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| | | From: Rene (Original Message) | Sent: 5/10/2006 1:05 AM |
Heal Thyself—Kicking Restless Legs Syndrome
By Kristin Bjornsen
Julie Lutz calls it the creepy crawlies and describes the feeling as ants marching around in her skin. Her 8-year-old daughter, Anna, stands and says, “It makes me do this,�?shaking her legs around. Both of them are describing Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS), a condition that is often hereditary. RLS manifests as discomfort, prickliness, or pain in the legs (and occasionally the arms) and as an overwhelming urge to move them, especially when trying to sleep. “Even if someone held a gun to my head and said, ‘Don’t move,�?I’d have to move them,�?says 46-year-old Julie. “It’s irresistible.�?/FONT> Almost 10 percent of Americans have symptoms of RLS, and yet many sufferers have never heard of the condition, and they often don’t discuss their symptoms with a doctor. “It’s such a hard sensation to explain to someone,�?says Julie. “That makes it so awkward to go to a doctor and try and describe it.�? Although researchers don’t completely understand RLS yet, they’ve identified several potential causes: deficiencies in dopamine, iron, or certain minerals; nerve damage; and more rarely, hypoglycemia and hypothyroidism. Doctors can prescribe a host of drugs for RLS, including medications for Parkinson’s disease, hypnotics, antiseizure drugs, and antidepressants, most of which modulate dopamine or serotonin levels. But most also carry serious side effects such as depression, breathing problems, memory loss, weight gain, headaches, dizziness, sexual dysfunction, and augmentation (intensification of symptoms in the late afternoon). What’s more, some of the drugs can lose their effectiveness after extended use. “Parkinson’s drugs stop working after a while, raising the concern that they may be damaging or exhausting the biochemistry of that area of the brain,�?says Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, director of The Annapolis Center for Effective CFS/Fibromyalgia Therapies and author of Pain Free 1-2-3 (McGraw Hill, 2006). “The long-term issues are really concerning.�?Luckily, a plethora of more natural—and often more effective—options can target the underlying causes of RLS. Pin it down
Identifying a specific cause can be tricky. While RLS often (pardon the pun) runs in the family, you can also develop it from secondary medical conditions, such as hypoglycemia, diabetes, and hypothyroidism. In these cases, treating that condition may relieve the symptoms. Certain medications can trigger RLS as well. Common culprits include calcium channel blockers, antinausea medications, some cold and allergy medications, tranquilizers, and phenytoin (an antiseizure drug). Tricyclic antidepressants like Elavil and lithium can contribute to RLS as well, Teitelbaum says. Hormonal changes, especially pregnancy, seem to play a role, too. Although Julie had always been an extraordinarily active and restless sleeper, that only intensified when she became pregnant with Anna in 1996. RLS symptoms plagued her 24 hours a day, making it difficult for her to sit still. She paced her office, avoided going to movies, and, during plane flights, did leg squats at the back of the plane. After Anna’s birth, Julie’s symptoms subsided somewhat, afflicting her only at night. Nevertheless, it would take her about two hours to fall asleep, which caused fatigue during the day. What upset her more, though, were Anna’s symptoms. The restlessness afflicted Anna both day and night, with a level of severity rare in children. This frightened Julie because RLS often worsens with age. “With myself, I can put up with it and stay positive, but with my daughter, it’s been hard to stay positive,�?she says, her voice breaking. “She’s been a very sleep-deprived 8-year-old.�?/FONT> Amino power
Although Julie found some relief at night using the antiseizure drug Klonopin, the drug actually exacerbated Anna’s symptoms. At wits end, not knowing how to help her daughter, Julie and her husband, Rob, began to research RLS. They found evidence pointing to the importance of balanced amino acids, the building blocks for dopamine and other neurotransmitters. One amino acid in particular seemed to play a starring role: L-theanine. Julie and Anna began taking 100 mg three times a day last November and say it has improved their symptoms tremendously. While Julie still takes the Klonopin as a sleep aid, Anna uses only the L-theanine. “Since [she started taking it], Anna hasn’t had any symptoms at all during the night,�?Julie says. L-theanine is found in green tea and is available as a supplement at health stores. RLS sufferers should opt for the supplement form, rather than the caffeine-laden tea. According to Teitelbaum, “L-theanine is one of the single best nutrients for inducing deep sleep, [which is vital for RLS sufferers], although it doesn’t necessarily target Restless Legs Syndrome specifically.�?He suggests trying 1,000 mg of tyrosine (a precursor of dopamine) in the morning as another source of relief. Sufferers can also opt to have a doctor analyze their blood and urine to detect possible amino-acid deficiencies and tailor a specific treatment to restore proper levels. Ironing out RLS
