Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

I just wondered if there are any Vitamins / Minerals that have been proven to help with RLS.

I heard Vitamin E and Magnesium could help but have found no evidence of this.

jakeday, in general, the only vitamin or mineral that benefits to a large number of our members has been Iron. There are some who report benefits from the use of magnesium, so if you are deficient in magnesium, then that might have a benefit.

If you look through some of the other discussions in this forum, then you will find others reporting on other supplements. Sometimes these work for specific individuals, others have found no benefit.

So the overall message is to go ahead and try some of these supplements, but do not be surprised if none of them provide my relief for you RLS.

As I understand it, other than iron*, a deficiency in few vitamins can contribute to RLS - but the key is that you are first deficient. Most recently, Vitamin D was implicated. In the past, as Steve noted, magnesium has been, as well as the B vitamins.

But, as Steve noted, as far as we know, it's only if you are deficient. Could be why many of us try them and have no luck.

*Iron is the most well studied. We know that there is a lack of iron in the brain and that the cells in the brain that transfer dopamine do not work well because of this lack of iron. Many people get better if they take iron IF their serum ferritin is below 50. But, it's a complex issue, as taking iron doesn't mean the iron will get into your brain, where it needs to be. And, too much iron can lead to a serious condition. Always get both your hemoglobin and serum ferritin tested before taking iron regularly. And always ask for the actual numbers - nurses or doctors who aren't that familiar with this research may say that "it is in normal range" but they don't realize that we seem to need it to be higher than the very lows associated with normal range.