Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

As a result of the paper that Views posted on L-Theanine at http://bb.rls.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4749&start=255, I decided to try it out.

For the first couple of days I didn't see all that much difference. About the 3rd night I realized that I was getting sleepy almost immediately after I took it and more importantly, I was sleeping through the night. No bathroom breaks, just 7 to 8 hours of completely uninterrupted sleep. It seemed too good to be true, wonderful sleep using a simple amino acid supplement that was far more effective than melatonin.

After a couple of days I also noticed that not only was I not getting any WED breakthroughs during the day, but that I often forgot to take my afternoon done of pramipexole. I would realize this when it was time for my evening dose (and still wasn't experiencing any symptoms). After realizing what was happening, I was got a bit more diligent on the timing of my afternoon dose.

Well the honeymoon only lasted for about two weeks. First I started experiencing issues with the recurrence of insomnia (sans other WED). So I stopped taking the L-Theanine and now I am getting a recurrence of the severe symptoms of WED at bedtime even though I am taking my pramipexole on schedule. So, my guess is that the L-Theanine may act something like a natural source of dopamine that is additive to the pramipexole. Hopefully I can get back to normal in a couple of days because four straight nights of symptoms is starting to grow thin. I don't want to even think about the possibility of the "A" word at this point.

So, proceed at your own risk. It was a beautiful two weeks that had me thinking about reducing my dose of pramipexole, but not now.

Ah, I've had similar experiences - the bliss of thinking it's different! I always feel so deflated afterward. Guess I need to reframe that - two weeks of bliss is a wonderful thing .

I do hope your symptoms abate soon, Steve. That dread is one of the worst feelings....

Steve, you don't say how much L-theanine you took every night. I've taken 400 mgs. every night for months now (can't remember how many, exactly). It does help me sleep--although I never had as dramatic a change as you described. But if I forget to take it, I am more wakeful. It also seems to be the ingredient that is lowering my blood pressure. The real ingredient allowing me to sleep, however, is still kratom.

I'm sorry that it's not working for you anymore.

Mary

Mary, I was taking 200mg.

Well, I'm a fairly small woman and have been taking twice that. I think it's been almost a year. My husband ( large man) has been taking 600mg. every night as we're trying to get him off of his blood pressure medicine. (Something--either L-theanine or the kratom--has dramatically lowered mine.) And plus he seems to be sleeping a little better. At any rate, I would be surprised if it is the cause of more severe WED symptoms. I only started taking it to help with my sleeping. I don't think it ever had much effect on my WED, one way or the other.

At any rate, good luck!

Mary

Time for another update. The problems that I experienced a few weeks ago have all gone away. I am back to successfully treating my WED with 0.375mg of pramipexole and 600mg of gabapentin. I have not had any problems for a week now.

Since I have returned to "normal", I am considering trying the Theanine experiment once again. I did well for about two and a half weeks and was definitely sleeping better during the period until my 3 bad nights. A complicating factor may have been the impact of running the marathon, which causes all sorts of changes to the body's chemistry. The problems surfaced about a week afterward, but maybe that had something to do with the process of transitioning back to "normal".

So maybe I will try it again next week after I get through everything I have planned for next weekend (run in a track meet, volunteer at a water station for an Ironman competition and attend a classic rock concert ).

Rustsmith wrote:.... after I get through everything I have planned for next weekend (run in a track meet, volunteer at a water station for an Ironman competition and attend a classic rock concert ).

Sounds like a fun weekend....if not an extremely busy one!

After reading the post on the effects of L-Theanine I decided to give it a try, my normal sleep pattern is getting to bed between 1-3 A.M. and getting to sleep an hour later. The following are my results...
I started taking the following at 9P.M.: L-Theanine (200 mg), Melatonin (10 mg) and Valerian Root (500 mg). Sleepy by 10 P.M., in bed around 10:30 P.M., asleep by 11:00 P.M., waking up between 5-6 A.M., forcing myself to stay in bed and dosing off and on until 9:00 A.M., up around 9:30 A.M.. After 3 weeks noticed sleep effects of supplements decreasing, after 4 weeks back to old routine. I may try some other combination of supplements and see if I can switch between them to keep my body from adjusting to them. More later.

Maybe we need something WITH the L-theanine. No substance is used in our bodies in isolation.

Yes, the amino acids stimulate dopamine production. I take an amino acid blend every day. I have ADHD so it helps clear the fog out of my brain.

Update to my Nov 5, 2013 post...

I have found that (or it seems) my body adapts to the L-Theanine and Valarin Root after 10 - 14 days of continuous use so I tried using it for 3-5 days in a row and then stop taking it for 7-10 days and then repeating taking it again. As long as I do this I get good results from it. I can't say definitively what's happening but it seems to work by switching on and then off the drug for a period of time. I wonder if anyone else has had the same results?

I also find that exhausting my body (either by work or play) works just about as good as anything!