SoCoLaur Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 Hi everyone! I'm on day 12, and things are going fairly well except for horrible symptoms of restless leg syndrome at night. I see that there have been quite a few posts about RLS with lots of advice, but I'm wondering if anyone can say whether their symptoms improved or not over time within the 30 days? I've had RLS for years now, but my symptoms have been well controlled with iron, magnesium, and exercise. However, since starting the program my RLS has markedly increased, and the last two nights have been almost unbearable. I've only been getting snippets of sleep and have been pacing the halls almost pretty much hour. I've added folate, made sure to drink plenty of water, and have tried to make sure I'm getting some starchy vegetables every day. I'm not sure what else I can do... If this is a temporary side effect, I can hang in there. I just don't think this is sustainable if it keeps up like this. And, as I've never had to resort to medications before, I am not really interested in that route at this time. Basically, I'm just wondering if anyone else had this same problem and if it went away or if it remained constant... Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annette 336 Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Ditto . . Ditto! I'm hoping a reply is posted soon. I'm at day 11 and experiencing the same thing. Symptoms are pretty bad and I'm unable to sleep through the night. I mostly want to know if this will pass or if something needs adjusting. Electrolytes perhaps?? I agree that if temporary I can stick it out, but if it goes on it may end my W30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcbn Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Have you tried upping your magnesium doseage? It certainly works with leg cramps so I'm guessing it'll work with restless legs too, and most people are deficient in magnesium anyways... Just a thought! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators SugarcubeOD Posted July 28, 2015 Moderators Share Posted July 28, 2015 Do either of you find that your symptoms get worse the more sugar you consume? I have RLS very mildly and I notice an incredible uptick in symptoms if I eat too much sugar (including in the form of a lot of fruit). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCoLaur Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 Thanks for the replies! I don't think it is related to sugar, as I haven't been consuming any, and I've kept fruit to a minimum. I did think about upping or changing the type of magnesium. I already take close to 700 mg mag citrate via Natural Calm, so I don't think increasing the dose is wise. But I might change to mag acetate to see if that makes a difference. I'm not having any leg cramps, though I have had those in the past when diuresing a lot due to detox-type diets. I think that was electrlolyte-related and was always very short-lived... On days 12 and 13 I broke down and tried 1/2 tab Mirapex at night. It did have some side effects like dizziness and nausea, but I did get some sleep finally. Then, day 14 I went without and slept fantastically. I thought I was out of the woods, but then last night (day 15), the RLS was back with a vengeance! I don't think it can be a nutrient deficiency after only 2 weeks. But I suppose some hormones may be altered by changing diet and switching to fat burning.... I did have similarly awful symptoms when I was pregnant with my son, but I knew that had an end point... I'm still not completely sure what to do....but for now I'm hanging in there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators SugarcubeOD Posted July 29, 2015 Moderators Share Posted July 29, 2015 I think if you can hang in there, it may resolve itself. You're right that your hormone levels will be changing as you become fat adapted. You won't know unless you keep going... Whole30 really is a scientific experiment of one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fallingstar24 Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Fellow RLS person here! From what I can tell, I have a pretty... robust case- I have it in my arms and legs and get muscle jerks in all limbs and occasionally my torso. Although I tend to take prescriptions for it, I have found an over the counter supplement that helps even my wild limbs- Deep Sleep (not the most creative name). I honestly can't tell if it's compliant or not, but for me I lump it in with my other RLS meds and consider it "doctor's orders." I find it at Sprouts and Whole Foods, and it's also sold online. As a side note, the instructions say to take one capsule an hour before bed and one capsule at bedtime, but that ironically made it hard for me to stay asleep more than about 4 hours at a stretch (something in it is supposed to keep you from being groggy when you wake up), so I only take one capsule. Hope your symptoms have already abated, but if not, hope this could help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsStick Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I don't have restless legs except for when I was on one medication in the past - one of the side effects was ephemeral joint pain and a crawling feeling under the skin. When I went back to my doctor (this was a long-term antibiotic for coming up positive on a skin TB test, had to take it) he prescribed vitamin B6 and the symptoms went away. The whole time I took the B6 with the antibiotic I had no issues with the symptoms, they actually stopped almost immediately after I started the vitamin. Might at least be worth looking into. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violetta Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 My restless leg is considerably less with Whole 30. I have considered tapering off of Mirapex but was worried about getting less sleep during the program so I am waiting. My sleep is not so good now at day 20 but improving. The first few days were terrible however, basically up all night or taking extra drugs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violetta Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 I looked up Deep Sleep and saw a couple formulations. What is the brand name of the product? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praxisproject Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Some deficiencies known to be related to leg cramps, restlessness and pains: Magnesium (Charlie horse, painful leg and calf cramping) Sodium (Charlie horse, painful leg and calf cramping) Potassium (very painful toe cramps) - don't take supplements, eat foods such as banana & avocado Water (dehydrated) Vitamin B family is also often low or deficient when these others are low. B12, B6, etc. Some people are also low in Vitamin C which is not stored in the body Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbpickrel Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 I'm just curious if anyone else takes prescription meds for Restless Leg Syndrome and whether or not you've seen benefits from Whole30?. I am on the lowest dosage for my RLS which I've had since childhood (exacerbated by Menopause). So far I've noticed that the occasional nausea I would wake up with in the middle of the night (usually accompanied by hot flashes), has ceased. While I maintain on the lowest dosage of the meds, I do feel like I am sleeping better overall (except for the dogs waking me up to go out). RLS is a neurological disorder / disease, but I think I am seeing improvements overall. Just wondering...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Tom Denham Posted January 14, 2016 Moderators Share Posted January 14, 2016 If you search the forum with the phrase restless leg syndrome, you will get 26 topics to review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators ladyshanny Posted January 14, 2016 Administrators Share Posted January 14, 2016 I have merged this thread with an existing Restless Legs thread in order to avoid duplication on the boards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praxisproject Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 RLS is a neurological disorder / disease, but I think I am seeing improvements overall. Just wondering...... While it's neurological, the cause generally is not known and there are a number of deficiencies identified within the spectrum of people affected. If you have previous blood work, you may see some improvements in your numbers. You may want to monitor your RLS or take more time when Reintroducing grains as they can have an impact on neurological symptoms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violetta Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 I'm just curious if anyone else takes prescription meds for Restless Leg Syndrome and whether or not you've seen benefits from Whole30?. I am on the lowest dosage for my RLS which I've had since childhood (exacerbated by Menopause). So far I've noticed that the occasional nausea I would wake up with in the middle of the night (usually accompanied by hot flashes), has ceased. While I maintain on the lowest dosage of the meds, I do feel like I am sleeping better overall (except for the dogs waking me up to go out). RLS is a neurological disorder / disease, but I think I am seeing improvements overall. Just wondering...... I take Mirapex and I have been able to halve the dose since the beginning of Whole 30. I have a theory that you can help me with-I think that the increase in meat may have raised my ferritin level and therefore reduced the RLS. Just a theory but in the past, I used to get iron shots which seriously reduced the dosage. I can't find anyone that will do them anymore and oral iron is truly yucky in my stomach so the ferritin level has stayed around 40-50 and should be at least 80 to work for RLS. I am going to get levels checked in a couple weeks. Have you had ferritin levels checked? Of course, the grains could affect it too. I will have all my blood work done soon so I can look before I intro most grains. The jury is out as to whether all RLS is neurological in the traditional sense. Nutrition certainly can play a role. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praxisproject Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 I used to have neuropathy when I ate gluten and some other grains trigger it for me as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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