Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

I have often found that when RLS is troublesome in the middle of the night, eating a small bowl of oats with a few raisins and a splash of milk plus drinking a soothing herbal tea helps RLS and Periodic Leg Movements to subside, after which I can often go back to bed and fall asleep. My Dad, (passed away sadly), who suffered in the extreme from RLS, also used to eat a very bland, low sugar biscuit during his sleep-impaired nights. Knowing how focussed he was on doing everything to control his condition, I doubt he ate those biscuits just for their comfort value. Maybe, like me he found that a bit of carbohydrate resulted in drowsiness and helped him to go back to bed and get some sleep? Does anyone else find the same thing?

What could be the explanation if there is something in this? Thinking about the Hypoxia theory, would the carbohydrate intake cause an increase in blood oxygen to the brain?

I often eat when I have rls. I think it may just be that it takes your mind off it, so for a while there is relief.

I have no idea!

Hmmmm... lots of possibilities. In the research section is an article cited in which the researchers found that people with RLS have a much higher incidence of nocturnal eating disorder. http://bb.rls.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4749&p=72485&hilit=eating#p72485 Until I read that I assumed that it had been my bad habit to have nighttime snacks. Over the past week I've been starting on a ketogenic diet, that's actually the exact opposite of eating a carb. Up until starting with ketogenic diet I had break through leg symptoms a couple of nights a week although not badly. Since starting the ketogenic diet I've had no breakthrough symptoms at all.

For me, the eating doesn't make any difference with my RLS/PLM. If I'm up at night, I usually don't eat now. I just wait about the same amount of time, whether I eat or not. I think I used to eat at night, just for something to do. Plus, the Mirapex made me hungry.

@debbluebird I'm curious about you saying "the Mirapex made me hungry". Did it make you want to eat to the point it was like a compulsive behavior? When I was on it I would get up during the night and cook. A snack just wasn't enough. It is a known possible side effect.

http://www.pdf.org/en/science_news/rele ... 1358187216

I gained 30 pounds on pramipexole the first time. This time, it's been better, but I still have a general feeling all day that I want to eat...even when I am not hungry.

I gained 10# on Mirapex. I'm losing some of it now on Neupro patches.

I gained 14 lbs pretty much through nocturnal eating. Boredom/chocci biscuit/ packet gone !!
One bowl of cereal.... of course not, 2 or 3 !!
Glad to say that I've got on top of the nocturnal habit which had gone on for about 2 years and I'm down about 4lbs. It is a very great temptation during the night - comfort/boredom eating I thought, I didn't consider that it was a compulsion..... perhaps too close to it to see it.

sleepdancer2 wrote:@debbluebird I'm curious about you saying "the Mirapex made me hungry". Did it make you want to eat to the point it was like a compulsive behavior? When I was on it I would get up during the night and cook. A snack just wasn't enough. It is a known possible side effect.

http://www.pdf.org/en/science_news/rele ... 1358187216

I was always hungry. It would take a lot or me to feel full. I gained 80 pounds. I can really see the difference now. At the time I didn't know what was happening. I just thought it was my bad choices. I'm 50 ponds lighter now, and still trying to lose.

Well done on losing 50lbs. What an achievement !

Polar Bear wrote:Well done on losing 50lbs. What an achievement !

Indeed!!!!

I still want to lose more. 50 more to get back where I was before mirapex. Very slow process. I have 10 pound goals at a time.

I just about choke when I hear these pramipexole stories. Argh. Congratulations all of you on getting rid of its weight.

I also eat at night but I eat fatty snacks. I have convinced myself it helps with the symptoms. The response isn't consistent though, so it's probably just be the moving around and a powerful placebo effect.

Holland, I was on a keto diet for a few months on the advice of my GP. I started off on the second level of the Wahls diet (Terry Wahls, an MD with MS) , which is low carb but not keto, and during that time I was able to reduce my daily hydromorph contin dose from 18-21 mg to 9-12. That was over about 8 months i think. Then I went to the third level, which is ketogenic, but unfortunately it was around the time I started at a HIIT gym (high intensity interval training). I was sooo burnt. I was just utterly exhausted after every workout. There was nothing left of me, and it took 4-5 hours to recover. Because I'm generally exhausted all the time anyway, it took me a while to put 2 and 2 together, and even when I did, I really wanted to give the ketogenic diet a chance, so I stayed on it about 4 months. I got tested my blood ketones tested once, I was mildly ketogenic.

Ultimately, I was more addicted to the gym than to the idea that the keto diet might help my WED, so I added carbs back in. I'm still pretty wasted after some workouts but mostly it's much better than before. I have found I have to be careful what carbs I eat, though - my symptoms went nuts after 3 weeks on a grain-heavy diet and it took a long time to get them back under control, until I cut out the grains again. I am not really sure what caused it, though, way too many variables. Rice and quinoa seem to be ok, sweet potatoes good, lentils and beans OK. And on days when I don't exercise (which aren't many - which fact might be causing the problems I'm having - another story) I eat less carbs. Sugar I still avoid, except dates in some of my fatty snacks.

I hope you continue to post about how your keto experiment is going as you continue with it.