violetta Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 I have had restless leg for many years and have been on Mirapex for the last couple of years after weaning off of clonazepam (on about 10 years). Since I started Whole 30 two weeks ago, the restless legs have disappeared and my legs are always calm. Now I just need to figure out how to sleep as I taper off of Mirapex. Although I don't have RL anymore, I am not sleeping past 4:30 am and just feel wide awake. Already down about half of the normal dose. It is really amazing and I am trying to figure out what was causing it, alcohol or sugar or dairy? If it really works to get rid of RL, I will be recommending it to many people I know who suffer greatly from RL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators SugarcubeOD Posted December 16, 2015 Moderators Share Posted December 16, 2015 What time do you go to bed? At 430am have you gotten 7-8 hours of sleep? Is it possible that 430 am is your natural wakeup time? If not, many people report that eating a starchy veg at their last meal of the day helps with sleep. Also magnesium (think Natural Calm) is known to help people sleep. Does something happen at 430 that wakes you up? Light comes on, kitty asks for breakfast, kids start moving around? Is your room as dark as it can be? Can you cover up a digital alarm clock so that light is also not bothering you? More importantly, congratulations on beating RL! That is one annoying affliction from what I've heard so I'm so glad you're feeling relief! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violetta Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share Posted December 16, 2015 Actually, I wake up about every two hours but I can usually put myself back to sleep. I go to bed at around 10:30. And no, there is no light or noise, just me with bad sleep. I have never known if its the restless leg or something else. But things will probably be a little more disrupted until I am off of Mirapex. I am eating as many starchy vegs as I can put in my body. I have lost at least 10 pounds in two weeks so I AM trying to eat a little more but I get tired of sweet potato and squash. And I am not particularly hungry for more food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praxisproject Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 Magnesium, salt (sodium), potassium and a number of other minerals often resolve restless leg issues. Are you taking (or not taking) any different supplements or medications on your W30? However, since Mirapex is dopamine related, yours may be resolving due to the hormone "resetting" effect of W30 For some people, no snacking and satisfying meals make a real difference. You could try adding in a fourth meal if you want to get in more starchy veg (mini if you're not very hungry). I would just keep doing what you're doing, hormone/body clock changes can take some time, especially with medications in play. Consistency really helps, if you can keep meals to around the same times daily (or just in the same relational times, such as hours apart). So glad you're feeling better! I highly recommend keeping a food diary, so later when you do Reintroductions, you can identify anything that might cause them, if it returns. It might not just be what you eat, but also when. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violetta Posted December 18, 2015 Author Share Posted December 18, 2015 On day 19 and still not sleeping past 5 am so i am only getting about 6 hours of sleep. I usually take a short nap in the afternoon too. I decided to keep on the Mirapex and see if that helped even though I don't feel any restless leg. I love the change in my body from Whole 30 but this not sleeping is really hard. I ate a lot of spaghetti squash last evening so I wasn't hungry in the night. But I still can't sleep. I envy those people who talk about what a great night sleep they are getting now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violetta Posted December 21, 2015 Author Share Posted December 21, 2015 Yah! Awake at 6 after going to bed at 10. Still only about 7 hours but no restless leg. Thanks. It seems so simple but... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violetta Posted December 26, 2015 Author Share Posted December 26, 2015 Halved the mirapex yesterday and still no restless leg athough I had some trouble sleeping after 3 am. I am also dropping the prilosec that I used to take every morning for many years and so far no reflux, cough or burning tongue. Supplementing with glutagenics and betaine to make sure it stays okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violetta Posted December 29, 2015 Author Share Posted December 29, 2015 Back to prilosec but at an every other day dose. Still having trouble with the night fast since I wake up often and then feel hungry. I sometimes have to take Tylenol for my knee so that messes up my stomach too. The reflux cough and sore tongue have not returned, just some indigestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praxisproject Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Hang in there Do you have any bone broth before bed? (if you don't like drinking it, you can use it in soup) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violetta Posted December 30, 2015 Author Share Posted December 30, 2015 I will try it, also taking glutagenics before bed, a licorice and aloe product (no sugar). