keep to the healthiest foods I can find and that I can palate, as I have trouble with nausea (nausea, unsurprisingly, is regulated by serotonin). I trust that with the most inoffensive foods, the metabolic process will be optimal.
I don’t eat dairy, for instance, only some fresh goat cheese - dairy could trigger RLS. I don’t completely avoid soya because there’s a fine balance and some serotonin is needed. To be honest I’m very worried for my old age because these sensitivities will get worse as we age - as you seem to have found. If I can’t eat what I eat now, then I just don’t know what I’ll survive on. Good on you for paying attention and changing bad habits, it’s really all we can do. I too want to get a fitbit for monitoring purposes but I can’t decide on which one.
I’m confused because most of the foods I don’t seem to tolerate (the ones causing the tachycardia) are also ones that are black listed for RLS. Same with drugs. I don’t tolerate most herbs as they tend to up the serotonin as well (by a lot). I’m thinking, if I keep things simple by keeping a wholesome but simple diet that’s nutritionally complex, I’m at the least risk of upsetting my body.
I have to have a snack at night as hunger would otherwise wake me up, and it’s not easy to find anything that’s not going to cause trouble, but basically I’m using buprenorphine as a buffer against any such incidences as well and tend to eat the same most nights. Again I find that something such as oats can have a beneficial effect on sleep so oat cakes seems ok even if it’s fairly serotonin rich. I’m sorry if it sounds awfully confusing… that’s because it is! :/
It’s possible you also have serotonin toxicity and that would mean that excess serotonin and excess dopamine both could cause problems. It’s what seems to be ailing me and getting worse as I age - when we age dopamine levels tend to go down and we can end up with excess serotonin and sensitivity to exogenous serotonin in the form of food, supplements and medication. That’s what I’ve gotten out of my research anyway.
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