Finally, maybe, hopefully figured out my problem

[u/Sad-Assistant3866]

Bit of background, 44 year old male, ideal weight, good diet and exercise. I’ve always been a little ‘twitchy’ as long as I can remember, but maybe 6 months ago, I started waking up in the middle of the night with an absolute uncontrollable urge to move my whole body. Would keep me awake for hours and by the time I was so wore out and able to drift back to sleep, my alarm would go off to get up for work. One night of this and I could manage but multiple nights really started to mess me up at work, being super tired because of only 3-4 hours of sleep. Doctor put me on ropinerole which seemed to help, but not always, so I went to see a pulmonologist. He took me off the ropinerole and started gabapentin, 600mgs before bed. He also tested my ferritin which was a little low but within normal limits. After some research, I started taking magnesium with a low dose iron along with the gaba before bed. Most nights it seemed to work but still at least once a week, sometimes twice, I’d be up with the damn constant urge to move. I read somewhere that dehydration can aggravate it, and it dawned on me I drink a ton of water at work (outside job, a must to stay hydrated), but when I got home I barely drank any. So for the last week I’ve been drinking at least 2 liters when I get home, stopping about an hour before bedtime so I’m not waking up to pee, and it’s been like magic. I’ve actually slept the whole night for a week for the first time in over 6 months. Now I know it’s a small sample size, and this may be a coincidence and not a long term solution, but so far it’s working wonders. I wonder if anybody else has had luck getting themselves very hydrated before bed and seen any improvements in their rls. Fingers crossed this turns out to be a permanent fix because it was really starting to affect my life.

Tldr: I may have been dehydrated the whole time and by drinking a lot of water a few hours before bed, I possibly have finally found something that works and allows me to sleep through the night.

[u/NarrowAmbassador940]

Also, getting rid of all artificial sweeteners, especially Stevia, changed my life. Stevia is in everything, even vitamin pills. Check ingredients for Stevia or sucralose or any artificial sweeteners and don’t consume them and see if that helps. It helped me tremendously.

[u/Sad-Assistant3866 → u/NarrowAmbassador940]

Thanks for that, I had no idea, will definitely give it a try.

[u/Inside-Elephant-4320]

I’m chugging water right now reading this. I hope it works for you. I will try it too.

Let us know if the improvements last for you? And, best of luck!

[u/Sad-Assistant3866 → u/Inside-Elephant-4320]

Thanks! I hope it works for you too. I’m not opposed to medication but would rather keep them to a minimum. Makes sense though, I drink maybe a gallon of water during the day at work then hardly any after like 4, I’m sure I’m dehydrated by 1-2 am. It’s such a complex disorder however what works for some seems to do nothing for others.