Tips Which May Help RLS Sufferers - Restless Legs Syn...

Restless Legs Syndrome

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Tips Which May Help RLS Sufferers

24 Replies

Regardless of meds kindness for RLS I try the followings :

-Being cool and happy

-physically active

-normal weight

-Eating (mostly vegetables, fruits, nuts, wheat bran and white meet, cook with olives oil)

-Quit smoking

-Quit alcohol ( may be a glass of wine once a while )

-Drinking Alkaline Ionized Water in daily basis

-Check up in regular basis

I would like to know what would you add to this list or what would you delete from the list according to your experience and knowledge. Thanks

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24 Replies
peterk profile image
peterk

Hello Rahim. This is a very useful post. I would include a couple of things but I agree with all of these but must ask you where do you get alkaline ionized water from?

I would add caffeine. If I even touch decaffinated coffee it's almost instantly affects my RLS.

Avoid certain that are known to aggravate Restless Legs Syndrome medications, including some antibiotics, anti histamines, many antidepressants , and I would add on the dietary front a few things. No carbohydrates late in the evening, watch the sugar intake, don't generally eat after 6pm, whole meal bread and non salted nuts. Certain meds which help many with RLS can work in reverse like pregabalin and gabapentin and it's on the information sheet so don't take this all to heart but have a look at them just in case. I find Alendronic acid aggravates mine.

I would say eating bananas is beneficial and I see you have fruit. Other things I would include include foot and limb massage three times a day, warm baths or showers, hot and cold compress, trying though it's not easy with the painfal type to distract yourself even if it is cleaning out the cat litter tray.

Trying to remain as stress free as possible

There isn't anything I would delete from the list Rahim.

I would like to know about the water.

Thanks for sharing this helpful information with us.

Hello Dear Peterk

Thanks for your helpful guides, first about the alkaline water, I will try to explain about it here.

Our body,s healthy and normal PH is between 7.34 and 7.44 which is a narrow range. Depending on aging, over eating, drinking carbonated soft drinks ( acidified bottles or cans ) , medicines, living in polluted areas and........

Our body's PH may go lower ( acidified ) and cause penalties for us to pay off . Body would try stay in safe range but in order to do that it may extract our valuable cations like Ca or Mg from bones and other organs. The continuation of this may cause different kinds of trouble for body.

Drinking Alkaline water helps our body to stay in healthy range of PH and detoxifies our body. Alkaline Ionized Water is actually a purified semi-ionized water produced by a machine installed in the kitchen and because it,s short life, it can't be sold in bottles over shelves .

You can simply google it in web and find the information you need.

I read your profile, I may not know how you feel but I can imagine and I hope rls let us to live our life with less pain my dear friend.

I will be happy talking to you anytime.

patchworker profile image
patchworker

Hello Rahim50,

I agree with most of what you've said except maybe the white meat, you don't really need that with all those nice nuts and veg.

But tell me how do you stay cool and happy when you're sleep deprived and exhausted?

in reply to patchworker

Dear Patchworker

You are right about white meat, but i take a little bite of it just for the sake of eating together at dinner table. You are also right about the difficulty of staying cool and happy when the pain drives you crazy at nights, may be that is why I appreciate the most when I am not in that much of the pain and I would consider being luckier than those who are in greater pain.

beardedtwitch profile image
beardedtwitch

How does anyone measure the bodys PH?

in reply to beardedtwitch

Urine PH test which is a routine measurement can be related to body's PH

thedragon profile image
thedragon

It really is so odd how it's so different. I've drunk to excess and been tea total...for long term not just weeks...caffeine doesn't even keep me awake...I think a lot of it can be due to stress

in reply to thedragon

same here, i love my tea and coffee ?

nightdancer profile image
nightdancer

For myself, coping is finding information and managing 6 support groups (over 4,000 people), but in between that I have given up all caffeine. some people can drink it with no problem, but I have switched to chamomile tea. Even the smell of it is relaxing. Take meds on time.

My biggest help over the years have been keeping pain diaries, sleep diaries, etc. It sure does help, because my records are more specific than the doc's. :)AND, accurate, I might add.

I also found something on a FB page called Internet Medicine today, and it is an app , especially made for doctors to be able to look up anyting and gte an over view of a disease and how to treat it. so no more excuses of "I don;t have time for that." just say "fine, I will wait." with a big smile on your face.

