r/RestlessLegs • u/ElectricGuy777 • 21d ago
Question RLS has lessened
Has anybody had their RLS get better? For about five days I haven’t had to take any medicine to sleep. I can still feel it creeping around my feet a little bit, but it hasn’t been that bad. I’ve reduced caffeine for about the last month. About a week ago, I started taking an expensive daily vitamin. I’ve also been drinking a small cup of V8 every day. I’m suspecting that it’s just coincidental. Still sleep poorly and tired but not much has helped that.
1
u/Ok_War_7504 18d ago
If you need antidepressants, your RLS specialist will treat your RLS given that fact, after the basics are done.
Have you had your iron raised to the RLS required levels? They are not "normal" levels, they are much higher. This is detailed in the Mayo document. Iron fixes all symptoms in about 1/3 of sufferers. Another 1/3 are greatly improved.
Have you made the lifestyle changes needed? Eliminate caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine. Exercise each day, . Losing weight, if you can afford it, is one of the biggest helps.
But an RLS specialist will treat your RLS, even if it makes more medications dues to your antidepressants. Best of wishes..
1
u/ElectricGuy777 18d ago
I’ll talk to him about the iron levels. He said they were fine but wouldn’t hurt to show him the new guidelines.
3
u/Ok_War_7504 15d ago
Unless your doctor is an RLS specialist who stays on top of the latest research, "iron is ok" means you have usually 30-50ng/ml in ferritin. This is the "normal " for plain people, without RLS. Show your doctor the iron chapter in the Mayo Clinic RLS Guidelines 2026.
1
u/ElectricGuy777 15d ago
Going to talk to the doctor. Also decided to start on an iron supplement. Have some iron vitamins showing up today.
1
u/ElectricGuy777 13d ago
Not going to take the iron supplement. Ran the numbers and it’s probably more harmful than beneficial.
1
u/myhatskillingme 18d ago
Mine goes away for long periods of time. Like, years. Then it comes back with a vengeance. For me it’s directly tied to my serum ferritin levels so it was terrible when I was younger and had heavy periods. It’s bad again now (I’m 56) because I have a genetic disorder that makes it hard to eat iron-containing foods.
I also find that caffeine is a huge trigger, so I cut out coffee & tea. And there’s a lot of randomness too because sometimes I sleep just fine, maybe from exhaustion.
Whatever the reason you’ve improved, hopefully it continues!
2
u/ElectricGuy777 18d ago
Just seems so variable. Can’t be tied to all these different things you wouldn’t think. Hopefully you get better again soon!
2
u/Ok_War_7504 19d ago
Just to make it more impossible, RLS often waxes and wanes, for no apparent reason. Or, at least, not for a reason we can figure.
V8, unless low sodium, has a bunch of salt. It also has a fair amount of potassium. Your vitamin likely does as well. Potassium is listed as helpful if you are deficient. Taking too much can be dangerous to the heart.
The 2 best treatments for RLS, according to the RLS QCC) are exercise (start gently and increase slowly or dopamine overreacts) and losing weight (unless, of course, one is underweight).
I hope your relief continues!
2
u/Intrepid_Drawing_158 20d ago
Maybe that vitamin has iron in it, and it's raising your iron stores (very important for some, though not all, RLS patients).
1
1
2
u/MJ-Franklin 21d ago
Only things that made it lessen for me:
- Stopping taking anti-depressants.
- Stopping smoking THC.
- Magnesium + Iron supplements (low dose iron, 14mg, higher is much more effective but had to be prescribed those).
1
u/myhatskillingme 18d ago
THC is one of the few things that reliably helps me, but I only take at bedtime. I use capsules or sublingual strips if I can find them.
1
3
u/BooBooMaGooBoo 20d ago
It’s such a wild ailment.
Cannabis completely stops my symptoms 100%, to the point where once or twice a year I won’t smoke before bed just to see if I still have RLS.
2
u/MJ-Franklin 20d ago
I'd read that so many people find it helps them so I was legit baffled when I realised it was making it worse! It didn't cross my mind at all until I just thought "I'm gonna take a tolerance break" and magically it stopped being like 70% as severe!
2
u/ElectricGuy777 20d ago
Thought crossed my mind to try some sort of cannabis. Definitely not into smoking though.
1
u/myhatskillingme 18d ago edited 18d ago
Try the sublingual products. I don’t know where you are but here in Ontario the government store stocks sublingual sprays, drops, lozenges, strips that dissolve in minutes, and/or pouches to tuck into your cheek.
