Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

I had restless leg sydrome since I was a child and I am now 48. It would occur at night, on a plane, in the movie theater, anywhere. Last year I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease which is an allergy to wheat or gluten. Within a month of not eating gluten my restless leg sydrome stopped. It can happen again if I inadvertantly eat some gluten. A gluten allergy effects the nervous system which I believe was causing the restless leg syndrome in me. Before not eating gluten I tried everything but nothing worked. I was only getting about 4 hours of sleep a night. Celiac disease occurs in one out of 135 people and the vast majority don't know they have it. It also causes eczema, tiredness, poor memory, and a many other symtoms. Please see if you have celiac disease as is a simple blood test. I encourage everyone to be checked for this allergy it may solve your restless leg too.

Hey, MDGuy, my DH has celiac. I'm constantly exhorting everyone here to get tested, so I love it when a real diagnosed celiac stops in to explain that this is very important! While undiagnosed CD can cause a host of unexplained neuro problems, many of the problems stem from malabsorption. Since iron is so crucial to preventing RLS, and many celiacs are anemic ude to malabsorption, I think about 30 percent or more of undiagnosed celiacs have pretty severe RLS.

Just curious, how's the diet coming? That first year can be pretty rough. We've been GF for about ten years, so anymore we don't really think about it much, except when I look at what's in my cart at the grocery store compared to teh person in front or behind me. Then I realize how much my life has changed, even though I don't think about it.

Thanks again for the post.

Hi MDGUY and welcome to this group. I have some knowledge of celiac disease as my sister has it and so does my brother-in-law. I do not think they ever had rls.

The bloodwork is called a celiac panel and it is a combination of three (3) blood tests; anti-gliadin, anti-endomysial and anti-reticulin. The anti-gliadin alone is not sufficient. The very best test (but it is not done in many labs) is the transglutaminase. It is the most specific; however be sure your insurance does cover it.

I am glad that your rls is under control and hope that it continues.

I think this is at least partially applicable - in Dr. B.'s book, he names ice cream as the only food that has been shown in some studies to worsen RLS, exactly because of gluten. It seems to speak to your theory. Welcome an good luck with continued success!

Hi Brandy,

Most ice cream doesn't have gluten. . .cookies and cream, yep, but not vanilla, chocolate, etc. He does mention gluten right before that and even suggests that you go wheat free to see if it helps, so it may sound like it's gluten he's talking about when he mentions ice cream, but it's either the sugar, the carbs, or the monodiglycierides (one theory) in terms of ice cream.

Thanks, Ann! My bad! That's what we're here for, right? What's life without chocolate or ice cream. I think this definitely deserves a QOL statement!

hi, i'm in the process of examining my diet. what sort of foods contain gluten?

Hi Aff and welcome to this group. Anything with wheat, oats, rye and barley contain gluten. I hope that you do not have celiac disease as my sister has it and almost died from it.

Have a good day.

It sounds horrible at first, but following a gluten free diet isn't that hard IF you like to cook and don't rely on pre-packaged food and takeout.

As Charlene said, it's food with wheat, barley and rye. Oats themselves are not a problem, but most are contaminated by wheat (from the fields, the trucks that carry them and processing).

The hard part is that these are hidden in many other foods. You have to become a label reader.

A sugar free diet is a great diet to start with for RLS. If that doesn't work, try a low carb. If that doesn't work, try gluten- or at least wheat-free. Read labels, no regular breads, bagels, cakes, cookies, etc.