Although L-theanine has worked well for the Lutz family, a primary frontline defense for RLS is iron—and iron levels should be the first thing checked if someone exhibits RLS symptoms. “Low iron is a potent trigger because the part of the brain that makes dopamine is iron-dependent,�?Teitelbaum says. About 25 percent of RLS sufferers have low iron levels, so supplementing with iron is “one of the most effective treatments for eliminating the underlying condition.�? According to Teitelbaum, a blood ferritin level below 40 or an iron percent saturation below 22 percent warrants supplementing with 70 mg of iron plus 150 to 1,000 mg of vitamin C daily for three to six months. Take them on an empty stomach for maximum absorption. Mind your minerals
Mineral sufficiency represents another key piece in the RLS puzzle. Sidney Baker, MD, a private practitioner specializing in integrative medicine in New York, says a mineral imbalance may underlie RLS and other neuromuscular irritability complaints. Although doctors can measure ballpark levels of these minerals through blood and urine analysis, no clinically precise tests exist for mineral sufficiency, Baker says. In the absence of definitive tests, you can experiment by adding minerals in a safe manner to your diet. “You’re your own best laboratory,�?Baker says. In what he calls the “thumbs-up test,�?he suggests adding one mineral at a time to your diet, after consultation with your doctor. Begin with magnesium for 20 days and if symptoms improve, voilà! If not, move on to the next mineral. Start with one capsule of magnesium daily and up the amount until bowel movements turn slightly loose—then back off the dose a little. If the magnesium doesn’t help, try taking 1,000 to 1,500 mg of calcium daily. If you’re thumbs still aren’t up, move down the mineral line to potassium, 99 mg three times per day. Next at bedtime try 500 to 1,000 mg of torreine, an amino acid that acts like a mineral in the body. Finally, failing that, move on to 50 to 100 mg of zinc daily. “These amounts aren’t very much,�?says Baker, “but it’s amazing how they can hit the bull’s eye.�?/FONT> A larger look
Besides taking supplements, try avoiding caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol. Also, kick those restless legs into gear with exercise. A University of Kentucky study found that lack of exercise was associated with higher rates of RLS. Work your muscles while you’re at work by sitting on a stool with your legs dangling, or by elevating your desk so you can stand. Yoga has also been shown to help with RLS. At night, slow things down by calming your mind and body. Relax, meditate, bathe, use hot or cold compresses on your legs, or massage them. While you experiment with these lifestyle and supplement strategies, keep a diary documenting which methods work. This can help you pinpoint potential triggers and effective treatments for you. Whether the underlying cause is an imbalance of iron, minerals, or another factor, identifying the root of the problem will help more than masking the RLS symptoms with a drug, says Baker. The wisest approach, he adds, is to provide the body with what it’s missing—naturally: For chronic conditions especially, “Mother Nature does the healing, and doctors should provide the raw materials.�?nbsp;
Courtesy of Alternative Medicine
http://www.alternativemedicine.com
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| | | From: Rene | Sent: 6/18/2006 11:35 PM |
Restless Legs Syndrome May Be in Your Head
Restless legs syndrome (RLS), a debilitating condition in which unpleasant feelings in the legs interfere with a person's ability to sleep or remain immobile, may be linked to mental health problems, including depression and anxiety, according to a recent poll by the National Sleep Foundation. Research suggests that RLS affects about 10% of adults in North America and Europe with rates increasing with age. "There is a strong association between mental health problems and RLS," said study author Barbara A. Phillips, MD, FCCP, chairman of the National Sleep Foundation. "But it's unclear exactly what the relationship is." While it seems obvious that any medical condition that adversely affects quality of life would cause depression for many, if not most, people, Dr. Phillips says the picture is more complicated than simply RLS equals depression. WHAT WE KNOW: SHARED RISK FACTORS What we do know, she said, is that persons with RLS and persons with depression both tend to share certain behavioral risk factors. What are these? One is smoking, two is being overweight and three is living a sedentary lifestyle. Sound familiar? This is the same unholy trinity of negative behaviors that affects just about all aspects of our physical and mental health. WRESTLING RLS In RLS, lifestyle modifications such as stopping smoking, losing weight and exercising regularly have the potential to prevent or drastically reduce the number and/or severity of RLS episodes. However, don't blame it all on lifestyle. Lifestyle modification doesn't