Restless leg syndrome

[ByWorthyLemonRaven]

I’m wondering what people’s experiences are of restless leg syndrome and if anyone has any tips or thoughts how to deal with it? I think mine started during a period of depression quite a long time ago, and has never really left me. It seems a strange and mystifying symptom! Sometimes I find it sort of weirdly comforting. It only happens at night, when in bed, but I also wonder if it is actually stopping me from getting to sleep…

is there anything people do to manage it? Are you supposed to try not to give in to the compulsion to move your legs?

I know this is very common.

i think I read recently that iron supplements can help - but see what you can find online first and maybe see what your GP says.

I have this, but luckily not often. I find it helps to walk around when it’s happening and no caffeine after 6pm.

with me, I tend to find I get it if I go to bed when I’m really tired, so I try not to go to bed too late

Does it happen when asleep or awake in bed? My husband thought he had restless legs - turned out to be something called PLMD (google will help, hopefully). He’s now on medication which 80% helps.

I use magnesium spray from home bargains. Spray it on the feet, rub it in and it dulls the sensation enough to sleep.

I suffer from this too at times, and it is so frustrating! A lot of people have it due to a magnesium deficiency and find that magnesium supplements help (some people use a magnesium spray on their legs, but others find it helpful in other formats).

I find it helpful to walk up and down the stairs when it kicks off, and then I can generally then fall asleep. I also find cool air on my legs helps to stop it.

I ‘have’ to move my legs, and I definitely wouldn’t be able to resist giving in to the urge to move them.

Get your iron levels checked

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/iron-deficiency-anaemia/

I suffered from this for years - magnesium made no difference but when I had to take an increased dose of iron (for something unrelated) it completely went away!
So I would definitely try a high dose iron supplement - I take a gentle iron one which is much better.

DH has this. Been caffeine free for ten years and takes spa tone as he was also slightly anemic..the medication the GP offered had quirky side effects so he declined it.

Yes. Magnesium glycinate tablets help me massively, they also help with my insomnia.
A banana every day also helps as it has potassium, folate and magnesium.

I notice a difference when I don't have either.

Definitely look into magnesium

There's no way you should be recommending that someone takes a high dose of iron without having their bloods checked first. That's insanely dangerous!
If the op isn't low in iron and takes a massive dose, it could cause some very serious problems.

Magnesium spray and magnesium tablets.

Sorry I'm shattered so this will be a quick reply

• check iron levels
• supplement with magnesium - different types
• use a foam roller daily
• magnesium spray your legs
• daily stretching

The foam roller was life changing for me

I only experience it in extreme exhaustion now like when I was not sleeping more than 1 hour in the newborn phase

I’ve read a glass of tonic water before bed can help. Something to do with the quinine.

The only thing that helps me is magnesium tablets if I even miss a day I get the restless legs again

I have this every night magnesium spray helps.

This thread has made me realise mine has gone! I've had it for flipping years. I started Mounjaro last spring which put me off tea and coffee and I haven't drunk it since, I wonder if it's this? Losing weight? The daily multivitamin that I now take? ... I wouldn't suggest weight loss injections as a solution 😆 but it definitely coincides.

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences / tips / thoughts everyone! this has given me some ideas :-)

I get it occasionally and I flip the way I sleep and push my legs against the wall/headboard and that relieves it!

I get a bit confused about what it actually is. I think I've had it for years as if I'm lying in bed I HAVE to move my feet but sort of rubbing them together til I go to sleep, but when I've read about it it seems it's due to pain or sensation int he legs which is don't have really. Do other people have pain? Maybe mine is just a weird habit!

In simple terms I believe it's effectively a lack of dopamine in the right places. Not that you are lacking dopamine as a whole, but more that it's not getting where it should iyswim. So iron is involved in dopamine transport, hence low iron can cause RLS in some people. Magnesium regulates muscles and therefore low magnesium can be the cause in others.
Also worth bearing in mind that you can raise dopamine naturally by doing things that make you go 'ahhhh'! So foot rubs, massages, sex, potentially relaxing baths, etc. Trial and error! For me I only ever get RLS if I don't get outdoor exercise during the day, so that's obviously what raises my dopamine levels.
If you are desperate to get to sleep on any one night, paracetamol often stops RLS totally. Not a long term solution but worth it occasionally.

I don’t get it often, maybe once a month. I found that taking some iron immediately stopped it (within minutes)

since it only occurs after I’m trying to get to sleep, I hated swallowing the liquid iron as I’d just cleaned my teeth! Now I have some tablets instead, one of those and it goes away. I don’t know if it actually works that quickly or if it’s just in my head, but it does help.

I had this for months until the doctor told me to take a vitamin D supplement as my vit D levels were a bit low. I don't get restless legs anymore and my levels are now in normal range so I put it down to that

I had restless legs syndrome for years, it did also come on more frequently when I was anxious/stressed.
It stopped as soon as I started taking thyroxine for hypothyroidism, so I'd recommend a blood test to rule out thyroid problems and iron and potassium levels too had an effect

Mine went away after I raised my iron levels. For restless leg syndrome they need to be much higher than the UK reference range - ferritin of at least 50 vs. the normal minimum of 15.

This is in the NICE guidelines which may be helpful to show your GP. Make sure they specifically check for ferritin which is an extra test to the standard full blood count study. You can have adequate red blood cells (so not traditionally anaemic) but have insufficient ferritin.

Massaging my feet with a massage gun also helps.

Magnesium does nothing for my RLS. It’s kind of an urban myth as none of the medical advice recommends it. There was a recent systematic review of magnesium for RLS and they concluded there was no basis for it.

Recently they’ve thought there is potentially a link to Vitamin D deficiency so it’s worth asking your GP to test for this as well.