Restiffic and Relaxis Information

Please share your experiences, successes, and failures in using non-drug therapies for RLS/WED (methods of relief that don't involve swallowing or injecting anything), including compression, heat, light, stretches, acupuncture, etc. Also under this heading, medical interventions that don't involve the administration of a medicine to the body (eg. varicose-vein operations, deep-brain stimulation). [This forum contains Topics started prior to 2009 that deal with Non-prescription Medicines, Supplements, & Diet.]
Madmom02
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Restiffic and Relaxis Information

Post by Madmom02 »

Restiffic (the foot wrap) is currently on sale for $299.95/pair according to their web site. I've tried massaging the muscles they claim are involved but my poor MeSsy/Dupytrens hands are too weak/painful for me to really see if it helps.

Relaxis (the vibrating pad endorsed by Dr. Buchfuhrer on their web site) is $600 according to their customer service. They told me they were 6-8 months away from getting Medicare certification, whatever that means. I "jiggle" my legs like crazy when I don't have the strength or energy to walk and it helps. Until I stop. So, maybe in theory this could help some of us.

Has anyone tried either of these "devices" recently? If so, would you please share your results.

Has anyone's doctor mentioned these devices?

I'm sure many of us would like a workable non-pharmaceutical solution. As a person with MS I've seen lots of quackery so I'm really careful about this kind of stuff. Wouldn't it be nice if these worked?

Thoughts?

Not sure if links are allowed in posts. If they are and you want me to post links to these devices just let me know.
Madmom

badnights
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Re: Restiffic and Relaxis Information

Post by badnights »

Links are allowed, in general, but we prefer that users not link to commercial sites and we disallow attempts to sell products or promote products for the purpose of making sales. Obviously there's a grey area there :) For our policy, you can click the pink link at the top of each Forum or Topic page.

People can google those products easily enough, anyway.

I also would be interested in hearing the results from anyone who has used them. I would spring for the foot wrap but it;s not available except by prescription, presumably in the US only. I have a roller thingamajiggy that you can use for self-massage, and I have tried it on the sole of my foot with unclear results (small improvement but any activity can cause that). I have also tried it, with somewhat more believable positive results, on my tibialis anterior, which was shown to have reduced blood flow in WED patients (Oskarsson and others, 2014, Psychiatry and Clinical ... , v68, p640). It seems to help, and it also feels really good :). In keeping with the muscle hypoxia idea, any massage ought to increase blood flow and be of benefit, if it targets the hypoxic muscle(s).
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
Click for info on WED/RLS AUGMENTATION & IRON
I am a volunteer moderator. My posts are not medical advice. My posts do not reflect RLS Foundation opinion.

ViewsAskew
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Re: Restiffic and Relaxis Information

Post by ViewsAskew »

At my most recent appt with Dr B (which I will write about eventually), he asked if I'd tried Relaxis. He said it would not remove all symptoms in a severe case, but could allow someone to reduce meds. he also said that they are excellent to work with and I *think* he said that they would even refund it after quite awhile of trying it. Makes it tempting...

So far, the only vibration that has helped me is a vibrator on my vulva - not strong so that you are like "WHOA" but mild so that you are like, "Mmmm." Then I fall to sleep. It also only helps when my meds are covering 85-90% of the symptoms and I just need a bit more to fall to sleep and wait for meds to work.

But, who knows.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

Madmom02
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Location: My heart lives in the mountains

Re: Restiffic and Relaxis Information

Post by Madmom02 »

A vibrator, huh? Hmmm. Worth a try. 8) Ditto for the foam rollers. I'm actually going to ask my PT about them anyway because I've got some crazy tight glutes.

I also have a chi machine which I keep forgetting about. It works sometimes. I wonder if the Relaxis vibration is as intense as the chi machine is.

ViewsAskew
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Re: Restiffic and Relaxis Information

Post by ViewsAskew »

Not sure what a chi machine is. I have a hand held percussive massager - it is heavy and has a bunch of settings. Works well on trigger points, so I thought I'd try it on my legs during an RLS attack. It was NOT a good thing....made me jump through the roof - well a bit of an exaggeration, but it was not something I want to repeat.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

Madmom02
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Re: Restiffic and Relaxis Information

Post by Madmom02 »

A chi machine is basically a passive exercise machine that supposedly improves your circulation. Here's how Wikipedia describes it: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chi_Machine
(No sales stuff there!)

