Restless Leg Syndrome

[Lola-Lee]

Hi I get terrible restless legs,I take magnesium but doesn't seem too help,they get worse when I ride to work,I also have regular massages on my legs,it is probably psychological but it does help.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi I get terrible restless legs,I take magnesium but doesn't seem too help,they get worse when I ride to work,I also have regular massages on my legs,it is probably psychological but it does help.

Which do you take and how much?

The magnesium levels you get from supplements are nowhere near what they say on the bottles. It's "elemental" magnesium that counts and even then to won't absorb near 100% of that.

If people use a RDA without using the elemental value, you will be getting hardly anything.

[Lola-Lee]

I take Nutra-Life Magnesium Chelate 750,and 2 a day. I was taking one that a Naturepath gave me,but it was very expensive.
I have found it has helped with my mood swings though.

[MyNameIsTerry]

I take Nutra-Life Magnesium Chelate 750,and 2 a day. I was taking one that a Naturepath gave me,but it was very expensive.
I have found it has helped with my mood swings though.

That one says 150mg per tablet on the bottle, many don't bother telling you that so you have to work it out by it's atomic weight.

The tabs are 750mg of amino acid magnesium chelate so that means 600mgs is of something else. Most of that is going to be the amino acid, if not all. On many an amino acid supplement in the UK, the manufacturer would just put 750mg and not tell you the magnesium content is much lower hence people don't realise how little they may be getting (although 150mg is a good amount, many are far less than this).

Magnesium is generally poorly absorbed because the body doesn't handle salts well but these chelated forms are better as they tend to tag them onto an amino acid, and the body absorbs those much better. If it's bound to and amino acid, you can be getting the benefits of that too and some help with mental health.

[ServerError]

How is the anxiety side holding up over this? It's often a good test.

To be honest, I've had these issues for a long time. I just finally got round to telling the doctor. So, there's not really any anxiety around it. I'm just glad it isn't anything more serious. Hopefully the meds I've been prescribed will help.

[KatiePink]

I get this a lot well i'm assuming it's restless legs, happens in phases for me for around 2 weeks and then i will be back to 'normal'. I don't know if it's a contributing factor but the less active I've been the worse they are when trying to sleep!

[MyNameIsTerry]

To be honest, I've had these issues for a long time. I just finally got round to telling the doctor. So, there's not really any anxiety around it. I'm just glad it isn't anything more serious. Hopefully the meds I've been prescribed will help.

That's still good though, anxiety is happy to manipulate a real health concern too and twist it into worrying about worse. That's an accomplishment in itself.

[Phuzella]

Magnesium spray or footbaths?

[ServerError]

Been to the pharmacy to get my meds. The pharmacist isn't keen on seeing Pramexipole prescribed for RLS. He says it's often very effective, but it comes with a real risk of tolerance developing, which leads to you needing higher and higher doses. And then it can become very difficult to come off it. I've been given an extremely low dose to start with.

I'm going to give it a go, though.

I asked the pharmacist about magnesium and he said that some people do find it useful, but it's all anecdotal and there's no strong evidence, as they don't even know what causes primary RLS. The theory with the most weight behind it is that it's caused by low dopamine levels, which is why they sometimes prescribe dopamine agonists like Pramexipole. But even that theory is not proven beyond doubt.

---------- Post added at 16:31 ---------- Previous post was at 16:29 ----------

That's still good though, anxiety is happy to manipulate a real health concern too and twist it into worrying about worse. That's an accomplishment in itself.

I honestly think the therapy I had really helped me deal with that secondary dose of fear that often comes after the reflexive first dose. I'm much more relaxed about what my mind does or doesn't do these days. I just don't fight it anymore.

But of course, RLS really is benign, so I know I have nothing to worry about other than learning to live with it.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Yes, reaction is key. Same with intrusive thoughts which thrive of reacting with fear. I found once I got past this and reacted more casually to it, they melted away and never bother me now even though I can easily say I notice them more than before my anxiety. A secondary "meh, who cares" seems to ride on the back of the thought and it just flashes through without impact.

I think you have done great to get to this point.

I can't see RLS mentioned at all in th studies on examinesupplements.com. That's a really good site for supplements as it it's quite indepth. Peope must be finding it helps from somewhere, maybe because of it's "calming minera"l status?

Certain anitidepressants boost Dopamine. I wonder what else is out there? It's concerning about the tolerance issue but hopefully it can be used during periods of RLS spiking rather than continously?