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violetta Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Back down to one Mirapex, that is a third of the dose I was taking, some wakefulness but all in all pretty good sleep without any restless leg. I will keep tapering down if I can. Stomach is pretty good although some indigestion in the middle of the night, went back to prilosec regularly until I finish getting rid of Mirapex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators SugarcubeOD Posted January 5, 2016 Moderators Share Posted January 5, 2016 Back down to one Mirapex, that is a third of the dose I was taking, some wakefulness but all in all pretty good sleep without any restless leg. I will keep tapering down if I can. Stomach is pretty good although some indigestion in the middle of the night, went back to prilosec regularly until I finish getting rid of Mirapex. Yaaaahoooo!!! That's so exciting!! I agree with tapering off one medication at a time... going whole hog can be very stressful not only on your body internally but can really disrupt daily living/sleeping with multiple side effects. So good to hear! Keep up the great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violetta Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 Varying between 1 and 1 and 1/2 Mirapex. Some nights, it is too much with one. But I am able to get 5-6 hours of sleep at a time so that is way better than in the past, pre-whole 30, when I woke up at least every two hours. I have discovered that waking up and having indigestion later is mostly caused by eating a few nuts when I am hungry in the night when I wake up with restless leg. I started having a little turkey and sweet potato if I was just too hungry to make it and that lets me sleep without waking. What a little change to fix up everything. Still losing weight so I will stick with that until I can sleep all night. I still hope to continue to taper off but not sure if I can get all the way off. I have to keep up the protein to keep my iron levels up but that is hard in that I don't really like it very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praxisproject Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 I have to keep up the protein to keep my iron levels up but that is hard in that I don't really like it very much. Have you tried slow cooker meat? I cook up some slow roasted pork and onion in my slow cooker until it's super tender. It's lovely with all kinds of things, blends easily into smooth soups if you want that and also freezes well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violetta Posted January 9, 2016 Author Share Posted January 9, 2016 I have not eaten pork or beef except for a little bacon for about 20 years and very sparingly since I was a child. I have never liked it. I remember crying when my mom would serve steak and later leaving the table and making a box of frozen broccoli so I would have something to eat. I just can't make myself eat it and certainly not cook it. It would have to be disguised pretty well. I eat a lot of chicken and turkey and fish but red meat, I just can't, wish I could. If I wanted to try this, what cut of meat would I buy? I don't even know anything about red meat. On another note, finally made a second attempt at only 1 mirapex and went to sleep okay with no restless leg ( could be the whole chicken breast I ate after dinner?). Still woke up at 5 and I was just done after 6 1/2 hours although no restless leg. But I feel great, the less mirapex, the better I feel in the morning. But I need to try to get up to 7-71/2 hours still. And the indigestion is pretty much gone once I stopped having any nuts at all, very sad to lose them but if I need to take a horrible drug like prilosec in order to eat them, it is worth it to quit. Haven't touched a prilosec in three days since I stopped eating them and not even a rumble or a burp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praxisproject Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 It really depends on the individual, but if red is harder, you might want to try pork, it's the whitest of the red meats, but has a lot more iron than white meat. You can make some lovely slow cooker pork like this: http://nomnompaleo.com/post/10031990774/slow-cooker-kalua-pig Or if you want to stick to chicken, chicken liver is much higher in iron (and a bunch of other nutrients too): http://meljoulwan.com/2012/01/08/crispy-spiced-chicken-livers/ You might find this handy too: http://whole9life.com/2013/02/eating-meat-a-primer-for-the-meat-challenged-2/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violetta Posted January 11, 2016 Author Share Posted January 11, 2016 I can't make myself spend 8 dollars on salt for the pork recipe, but I will check out some pork at the organic grocery store next time I go shopping which could be a while, it's 100 miles away. Maybe I could try some organic ground beef from Costco. But my husband who has willing gone along with all the weird foods I have cooked, drew the line at beef or pork, said he wouldn't eat it. But who knows... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praxisproject Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 You can just use regular salt. I can't get that kind here at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violetta Posted January 12, 2016 Author Share Posted January 12, 2016 Okay, going for it next time I am in town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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