ViewsAskew
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Re: Restiffic and Relaxis Information

Post by ViewsAskew »

Interesting. Thanks!
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

Notwoways
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Re: Restiffic and Relaxis Information

Post by Notwoways »

I have been using the Relaxis pad for about 4-5 months. The customer support is very good and has no time limit as far as I know. The product is easy to use and for me produced amazing results. It takes work and doesn't produce instant relief, but over time with consistent use under the direction of customer support it has worked well for me. My symptoms are far less severe and far less frequent. Before using it I could not nap during the day because my legs would not let me. At night I was on 2 mg Ropinirole and 600 mg Gabapentin but not sleeping all night. Now after using the pad and gradually reducing the Ropinirole to .25 mg (still 600 mg Gapapentrin) I sleep some nights all the way through with no symptoms, some nights with one attack which the Relaxis pad breaks and some with multiple attacks which the Relaxis pad breaks eventually. Plus I can nap during the day for 30 min using the pad. From my understanding, the longer I use the pad the more effective it is. I am going to try eliminating the Ropinirole soon.
I enjoy my life much more than I was before using the pad. :)
Notwoways

badnights
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Re: Restiffic and Relaxis Information

Post by badnights »

Wow this sounds very promising!

Anyone else out there using it?
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
Click for info on WED/RLS AUGMENTATION & IRON
I am a volunteer moderator. My posts are not medical advice. My posts do not reflect RLS Foundation opinion.

Madmom02
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Location: My heart lives in the mountains

Re: Restiffic and Relaxis Information

Post by Madmom02 »

This is good to hear. Maybe this is d'uh to people who've done more research but this makes me think RLS is a vascular thing. It would explain why moderate exercise helps but too much can make it worse and why we have to move.

badnights
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Re: Restiffic and Relaxis Information

Post by badnights »

One of Karl Ekbom's original theories was that the disease is vascular. But when dopamine agonists were found to cause improvement, the focus shifted and research was concentrated on things neurological. We're now starting to see some more research on vascular issues as they relate to WED/RLS .

EDITED to add:
There is a subset of RLS/WED patients who have varicose veins (veins in which the valves that prevent blood flowing back down the leg are defective). For these patients, surgical or newer non-invasive methods of vein removal seems to stop WED/RLS symptoms. Varicose veins or venous insufficiency might be more common in RLS/WED patients than in the general population.
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
Click for info on WED/RLS AUGMENTATION & IRON
I am a volunteer moderator. My posts are not medical advice. My posts do not reflect RLS Foundation opinion.

Rustsmith
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Re: Restiffic and Relaxis Information

Post by Rustsmith »

Maybe this is d'uh to people who've done more research but this makes me think RLS is a vascular thing.


In current research being done at Penn State, they are finding that the origin of RLS might be a faulty communication protein that is used to signal oxygen content in the blood. There are a number of things that come out of this including

* reduced iron transport into the brain which leads to reduced natural dopamine production since iron is required for this process. The brain gives oxygen transport in the blood first priority for the iron over transport into the brain since we need oxygen to survive.
* increased arterial blood flow in our legs because the body thinks it needs more oxygen. For those with varicose veins, this means a blockage for the return path. It also means that we don't get an increase in blood flow when we need it, such as when doing vigorous exercise. It also hints at how something like Restiffic might be beneficial if it can help return blood flow back toward "normal" for non-RLS people.

Here is a link to the summary, but if you are a Foundation member your can listen to the webinar yourself. But I have to give a warning, there are times that the presentation gets so technical that it can be difficult to follow.

http://bb.rls.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=9788
Steve

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

Madmom02
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Re: Restiffic and Relaxis Information

Post by Madmom02 »

Thanks for posting all this info, Steve and Beth! Do you know if there has been research done on smoking and people with RLS?

Rustsmith
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Re: Restiffic and Relaxis Information

Post by Rustsmith »

The general guidance is the smoking, like caffeine, is an RLS trigger.

However, here is a paper that was presented about a woman who used smoking to get some relief. I guess that once again, it just goes to show how we are all different.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2952755/
Steve

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

Madmom02
Posts: 113
Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2016 11:27 pm
Location: My heart lives in the mountains

Re: Restiffic and Relaxis Information

Post by Madmom02 »

Being so exhausted has obviously left me with an inability to write clearly. I was really wondering about smoking causes RLS. I know that smoking increases the risk of developing MS and, if you have MS, smoking increases the risk of progression. Because there is the possibility that MS is a vascular disease or has a vascular component (google "CCSVI" which has in itself been discredited but still raises the possibility, maybe) and smoking makes it worse, I'm wondering if there's a connection in the development of RLS and smoking.

I quit smoking numerous times, mostly for a few months or in one case for three years, before I really quit in 2007 (Chantix was my friend - I have absolutely no cravings unlike other times when I quit). No effect on the RLS.

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