How I Fixed My Restless Leg Syndrome

I spent 5 years of my life struggling with restless leg syndrome. After years of trying different strategies, digging through websites, and watching countless videos here is what I found works for me.

RLS used to keep me up tossing and turning every night. I finally defeated restless leg syndrome by fixing my posture, staying away from certain foods, and using a few key supplements. I would love to share my story and what worked for me to help you.

How do I know if I have RLS?

The most obvious way that I can describe the feeling is that when you are laying down, you feel a tingling sensation in your legs that makes you feel like you have to move them.

This is exceptionally frustrating, as it will often keep you up late into the night. This can even wake you up in the middle of the night and keep you from going back to sleep.

Besides making you toss and turn, it can really affect the other person in the bed. I have woken my wife up many times with my tossing and turning.

To get a clear diagnosis, you may want to see a doctor or sleep specialist.

What are the main causes or triggers?

There are many theories as to why RLS happens and I have not seen any conclusive evidence from the medical community to give a firm answer here.

There are 3 main theories as to what triggers RLS:

• An iron deficiency - This is because it is seen more commonly in pregnant women that are anemic.
• A neurological disorder - This has to do with the basil ganglia, which regulates dopamine, and why there is an association with RLS and Parkinson's disease.
• Poor posture - This can cause stress on the sciatic nerve and create circulation issues with the legs.

I found that when I would eat a high sodium/high sugar meal, drink alcohol, and/or sit in a bad posture position for a long period of time my RLS would be at its worst.

All the things I tried

I spent a lot of time scouring the internet and spent thousands of dollars trying to solve this problem.

I did not try any pharmaceutical remedies because I refuse to believe that this is the best solution to these problems. There may be a time and a place for pills, but I will not go there until I have tried every natural remedy.

Here are some of the methods that I have tried:

• 10 mg of iron a day
• Magnesium - all forms (spray worked best)
• Folate (B9), Thiamine (B1)
• Progesterone Cream
• CBD Oil
• Chiropractic work - Inversion table
• Dietary changes - Low carb, high fat
• Stretches - Yoga
• Foam Roller
• Strength training

Some of these on their own would provide temporary relief in the short-term, but my RLS would come back over time.

What actually worked for me

I finally began to see some relief when I combined the following 3 treatments.

The first thing that I did was to almost completely cut out sugar from my diet. I would have an occasional alcoholic drink or dessert every now and then, but the majority of my diet became high fat, low carb.

Sugar is very inflammatory. If you have any issues in your body at all, it is like pouring gasoline on the flame. On top of that, it makes it almost impossible to fix any inflammatory issue without at least taking a break from high levels of sugar and alcohol.

• 

Correcting my bad posture - I did this 3 ways. I went to a chiropractor, did some strength training (especially the lower back, lower abs, and thighs), and did some stretching (same areas). My chiropractor told me that I had an anterior pelvic tilt from poor seating posture. This was putting a lot of strain on my nerves in my legs and my lower back.

Progesterone Cream - This one may be a little more controversial but I can tell you it has been both helpful and effective. There is a small community of scientists (and myself) that are of the belief that RLS is an excess adrenaline issue.

The progesterone to me is the most fascinating solution because it can be affected by estrogen, cortisol, and adrenaline. It has been believed that this hormone effects mostly women, which is not the case. I am going to write another article on Progesterone soon and the science behind it. Here is a link to the brand that I use.

If you are weary about this, magnesium sprays and CBD oil can be effective alternatives to the progesterone cream.

Conclusion

In my opinion, the primary causes of RLS are sugar, stress, and poor posture. They each put pressure on your body and cause this frustrating symptom.

I spent many nights not being able to sleep, and many of those nights trying to research remedies so that I could.

I hope that I was able to give you some insight and help you on your journey to a good night's sleep. This definitely worked for me and I hope it does for you as well!