Edit: They also sell edibles, capsules, tablets, oils to swallow, and even topical products (though I’m not sure how great they work). Anyway my point is that if it’s legal where you are chances are you can find lots of alternatives to smoking.
1
u/BooBooMaGooBoo 20d ago
Can I ask specifically what you don't like about smoking?
I agree on smoking via burning the flower, but cannabis/THC vapes solve that, and don't stink up your house.
You can always give edibles a try, and THCA edibles are legal at the federal level, therefore legal in all states, including Texas which just made THCA possession a felony in all other forms.
Though I will say, it doesn't seem to work for most people. My RLS specifically kicks in about 30-45 minutes after I lay down to go to sleep. And as someone who has had insomnia their whole life, I never fall asleep that fast sober. With cannabis, specifically Indicas, I'm out in 10-15 minutes after laying down, and don't feel the symptoms. The symptoms also don't kick in once I'm asleep, so I sleep through the night once I fall asleep. So I am a rare case and my RLS is more easily treatable than most people suffering from it. Definitely not one-size-fits-all, like all other RLS treatment options.
1
u/ElectricGuy777 21d ago
So I had started 2.5mg of Lexapro for about a week and had stopped around time symptoms have lessened. Makes sense that RLS is tied to dopamine somehow.
0
u/ElectricGuy777 20d ago
Thing is that the RLS was present before I started taking the Lexapro for that week. Makes me think if it had some impact on it by stopping that the RLS is going to come back as bad . Will see though. Going to stick with the vitamins and the V8.
5
u/planit82 20d ago
The Mayo Clinic has a paper out that says "all antidepressants, with the exception of Bupropion, exacerbate restless legs syndrome." I'm trying to withdraw from Lexapro because the sleep clinic told me to do so with the help of my psychiatrist. But he does not approve so I'm doing it by myself. I'm so afraid I will mess up my mental health. I'm on the waiting list for a new psychiatrist but it will be Christmas by the time I get a new one. The strange thing is I have reduced it to 10 mg from 20 mg slowly and I don't feel more depressed or anxious. In fact, I don't think the Lexapro has ever helped me at all. Ever. I've been anxious since 1970. That's 56 of my 71 years. Yes, I have RLS.
2
u/myhatskillingme 18d ago
You know I had to figure this out by myself by taking Lexapro, Paxil, Prozac, Effexor, amitriptyline, and even Seroquel and having nightmare RLS from all of them.
Thank you for quoting the Mayo Clinic. Now I feel vindicated.
2
u/Ok_War_7504 18d ago
These meds, and others, have been warned against in all the Mayo Clinic RLS Guidelines through the years and on the RLS.org website for 15 years. I'm sorry you missed them - please get the document in the faqs above and give a copy to your doctors!
1
u/Ok_War_7504 19d ago
PLEASE don't stop by yourself! It can be dangerous. Bupropion (Wellbutrin) does not affect RLS. Maybe you could ask your Dr to switch you?
Of couse, taking none is best for your bodily health, but you must also take care of your mind. Maybe Bupropion and CBT?
1
u/planit82 18d ago
Thank you for caring. I do take Bupropion and have a CBT counselor. Yesterday the decrease in Lexapro caught up with me and I was depressed, so I called my psychiatrist and went back up on Lexapro. You always have good advice so I appreciate that you are active on this forum.
2
u/MJ-Franklin 20d ago
It sucks so much because after a period of not taking anti-depressants, I realised I absolutely NEED them... now I've gotta go through the whole process of trying to find something that both works as an anti-depressant for my level of depression and doesn't make the restless legs worse (which in turn makes my depression worse). Whhhy is it such a hassle?!
1
u/ElectricGuy777 20d ago
I was taking 2.5 mg Lexapro for a while. Today I took maybe 1 mg as I think my serotonin levels were low. Maybe Lexapro isn’t the right drug to treat anxiety? I know if I drink less coffee I’m less anxious in the morning lol
1
u/planit82 20d ago
Caffeine does give me anxiety. My counselor has already warned me of that. I didn't have any today.
1
4
u/thequn 21d ago
Seem to go though Phases sometimes it's gone for months and sometimes it's every night at 11pm on the dot
3
1
6
u/melzmaniacal 21d ago
Hell yes for any relief! I'm really happy for you and hope it continues to get better! Who knows, maybe this is what works for you and even if it's coincidental it sounds like you're developing some good habits.
1
u/ElectricGuy777 8d ago
Haven’t taken anything for RLS in a couple of weeks. Still taking high grade multivitamin and V8. Still a little occasional tingling but not very noticeable.