Light Therapy Patches

[ndarbydog]

I've had RLS for many years, but the past 2 years have been the most difficult. Like most of you I've tried everything, including Pramipexol and Gabapentin, but quickly developed augmentation. At wits end and with thoughts of suicide and using self harm and 1 step away from using opiates, a friend told me about some light therapy patches. They are meant to simulate a peptide that then enhances stem cell function. My friend also experiences RLS, but not to the degree I do, and has had some relief using the patches. I began using the patches on May 4 and used them for 1 month before noticing a change. Since the beginning of 2021 I've kept a graph of my symptoms every night (I've attached May and June) I rate my symptoms as No Symptoms, Mild Symptoms, Severe Symptoms and Beyond Severe. May was pretty typical of Jan. through April. Very rare to have a night without symptoms. Then in June I started noticing a change and I've had 16 symptom free nights. Honestly, I can't believe it, but as you can imagine I am so thankful. AND I've been able to wean myself off of Gabapentin, which had disturbing side effects for me. I'm still using Pramipexol, but wouldn't it be wonderful if I could wean myself off of those as well? I'll say!!! Has anyone else had experience using light therapy patches?

[ViewsAskew]

Never heard of them. Glad you are having some success with them.

[badnights]

I had to look them up. They seem pretty hokey to me.

"When you place a patch over a specific acupuncture point, that infrared light [emitted by your body] is reflected back into the body at specific light wavelengths that create beneficial changes in your cells....Each patch has different actions. For instance, Silent Nights patches increase melatonin production and seratonin, while Ice Wave patches decrease pain." Placement of Silent Nights patches can be on the forehead or the feet, or some other locations, supposedly different places work for different people.

Their explanation is lacking. Reflection doesn't change the wavelength of light. And as for how the Silent Nights patch works, forehead for some people, feet for others, elsewhere for yet others - well, melatonin and seratonin production happens in the brain. Are these patches really somehow converting infrared radiation into other wavelengths of light and sending it back into the flesh under the patch? and is that light really increasing the brain's production of serotonin and melatonin? I have my doubts.

But that doesn't mean they're not working! Maybe they're doing something. I don't know.

It would definitely be good if you could get off the pramipexole, but you'll probably need something stronger to get through that. Have you had your iron and ferritin checked? Keeping iron stores up helps prevent augmentation. Also, sometimes oral iron will reduce or eliminate symptoms without any other medication.