L Tyrosine update

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.]
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ViewsAskew
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L Tyrosine update

Post by ViewsAskew »

Off and on, someone posts that L tyrosine helps. A few people have used it without anything else and had success.

I tried it awhile back and didn't notice much help. This was quite awhile ago, though, so recently I decided to try again. I had been trying to cut back on methadone and been trying different options. I also continue to suffer from PLMD and have been trying to resolve that as the methadone doesn't help much and I'm constantly foggy and tired.. Neurontin didn't work consistently and left me soooo foggy. Lyrica didn't seem to help at all, but sure made me non-functional the next day. Mirapex, however, worked well, but I augmented again very quickly.

Over time, I'd started using Mirapex 2 days in a row, then not using it for 3 or 4 days, then using it for 2. I could cut the methadone in 1/2 by adding .125 of Mirapex. But, Mirapex makes me sleep irregularly - frequent awakenings and difficulty getting back to sleep.

Since the l tyrosine is supposed to help increase dopamine, I thought I'd add it on the nights that I wasn't taking the Mirapex and maybe get some benefit, but not have any augmentation. I noticed I slept better on those nights, so soon I added it on the nights I took the Mirapex, too, especially since the Mirapex prevents me from sleeping well.

Wonders of wonders - I sleep much better with fewer awakenings and I fall back to sleep quickly. It's been working for several weeks, maybe a month like this. Of course, I still have some nights that are worse and I'm up until the wee hours and sometimes the RLS just doesn't comply, but related to staying asleep when taking Mirapex, this supplement seems to be working extremely well. I also seem to feel better when I awaken, taking only a couple of hours to become functional, instead of taking 6-8 hours before I feel like I'm awake.

My only potential complication is that in the last week I've developed diarrhea. Since I take methadone, this is unlikely to happen on it's on. The first time it happened, I'd eaten at an Indian restaurant - the food was great, but I'd thought maybe the sanitation wasn't the greatest. But, my companion didn't get sick and it didn't last long enough for me to think it was that. Two days later it was back and I'd not eaten anything that I didn't make. I've now had it for three days in a row.

It could be something else causing it and I'm just not aware of what it is. I looked it up and it can cause diarrhea at high doses, but I'm taking 1000 mg a night....hardly a high dose (I was reading about people taking 12 grams!). So, I've stopped it last night and will remain off of it until I track this down. I'm drinking kefir and doing other things to make my gut happy. It's a nice change from the methadone concrete, but a bit disturbing as it's definitely not normal.

I hope this last part doesn't prevent anyone from trying it. While it didn't work well for me initially, it certainly is now. It may depend on what you're taking, I don't know. I do know that it's made my nights a LOT better.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

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