Write all your questions down before you get to the doc's office, because you WILL forget something, and take an advocate of you are the kind of person who has a probloem talking to doctors. Just tell them, "There's an app for that!" :)

Caffeine does not bother some people; it actually does noy "hype them up". so, it can go both ways. It also made no difference when I stopped smoking. It was actually worse.

I also like heat, not cooleness, but again that is a personal preferenec. I have to use two heating pads, one for my back, because my spine is "crumbling" as my doc said yesterday. Yikes! I also have to use a heating pad for my legs.

I think the best thing that has helped me was I have turned my bedroom into a "cave", as my niece calls it. No light gets in in the morning, so I get some sleep in the early morning hours and til about 9 a.m. That is the only way I get any sleep. I use a CD that I made with some of my favorite music, and that is the only one that really relaxes me. It is mostly Celtic Woman type music, and Loreena McKinnert is a Scottish singer who I love and her voice kind of hypnotizes me.

Of course, if the RLS is raging all that goes out the window, and then I take it one minute at a time until things calm down. I used to panic when the RLS started up, but now I know how to talk myself out of panic attacks, and also PTSD affects me also. So, the meds for that have to be carefully balanced.

But, nothing replaces support fro others who know what we are going thru. :)

nightdancer profile image
nightdancer in reply to nightdancer

the facebook page is called Internet Medicine ( I think ) LOL that has the phone app for doctors.

Dear romany

Of-course RLS may differ from one to another. In my case I can not definitely say by doing one thing or stop doing it I worsen my rls . But in general I may feel smoking is not good for heath but somebody may feel smoking reliefs his temper and calms his pain, ther are a lot of reports that says smoking weed helps them tolerating rls pain.

nightdancer profile image
nightdancer in reply to

It is legal in many states in the US, and there are 18 medical marijuana states. I will say that is helpful to lots of USer's, and yes, me, too whe I have a really bad night or day. All prescribed legally by doctors in my state.

in reply to nightdancer

I planted some in my little out door garden, in my country it is legal for it's seeds ( as in dried nuts industry ), I will try white widow in next season. :)

Thanks Dear Nightdancer

I would like to check out that Scottish singer, may be she hypnotizes me too.... :)

nightdancer profile image
nightdancer in reply to

She is enchanting. Listening to her right now, while my mother is watching her game show channel. LOL

in reply to nightdancer

Good,

I just downloaded some of her songs I enjoyed Kecharitomene, Snow and the old ways so far, her style has some similarities to international Persian singer named Azam Ali.

Thanks again

nightdancer profile image
nightdancer in reply to

I spelled her last name wrong, and we don;t wnat to do that! ;) It is Loreena McKinnett, and my absolute favorite album is "The Mask and the Mirror". all of hers are good, but I am extremely attached to that one, and I never hear the whole thing thru, usually, unless RLS is raging, because it is magic for my brain. Then , again, to each his own, since one of my best RLS friends (may she rest in peace) used Meatlof's Highway to Hell as her music. She wanted loud distracting music, and I like to be "lulled" to relaxation. :) Check her out. All her albums are on amazon.com , and her music has been featured in many movie soundtracks. LOVE her!

patchworker profile image
patchworker

The Scottish singer at the beginning of the film The Wicker Man hypnotizes me.

I would ad: chocolate, when I eat it my RLS get worse!!

nightdancer profile image
nightdancer in reply to

Extremely common, or anything sugary. Chocolate is a double whammy because it has caffeine and sugar. That is my hardest vice to give up, so little bites once in a while don't bother me. It sends my sister's RLS off the charts.

Patsy11011 profile image
Patsy11011 in reply to nightdancer

sugar is poison to anybody"s nervous system but for us it is deadly. When my legs are bad I find playing an intricate game on the computer takes my mind off it and they ease up

I bet you would..........lol :)

Regarding to the subject I found this article, wich may help :

besthealthmag.ca/get-health...

Of all our body’s mysteries, this is surely among the quirkiest. When you’re otherwise ready for rest, why should your legs keep running? When every fibre of your being says, “Settle down!” why are you gamely kicking your bedmate? Since restless legs syndrome (RLS) seems to be related to mineral imbalances, perhaps the best place to end the night race is with supplements. But if they don’t stop your in-place pacing, you’ll want to develop some pre-bed rituals to help those legs settle down.

