Please share your experiences, successes, and failures in using non-drug therapies for RLS/WED (methods of relief that don't involve swallowing or injecting anything), including compression, heat, light, stretches, acupuncture, etc. Also under this heading, medical interventions that don't involve the administration of a medicine to the body (eg. varicose-vein operations, deep-brain stimulation). [This forum contains Topics started prior to 2009 that deal with Non-prescription Medicines, Supplements, & Diet.]
I posted some information on using NADH, and I have a follow up.....I have used it instead of Mirapex for over a month and it has worked very well, up untill just a few nights ago. I feel so confused. I go to bed, and I do not feel as much need to move my legs, but a very subtle tension seems to be in my legs for the last few nites and i have been getting up an staying up untill about 1 or 2 am, then go to bed and fall asleep.
This ordeal with supplements or drugs and how irregular the effectiveness is the worst. I have been logging onto other RLS sites and read that researchers believe dopamine levels drop at about 3pm and return to normal by about 3 am - which could explain why I can go back to bed in the middle of the night and fall asleep.
But I feel jaded, and everytime I think something will stay the same, it seems like it doesn't.
Does anyone else stay up untill 1 or 2 am and then go to sleep?
After reading your initial mail I purchased NADH. Probably a bit early to tell but it does appear to give some relief to the symptoms. I still wake up 2/3 times a night but my overall rest seems to have inproved.
I have had this for the last 6+ years and my sleep is broken several times a night. If I do manage to sleep then it hits me the next day. Tried a number of prescription drugs but to no avail and the augmentation the following days was not worth it. I can live with the nigt time stuff but I also get build ups during the day, which can be a wee bit embarrassing when I start hopping round the office and everyone thinks I'm having a hearth attack.
The funny thing is my doctor keeps telling me I'm in great health for my age. A sense of humour definitely helps....
Jaded, how I can relate to that! Recently I took a new medication, and did not take my daily med... the next three nights I was bothered by rls sensations even taking my meds as prescribed. Hate that sense of panic!
Was leary to try the new med again, but finally did and no RLS sensations.
Until there is further research to determine what the RLS cause we will be limited to trial and error treatment.
Do you keep a sleep diary? If not you might consider doing so for a two month period and see if the insomnia is a pattern. Have just began this myself, as I find a period of seven days or so during the monthly cycle that I just can't seem to fall asleep. Then I will go through several days of falling asleep and waking during the night. I think it will help me to track it for several months.
*************Positive Thoughts***************
May you find comfort and reassurance knowing that you are not alone.
Hazel
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation.
Music can be made anywhere, is invisible and does not smell. --W H Auden
Have popped into this board as I have severe RLS. Has become evident after weaning off some pain meds which, come to find out, is used to treat RLS. So what to do. I use Leg Cramp by Hylands which is a natural remedy and take it with my Mirapex. At night I take the two plus a klonopin which is for a Pheo problem I am dealing with. Anyway the quinine in the Leg Cramp is what stops the RLS. I have been able to sleep good for a few hours and then take more Leg Cramp (leave by my bed) and go back to sleep. Otherwise I am up at 1:30 almost on the dot and can't get to sleep until 4:00. It seems to help me. It also has been suggested to drink tonic water as it has quinine in it. Thought I would give my two cents worth. Now I am confused....did I get this information here? Diane
I am glad that some other folks have been giving NADH a try. I am sure that it has increased my dopamine levels. I have decided to stay awake in the evening untill about 1 or 2, because after that I can fall asleep pretty easily. knock on wood!
I went to get my ferritin levels checked and will find the results in a couple of weeks. I actually hope that they are low so that I can have something to work on and hope for improvement!
I'm on week two with NADH. Still wake up at night but my overall sleep is better. The best for me is that it has helped me with the day pains. Normally i would get a few build ups during the day but the NADH seems to have helped big time. Still experimenting with the dosage but I don't think its a case, of, the more you take the better the results. This is the only item that has geiven some relief so happy days.
Thanks to those of you who have been trying the NADH and reporting some positive effects. It makes me happy to hear about anyone who is finding some relief.
Since I wrote last I also found (in some science research type document) some info on tyrosine, which is an ammino acid (you may already know this) And that it plays a lead role in getting dopamine to the brain. It can also be found in health food stores. So now I am on a (somewhat annoying) regimen of Tyrosine at midmorning, mid afternoon and after dinner. I take just 5mg of NADH in midafternoon and about .4 mg (a little sliver of mirapex) with dinner. Anyway, all these going together is working well enough that almost every night I can go to sleep and keep a regular schedule. The only problems I have found to interrupt this is stress.
I continue to research more avenues......and I am glad to have all of you to share it with, and learn from your experiences.
Hazel,
thanks for the idea for a sleep diary, to see if there is a pattern. I agree with the sense of panic. For me, if I get some relief then things seem (temporarily) to become difficult again, I do feel upset. If I found a pattern, then it would be easier to notice what is going on.
Diane
