Another newbie to the forum

[tor378]

Hello,
I was diagnosed with RLS in 2009 through a sleep study (confirmed with another sleep study this year). I had never heard of it before that, though I had been suffering from worsening fatigue for several years and poor sleep, so I am sure it has been an issue for me for many years prior to 2009. Since then, I have tried many things, preferring to avoid pharmaceutical approach. Magnesium supplements (and various other supplements), caffeine avoidance, alcohol avoidance, meditation, massage, hot baths, etc, etc, have had little effect. A few years ago, I did give Requip a short trial but found I woke in the morning feeling even worse. I should point out that my ferratin level is fine (140).

BTW, I don't believe that RLS/WED is a "disease". I believe that, like a headache, the twitching/pain/uncomfortable feeling in one's legs is simply a symptom of somthing else that is wrong with the individual. Looking at some of the different approaches to deal with RLS which work for some people and not for others, I believe that there are multiple potential causes of these symptoms we call RLS.

As an analytical person, of course, my thought is to try to find that root cause for myself. This is part of why I avoid a pharmaceutical approach, which only attempts to treat symptoms and which seeem, inevtiably to lead to terrible side effects (augmentation being one). Even my sleep doctor seems to be prefer not prescribing anything for me (not that I would take it), having himself sworn off prescribing dopamine agonists due to their side effects.

However, in the last several months, my sleep seems to have worsened and I am more fatigued than ever. Truly finding the real cause of my RLS seems unlikely in the foreseeable future, so I have decided (on the encouragement of my wife and full support of my family doctor) to try medical marijuana. Yes, this is simply a potential treatment of the symptoms, but I am hoping that any side effects (especially compared to pharmaceuticals) will be minimal. And, I have to also consider the detrimental effects on my health longer term due to poor sleep quality. The negative impacts of sleep deprivation on one's health can be quite dramatic.

As far as the MM is concerned, I have an appointment with the doctor at the cannabis clinic later in July and hopefully give MM a trial after that. I shall post my experiences with MM later this summer in the thread on this subject elsewhere in this forum.

Thanks for reading, and wishing you all good luck in dealing with RLS.

tor378

[jul2873]

Good luck to you. I was in your position and decided to try kratom (a legal mild opioid-like herb) and it's been wonderful for me.

[Polar Bear]

tor378 - I wish you success with your doctor and the MM.

I have had RLS for 35+ years, 25 of them were unmedicated. Whilst unmedicated my symptoms reached 24/7, life was very difficult.
Medication saved my sanity - where I live there is not the opportunity for MM, I really hope it works for you and that you find some symptom relief.