Run out for supplements

Each day, take 500 milligrams of magnesium, 800 to 1,000 milligrams of calcium, and 800 to 1,000 milligrams of potassium. A shortage of any of these minerals can make your legs more twitchy.

Drink mineral water that’s high in magnesium. The optimal magnesium level is in the range of 100 milligrams per litre of water.

Bump up your intake of folic acid, a B vitamin (also called folate). Folic acid helps build red blood cells, which in turn helps oxygenate the body. That’s an important benefit, since RLS is associated with a decrease in oxygen. Food sources of folic acid include leafy green vegetables, orange juice and beans. You’ll also find folate in most multivitamins.

Eat iron-rich foods such as dark green vegetables, liver, wheat germ, kidney beans and lean beef. Iron is part of the myoglobin molecule, which is a protein that stores oxygen in the muscles until it’s needed. Without iron, myoglobin can’t hold enough oxygen, and muscle problems may develop.

The home stretch

When you get the urge to move your legs, start rubbing them, or stretch them to their full length and point your toes. These intentional movements send signals to your brain that can override the strange tingling sensations of RLS. But be sure to stop if the stretching produces a charley horse or leg cramps: Those are strong indications of magnesium deficiency and can’t be alleviated by stretching.

Sit on the edge of the bed and firmly massage your calves to give the muscles deeper stimulation.

If those treatments don’t calm your legs, get up and go for a brief walk around your home. Take long steps and bend your legs to stretch the muscles.

Before you go to bed

Sit in a tub filled with comfortably hot water for 10 to 15 minutes before you go to bed.

Chilling your legs may also help. Rub a cold pack on your legs before you go to bed.

Or combine the heat and cold treatments. Dip your legs in a comfortably hot bath for two minutes, then apply the cold pack to your legs for a minute. Repeat several times before bed.

Make steady progress

After you get into bed, practice the calming ritual known as progressive muscle relaxation. Breathe deeply for a few minutes, then tense the muscles in your feet. Hold the tension for a few seconds, then relax. Next, tense your calf muscles, hold, and relax. Then do the same with your thigh muscles. Repeat the tensing-and-relaxing pattern, working all the way up your body to your neck and face muscles. When you’re finished, your whole body should feel relaxed.

Dip into homeopathy

Homeopathic doctors recommend Causticum at the 12C dilution for legs that are restless during the night.

Another option is a 12C dilution of Tarentula hispanica, three times a day until you see improvements in symptoms.

The power of prevention

In the evening, avoid alcoholic or caffeinated drinks, which stimulate the muscles and nerves in your legs.

Studies have found that smokers are more likely to have RLS than people who don’t smoke.

Avoid cold and sinus medications, which can make RLS symptoms much worse.

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snc5595 profile image
snc5595

Hello everyone, I have been reading to find anything which can help my RLS, Have been suffering on and off since 1992 but gotten worse around 1995 or so. Spent sleepless night walking and doing everything to get some kinds of relieve. At least those days got some sleep after 7/8 am. Finally went to see a neurologist in 2005 and put me on Requip 2mg, gave me relieve but nausea and other uncomfortable feelings got me wonder , do I have to go thru this all my life, no matter what whoever got RLS knows it is very depressing. On my flight to China end of 1995, it started again, started to take higher dose and at least could sleep. Everyone knows Requip is very expensive, got generic version. Thank got my dosage didn't go up very much but but RLS started to show up here and there. I have tried everything from blog, mustard, soap, all water temp. shower. I don't drink or smoke . Why do i read pain here, RLS is not about pain or numbness. It's about uncomfortable feeling that makes you wanna get up and walk which helps. There are time my legs started to hurt from standing and walking also stretching. Tried homeopathy, herbal, anything and everything. My own sister is a doctor who's friend is neurologist suggested I take Gabapantine along with Repirinole hoping that some day I could get off Repinirole. A doctor in Thailand was surprised to know I function normal after 6 years of Requip and Repinirole 2 years ago. I used to cry at night and one has severe RLS knows what I am talking about. Acupressure, Acupuncture, Chiropractor, no one, nothing left for me. Repinirole's dose has to be increased along with Gaba , still almost every other night sound sleep is dream for me.

Thought about taking my life but still living for my family. I don't even wish for my worst enemy (don't have any) not to have RLS. Hoping all RLS human being to have at least some kinds of relieve. May God bless all of us,

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