Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

Hi everyone. I have been suffering with this hell for about 5 years. It's been getting progressively worse and now it's a seven day a week nightmare between midnight and 4am. Like clockwork! But alas! I've seem to be on to something that I wanted to share. I'm male 42 with a height of 187 and 104kg, so about 14k overweight. I treat nightly with 50mg of Tramadol and have had great success with that medicine. However recently a friend bet me 1000 dollars to see who could lose 10kg the fastest. I went on a low carb type diet cutting all starches. I eat about 12 servings of fruit and veg daily. As my weight dropped so did reliance on another drug for acid. (A common anti acid PPI). I decided four nights ago to miss my Tramadol dose and amazingly I slept soundly. Now it's four days and the RLS is mild and not requiring meds. I'm not sure if it's the increase in vitamins and minerals (from the veg) or the loss of 8kg. Or even the fact that I stopped taking antacid. But whatever the heck it is it's obvious that low carbs, weight loss, and healthier eating have transformed this body.

Hi and welcome to the board. I love to hear success stories. There is hope in this for all of us. It will not be a one-size-fits-all solution, but I Am convinced that nutrition and lifestyle play key roles.

I also went low carb - ketogenic for a while - and at the same time eating 12-15 cups (!!) of veggies a day (mostly in smoothies). I was able to reduce my medication almost in half. I let the diet slide though (I stopped ketogenesis because I took hours to recover from a HIIT workout. I tried to add carbs only when I was going to be working out, but it was hard to manage so I sort of added carbs in general, and then I got slack about the vegetables). I have recently started to get strict with the diet again, because I seem to have lost some of the benefits and I want them back.

I'm encouraged to hear of your results. Nice timing for me as I try to get back onto my diet and can use the encouragement. I'm amazed you see results in a few days - - don't be discouraged if your condition fluctuates over the coming weeks, and stick to the diet. My results took a couple of months to manifest, first s a slight reduction in medication, then over a total of 9 months the total drop I achieved. My good results had nothing to do with weight loss; I didn't lost any weight nor did I need to.

I ate not only low carb and high veg, I ate no sugar and no overly processed foods, no modified oils, no additives (I have to make everything myself, hugely time-consuming), and plenty of raw fermented vegetables. That last has almost eliminated my former low-grade but constant depression and anxiety.

I would love to continue hearing how your journey unfolds.

Hope it continues to work for a long, long time!

What a wonderful result - losing 8kg, going off your PPI, lessened RLS symptoms.
Are you still not taking any Tramadol i.e. you are totally drug free where your RLS is concerned.