An update moms doing better ....

[SevereRLS-4mom]

Hi everyone. Just got great news last night my moms doing better thanks to the blood she got. She said they gave her blood like in an iv bag. Ever since that she has been able to sleep 4-5 hours a day now and her rls has not been acting up. Its just minimal. She is supposed to go back for a check up in a month. Her hemotologist refered this.

[SueJohnson]

That's great! So pleased for her.

[ChrisColumbus]

Good news whatever the treatment was!

[SevereRLS-4mom in reply to ChrisColumbus]

My moms blood levels were low. After numerous pills and injections nothing made it go up. So her hemotologist (hope i wrote it right) recommended a blood transfusion like with an iv bag. After this my moms crazy rls that was driving her nuts finally calmed down. She said its minimum now and she is so happy to be able to sleep again.

[ChrisColumbus in reply to SevereRLS-4mom]

While an iron infusion is usually recommended to improve iron levels in RLS patients, a unit of red blood cells reportedly commonly supplies between 150–200 mg of elemental iron plus haemoglobin. I wonder whether this may have helped.

[amrob123]

Good news about your mum. Are you saying the blood transfusion is what helped her RLS? I vaguely recall someone on here posting a similar experience. Perhaps it was Graham3196 (your daughter?) or Shumbah ?

[SevereRLS-4mom in reply to amrob123]

My mom got the blood transfusion because her blood levels were low and also they told her previously that her body wasnt pumping blood good enough. She was terrible every night. Not getting any sleep. After the blood transfer (like an iv bag with blood) she FINALLY found relief. She will go for a check up and get blood tests in about 3 weeks. And after that i dont know. But it really did help her. She would cry and scream and say pls god just kill me.

[SevereRLS-4mom in reply to amrob123]

Yes for her severe RLS. It actually helped.

[Tildabri]

Hi Desert, this is so interesting, thanks. It may explain why iron supplements don't seem to work for me. I have low (for RLS) ferritine, but good serum iron. My GP adamantly refuses to even consider an iron infusion because my mother had haemachromatosis, but I'm doubting now that it will help me anyway. I have tried magnesium supplements (citrate and bisglycinate) during the day, but they didn't seem to help, so I stopped. However, yesterday evening I was having such bad RLS that I took 500mg magnesium bisglycinate an hour before bed and it knocked me out such that I didn't even get a chance to take my glasses off or turn out the light (or the electric blanket!) while reading. With a couple of minor awakenings, I slept solidly until the alarm went off at 7am (I have been waking at 4am and not really being able to get back to sleep). No RLS. Could all be coincidence, of course, but will try the same approach tonight.

[Tildabri]

I was taking iron supplements in various concentrations for about a year, but my latest blood test showed an elevated number for liver problems (never had that before). When I checked the causes for that, haemachromatosis was one possibility. I wondered then if I had done some damage by taking the iron, so I stopped the supplements several months ago, which seems to have had no effect whatsoever on my RLS. The blood test also showed that my ferritine levels had actually dropped, though the serum iron remained strong. So I'll stay off the iron supplements for now, but will definitely keep trying the night-time magnesium.