To ask if anyone has a magic cure

[ChilliChaos]

For restless legs?

I’ve been suffering for almost a year. Been advised by the GP it’s due to either (heart) medications I’m on, stress or hormonal.

I can’t take it anymore.

I’m exhausted. I’ve been surviving on 3 hours of light sleep per night (according to my Fitbit) for weeks. When I eventually fall asleep it wakes me up.

I have 2 small children (4 and 2) and am single. I’m barely functional.

Anyone know anything that can help?
I’ll try any old wives tales you can throw at me.

Ropinerole from the GP, life saver

Taking iron with vitamin C tablets to aid absorption helped mine

I've been using the lush cosmetics magic crystals body scrub (the purple one) and it's magic! I use it in the shower a couple hours before bed and it's worked 5 nights in a row now!
I tried using vapour rub one night and it did help a little bit, but nothing like this scrub so I'm thinking it must be the salts and stuff in it along with the menthol.
I'm hoping by now your restless leg syndrome has been sorted but just incase 😁

I walk upon & down the hall for a bit, it usually works.

Weighted blanket. It's amazing.

I second magnesium tablets. If your skin can manage it, try to massage your legs with your thumbs, it'll help if they're sore after a difficult night. Also try to move around if you're able, get the blood circulating. If it's more comfortable for you, try lying on your back and cycling your legs. Stretches should help ease it

Magnesium spray

I second magnesium oil. It be careful not to put it on legs that are recently shaved. Stings like buggery.

Extra pillow to elevate my leg really helps. Plus Floradix vitamin (no idea why)

Tonic water - allegedly due to quinine in it (or just placebo effect). I’ve recently been taking some supplements called Calm Legs - expensive but seem to be helping I’m just taking one at night instead of two. They are massive tablets though so don’t try them if you struggle to swallow tablets!

Look up the curable app. It’s mostly aimed at chronic pain, but people are using it for a huge range of chronic conditions and I’ve seen lots of people on the Fb group mention being cured of restless legs. Definitely would help if you’re being told stress is a factor. There’s a great couple of podcasts if you wanted more info before trying the app (“like mind like body” and also “tell me about your pain” which is with Alan Gordon, one of the people who’s doing lots of work into the neuroscience of chronic pain). Hand in hand with it, check out the cure for chronic pain podcast with Nicole Sachs if it sounds like something you’re interested in. People use her work to help with soooo many conditions.

Adding in another possible idea - I lie on my back with my legs up the wall, bum as close to the skirting board as possible. I just lie there for a while and it seems to help.

I get them as I do a lot of exercise and walking every day, my feet throb some days when I finally take the weight off.

I also get them horribly when I'm tired about 8pm just before I go to bed, which doesn't help on the rare occasion we go out for dinner as I have to jiggle my hot uncomfortable legs under the table.

If your gp conciders it maybe hormonal, are you already on/ have you been offered hrt? I am massively less twitchy and shaky since starting it.

@GromblesofGrimbledon

My partner batters hell out of my calves. Big old massage with lavender oil always does the trick when I get jumpy leg now and again. Settles them down and gets them to behave.

Reading this thread and was going to post something very similar. My DH gives my legs a massage with the lavender oil. Very occasionally they start up again and he massages them again. I don’t sleep well either and it does help

Second the magnesium oil spray

Iron supplements worked for me. Good luck!

Vitamin D and iron supplements - Vit D should be above 75 and Ferritin 50. This is above the cut off for “deficient” so won’t be highlighted by the lab but the ferritin is still at the lower end of the normal range and about 1/10 people get a good response. More likely to respond if also have migraines. No idea why

Is it definitely a restless muscle twitchy feeling and not itching? The doctor told me for ages I had restless legs and it turned out to be invisible scabies on my shins that was keeping me awake at night.

I had this problem,it stopped after taking magnesium amd potasium supplements along with vitamin b1(thiamine) cut dwn on carbs and especially sugar,i bought all these from Amazon

Weighted blanket

Try sleeping with a pillow between your legs. It works for me

Another vote for magnesium. .. my legs used to be so bad, I got tablets from the doctor and they hardly made a difference then I read about magnesium tablets and without being dramatic 😂 they really changed my life. The difference they made was unbelievable. I've always been an insomniac and the tablets actually help me to sleep better as well.

Raising my legs slightly and taking one naproxen works for me.