RLS: nutrition matters, n = 1

[HawkintheHills]

Hi, just want to give an update on an experiment I've alluded to in posts on a few others' threads. I recently was able to wean completely off my pramipexole Rx over the course of about a month. (I had been taking it for 6-7 years, increasing over time b/c of augmentation, from .12 mg nightly to about .35 nightly and rising). My experiment had a couple of phases-- because it didn't even occur to me at first that maybe nutritional improvements I was already working on would allow me to get off the drug -- so my data's not very clean, but:

1) I spent 3 months improving my diet (which already did not include most processed foods) by going keto, basically, focusing on more veggies, higher fat, and the elimination of ALL sugar, including my daily chocolate habit. Two of those months were zero caffeine (which made my sleep SO much better, even though I mostly drank decaf tea before anyway.) I rarely drank alcohol anyway because it clearly makes my RLS work, but I plan to continue avoiding it pretty much entirely, and I'm never going back to caffeine -- my sleep is that improved. (And I would've said before that life without chocolate wasn't worth living, but you know what? Once the addiction is broken, I only rarely miss it... and on RARE occasions, still indulge without negative effect.)

2) spent another 4 weeks eating a bit of SIBO-battling homemade yogurt daily. Dunno if this helped at all or not, but it was yummy and I plan to have it occasionally again. But by then, the effects of my dietary changes were so noticeable that I wondered if they could cure my RLS, too, so:

3) the key, I think: I've never been a big meat eater, especially red meat, but in the spirit of "what's to lose?" I spent 6 weeks on a carnivore diet, feeling GREAT, which probably had the most effect by significantly raising my historically dismal ferritin and iron levels. Began tapering my meds after the first two weeks and was 100% drug free before the 6 weeks were up.

Those six weeks ended well over a month ago, and I'm still symptom free and cycling between keto and carnivore, a couple of weeks of each at a time. When I start getting even a hint of symptoms, I eat more red meat, and they stop. I'll add that the keto/carnivore diet also ended joint pain (I'm 61 and a runner), improved allergies, and helped me drop 30 pounds. Highly recommended--and I'd just encourage anyone to be willing to experiment with n=1, because NO drug is completely without side effects, immediate or longterm, and I suspect different diets are more ideal for different people. If the experiment doesn't work, what have you lost, really? Personally, I'd much rather spend my money on regeneratively raised bison than on drugs that don't even correct the underlying issue, only mask it.

FWIW!

[Madlegs1]

Thanks!

Good to have all the options.👍

[707twitcher]

Did you have any blood tests done before or after showing your iron levels? Had you tried iron supplements previously? Improving your iron levels may have been the key. My cardiologist freaked out over my cholesterol levels when I did a keto diet. LDL went way up. I think this is the wrong thing to focus on, especially given the favorable impact on HDL and triglycerides. But doc said no....

[HawkintheHills in reply to 707twitcher]

I've spent more than 10 years trying various iron supplements -- pills, liquids, boiling the "iron fish," using iron cookware. None of that made a difference (and I never had a doctor who thought injections were a better answer). I didn't have my ferritin tested immediately before this experiment (or after), but over my adult life my ferritin level was never higher than 32 and I'd been diagnosed with low B12, low iron, or both multiple times. So iron was key for me, but no artificial supplements mattered. (And tell your cardiologist, nicely, to catch up with the last 20 years' worth of research. Cholesterol numbers are virtually meaningless unless you've already had a first heart attack-- and there is a TON of research backing that up.)

[Eryl in reply to 707twitcher]

Latest research shows that cholesterol is not the cause of cardiovascular disease but the body's response to the damage being done by things in your diet. Most doctors still believe everything that they were taught in training decades ago. Iron is depleted by inflammation therefore if you reduce your inflammation your iron levels will come up naturally. youtu.be/C3rsNCFNAw8?si=TLt...(Not working as expected?)

[SueJohnson]

That's great. So pleased for you.

[Joolsg]

Great news. Dr Jose Thomas at Gwent Sleep Clinic and Professor Toby Richards at the Iron Clinic, both report that their vegan/vegetarian patients improve dramatically when switching to a carnivore diet. Raising serum ferritin via iron pills/infusions/diet can completely resolve many cases of RLS.

It looks like you've found the causes/triggers for your RLS.

[Eryl]

Thanks for confirming to me that lists of inflammatory foods that include red meat are wrong. I have been succesfully eliminating RLS with an anti inflammatory diet and without medication for a number of years now and have recently increased my meat intake, especially red meat as i'm getting older and older people do not metabolise foods as well as we used to. I have also added green tea and chamomile tea both of which have anti oxidant properties which help to reduce inflammation.

[sigurdur in reply to Eryl]

I think I read somewhere that red meat only becomes inflammatory if charred.

[Goldy700]

I thank you for telling us of your experience. I have spent years eating a pure organic diet and taking iron pills. It is only in the past month that I have tried Ketovore which for me is eating 500 grams of ground grass fed beef or lamb with plenty of butter. I also eat liver once a week. I had my first night where my RLS went from an 9 (up 4 times walking around the garden barefoot, doing yoga, pounding the exercise bike and having hot baths)to a 2 where the RLS was mild and disappeared as the night went on. I started introducing some low oxalates, low lectin, low carb veg and also yogurt, cheese, fish, eggs but no carbs. I feel so much better mentally and physically. I do think that the heme iron in meat is so superior to iron pills and meat seems to be anti inflammatory for me. I am continuing on this diet as although I am not cured as yet I have seen great improvement. I do use medical cannabis as this really is the best medicine to help me get to sleep and calm my symptoms. I still take magnesium, some vitamin C and occasionally electrolytes as keto makes you pee out salt. Some good podcasts that explain the carnivore diet are

Dr Paul Saladino

Dr Ken berry

Dr Chaffee

Jordan Peterson

Dr baker.

[Merny5]

I’m so glad to hear your success story. Thanks for sharing it!