Restless Leg Syndrome


A number of you have asked me about restless leg syndrome. Some of you have reported that the symptoms seem to be worse after you started the food plan.

While I have worked with a number of people who experience restless legs, I had not really understood it fully. I went to the journals and found that RLS "remains poorly understood." But I did find some clues which might be helpful: there appears to be a genetic component to it.

* RLS is associated with inattention and hyperactivity (sounds like many of us)!

* There seems to be a connection between RLS and reactive hypoglycemia. If your blood sugar is low, RLS may get worse.

* RLS is improved by drugs which activate dopamine - like cocaine, amphetamine or coffee. Which means going off of coffee will make it worse.

* RLS is improved by opioids so going off of sugars of course will make it worse.

* RLS is made worse by use of SSRI's (Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, etc.) so enhancing your serotonin is likely to make symptoms worse.

Are you doomed to restless legs if you want to heal your sugar sensitivity? I don't think so! Here are some helpful hints:

* Increasing your protein intake before bed (rather than using the potato) will help increase your dopamine levels.

* Be really rigorous about keeping your blood sugar levels steady.

* Increase the internal opioids in your system by exercising.

Let us know how it goes. It's a tricky one.

* Ondo W. Restless legs syndrome:clinicoetiologic correlates. Neurology, 1996 Dec:47(6):1435-1441.

* Hargrave R. Restless leg syndrome exacerbated by sertraline. Psychosomatics, 1998 Mar:39(2):177-78.

* Chervin RD. Symptoms of sleep disorders, inattention and hyperactivity in children. Sleep, 1997 Dec:20(12):1185-1192.

(c) Kathleen DesMaisons 2006. All rights reserved.