Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

I'll revive this thread by saying that I tried it, and it worked! At 1:30 AM, I was desperate enough to try anything, and was able to get to sleep within just a short time. Now, after about 30 minutes I woke again, and repeated the treatment. Maybe I wasn't putting enough on? Oh, well. I will definitely be putting this in my bag of tricks.

k, so now try rubbing hand lotion into the soles of your feet. Is it the rubbing or the vicks? Then try just moving a bit. Does it take longer or shorter to fall asleep, does it last longer or shorter?

Could it even be the massaging action?

When we do something like rub on Vick's, you move, you focus, you rub/massage. In some circumstances, that might be enough to stop it. Not saying it's not the Vick's...just that we can't prove that it is, either. Proving things is a lot harder than it seems!

I find the massaging helps a bit especially if it is done nightly for a few minutes. For me it is better if it is deep massage--can be a bit painful at the time but it changes the rls sensation some and after the pain subsides my feet relax a bit and feel better (and bruised)
Well, going out to work in the garden, have a better night all.

Hi all, I tried the Vicks Vaporub - and it worked, but only for a few days sadly! I've been weaning myself off Ropinirole and on to Gabapentin, but the latter made me too tired during the day, so in desperation I tried the vaporub and was amazed to be able to take just .25mg of ropinirole and 100mg of gabapentin and actually to be able to sleep without a-creeping, a-crawling and a-kicking all over the place - such bliss! Seems sadly to have stopped working now, so back to desparation for me. Sigh.

I tried it without success.... but I reckon all of us are willing to try anything... absolutely anything.... for relief.

That's just so weird how things truly, genuinely work for a few days and then stop working.

I wonder if it has something in common with pain disorders? You can interrupt the feedback loop temporarily, but then your brain/nervous system compensates and the pain starts up again.

Take augmentation - it's like our bodies need that RLS sensation, and if they stop having it, they just ramp up the input until it's back to whatever level makes it happy.

There's definitely a lot of research to be done!

Hi tea4me,

According to the ingredient list: http://www.vicks.com/products/vapo-fami ... -ointment/ two of the three primary ingredients of Vicks Vaporub are topical analgesics - Camphor and Menthol. A possible explanation of the RLS/WED-reducing effects of applying these to the soles of the feet can be found in my etiological hypotheses for RLS/WED: http://aminotheory.com/rlsd/ . I propose that the RLS sensation and PLMD motor symptoms result from a disinhibited spinal reflex response to soft-touch in the foot arch, typically due to lack of dopaminergic and/or opioid activation in these spinal circuits. I propose that this in turn is due to excesses of dopamine receptor antagonists, and/or opioid receptor antagonists such as those found in coffee (you are better off with tea if you must use caffeine) and/or deficiencies in dopamine receptor agonists (dopamine itself and drugs which activate the dopamine receptors) or opioid agonists, both of which activate inhibitory receptors in these circuits.

A crucial part of my hypothesis is the novel suggestion that this uniquely human reflex circuit can be triggered by low-level "noise" signals from the sensory neurons in the foot arch - a level of signal which is very low and ordinary results even when there is nothing touching the skin there. I suggest that this low level of activation gives rise to RLS/WED symptoms only when the circuits are extremely disinhibited. It follows from this suggestion that if you can do something to reduce the activity of those foot-arch soft-touch sensory neurons, you may reduce this low level of signal going to the spinal cord. (Rubbing the area firmly stimulates other neurons and seems to temporarily reduce the sensitivity of the soft-touch neurons.)

My wife Tina and I found that we could achieve this to some extent with EMLA topical anesthetic cream, and quite robustly with a strong solution of clove oil, which contains the topical anesthetic eugenol. I mention these substances only in terms of experimentation. I am not a doctor and can't recommend either being safe. Most likely they are not safe for repeated use.

However, if you can get the same benefits with Vicks Vaporub or similar, then I guess this is probably safe to use on the soles of your feet, since it is safe to use on the chest. If you have the same trouble in your arms, you could try it on the palms of your hand.

If you have trouble in both your arms and legs, and you apply the Vicks Vaporub to just the hands, or just the feet, and find the symptoms stop just in the arms or the legs respectively, then this would be an important observation which would support my hypotheses. My email address is at the abovementioned website. Keen experimenters could also try applying it to just one foot, or one hand, to see if the effects were specific to that limb.

I have many other suggestions, including avoiding coffee, using oral tyrosine supplements and (if safe) using percussive massage of the lower (legs) or upper (arms) spinal area.

I have recently learnt that RLS/WED can be driven by hyperthyroidism. (http://www.medicine.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/ ... yroid.html) Perhaps hypothyroidism may contribute to RLS/WED symptoms too. I understand that many people have hypothyroidism (http://www.cemcor.ubc.ca/ask/perimenopause_thyroid) but that it is frequently undiagnosed or ineffectively treated. Sorting out any such problems, improving general nutrition (especially regarding iron, calcium and magnesium) and avoiding coffee are likely to be much more effective than applying a lotion every night - but still it is interesting if the lotion works, especially if it only works when applied to the arches of the feet and/or the palms of the hands.

- Robin (Melbourne, Australia)

Thank you robin. It's interesting how you're tying all this information together. I hope you keep up your investigations.

I can't wait to try this. I just put it on. I suffer
So severely that the doctors have put me on a morphine patch but that makes me sick with all kinds of side effects.
I am praying this works. I a cancer patient and would
Love to control this problem with Vicks.
Thanks so much for telling us about this.

It will be interesting to hear if this works for you

I started using the Vicks last night. I kept waking up and thinking
"No pain". I have RLS severely and is aggregated by cancer and treatments.
I am trying the Vicks for the second night. Please let this be the miracle I have been looking for.
No pain so far tonight.

It worked for me. Thanks. I hate the mess but it is worth it. I have cancer
And I just can't stand the RLS, too. I have had to rely on pain killers.
This is a Miracle.

I'm going to try this. Thank you very much.