Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

update:

I cut sweet and low (saccharin) out about 2 days ago. I replaced it with splenda but I'm keeping that to a few packets. I never use aspartame on purpose but I know its been in stuff so I'm making an attempt (but not a militant one) to avoid it... Ive used some things with maltodextrin a few times.

all I can say is whoa! I was having rls all day. if I didnt take my first dose of requip by 8 i was screwed for the night... and I was waking with it anyway...and was up early because it was so bad I couldnt stand it anymore (4 to 4:30 a) And because I was tired I was napping which was just a study in frustration because I was kicking like crazy the second i fell asleep....

the day I stopped the sweet and low....SO much better. I still wake at night - afterall, Im still bad but I napped twice with no legs... I took my requip later than 8 twice to see and no issues at all... I still wake with plms BUT it isnt the strong awful kicking that makes my legs hurt all day. AND my arms and trunk arent involved.

so whoa. clearly I have to add saccharine to fresca soda as something that I can't tolerate at all.

Interesting. It's odd, but many of us are really sensitive to some foods or additives.

At least you found it!

Cutting things like aspartame out has been mentioned as helping people before, I'm wondering if any of the experts have anything to say about this.

Some research has been done on this subject:

[Restless legs due to ingestion of 'light' beverages containing saccharine. Results of an N-of-1 trial][Article in Dutch]


de Groot S.
siepdegroot@planet.nl

To determine whether there was a connection between the complaint of restless legs and the ingestion of artificial sweeteners in a patient with these symptoms after drinking certain 'light' beverages, a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled N-of-1 trial with a crossover design was used. During a period of 48 days, the patient took 4 capsules per day containing either 150 mg of cyclamate, 22.5 mg of saccharine, both sweeteners, or placebo on two successive days. Between each of these 2-day periods there was a 2-day rest period during which no capsules were taken. The hospital pharmacist had prepared the capsules and determined the sequence of the 2-day periods on a random basis. The patient did not know which capsules he was taking. Every day on arising, starting 3 weeks before the trial period, the patient noted the intensity and duration of the symptoms in the late evening and previous night. For this notation he used an 11-point scale, from 0 (= no restless legs) to 10 (= almost total inability to sleep because of restless legs). A score of 1-3 corresponded to mild symptoms that had no effect on the patient's sleep; at a score of 4-6 his sleep was disturbed and at a score of 7-10 the patient hardly slept at all.The patient had symptoms more often while using saccharine or the combination of saccharine and cyclamate than when taking the placebo (4 and 4 versus 2 of the 6 nights); moreover, the average score was then statistically significantly higher (5.2 and 5.8 versus 3-3). It was concluded that there was a connection between the patient's complaints of restless legs and the use of saccharine, but not the use of cyclamate.

Corrie

Too bad it didn't test the other more recent sweeteners, too. But, still wonderful to see a relationship that is statistically significant.