always prevent or reduce RLS, she explained, because the predisposition for RLS is genetically determined. One major challenge in treating those who suffer from both depression and RLS is that antidepressive medications are known to trigger or exacerbate RLS episodes. "This can be a very difficult situation," said Dr. Phillips, "because you wouldn't want to stop medication if the depression is being effectively treated." For more on natural treatment options for depression, see Daily Health News, November 29, 2005. Other medications that trigger or worsen RLS are antinausea drugs and any medication containing caffeine. Caffeine itself, in coffee or soft drinks, is an extremely potent RLS trigger. In fact, Dr. Phillips reported that her greatest success in treating RLS without medication has been when patients have eliminated caffeine from their diets. More research is needed to better understand the connection between RLS and depression -- they are clearly associated, though no direct causal link has been established. Who knows which comes first -- whether RLS leads to depression or depression leads to RLS. What we can take away from this is that, at the very least, there's yet another good reason to stop smoking, lose weight and get moving! These steps help on all fronts. For more information on diagnosis and treatment of RLS, see the sleep library at the National Sleep Foundation's Web site, www.sleepfoundation.org . Be well, Carole Jackson, Bottom Line's Daily Health News, June 2, 2006
Sources:
The Chemo-Vitamin Debate:- Timothy Birdsall, ND, vice president, integrative medicine, Cancer Treatment Centers of America. A graduate of Bastyr University, he served on the faculty of Bastyr for five years and was a member of the board of directors for the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians. He was the founding editor-in-chief of Alternative Medicine Review. Cancer Treatment Centers of America can be reached at 800-615-3055 or www.cancercenter.com. Restless Legs Syndrome May Be in Your Head Barbara A. Phillips, MD, FCCP, chairman, National Sleep Foundation, and professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington. |
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Curing Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) and Periodic Leg Movements (PLMs)
Summary
Dear Readers,
Do your legs kick around a lot at night? Are your sheets and blankets scattered around a lot when you wake up? Does your spouse note that they get kicked around a lot at night or that your legs jump? If so, you probably have restless legs syndrome (RLS) and it is contributing to your fatigue and pain. Although you may be asleep through the night, your legs are running a marathon and you wake up exhausted! RLS is very common in CFS and fibromyalgia, likely affecting over one third of those suffering with these syndromes. It is getting more media attention, now that there is an expensive new medication , called "Requip," that is being used to treat it. I never have prescribed Requip. I do not believe that it is as effective as other natural or even prescription therapies and I'm concerned about safety risks. It's mostly being prescribed because it is expensive and therefore being publicized. One of the most common and easily treated causes of RLS is simply iron deficiency. That your iron levels are in the "normal range" does not mean that you do not have iron deficiency. Rather, ask your doctor to check a blood ferritin level. If it is under 60, I would take iron until your blood ferritin level is over 100. In many cases, this will make the RLS go away. Other nutrients, especially B vitamins and magnesium, can also be helpful. These (though not the iron) are present in the Energy Revitalization System. Other natural and prescription therapies can also be very helpful, and I find them to be much better than Requip. Are you ready to make your restless legs syndrome go away? Restless Legs Syndrome and Periodic Leg Movement Disorder (Used with permission—From Fatigued to Fantastic!) People with restless legs syndrome (RLS) have the sensation that they need to continually move their legs while sleeping. Occasionally, RLS also occurs during the day. Limb movements tend to be repetitive and most frequently involve the legs. A person will often extend his or her big toe while flexing the ankle, the knee and sometimes even the hip. This can occur with the arms as well and sometimes even with the whole body. Another pattern consists of a disagreeable leg sensation and sense of restlessness that is brought on by rest and often relieved by movement. It is not uncommon for your bed partner to be very aware that your legs are kicking much of the night or are constantly moving. You may or may not be aware of your own movements. It has been estimated that as many as one-third or more of fibromyalgia patients have RLS. Although the cause of RLS is not clear, experts suspect it comes from a deficiency of the neurotransmitter called "dopamine." RLS can also be aggravated by iron deficiency (having blood ferritin levels less than 60), nerve injuries, vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiency, hypothyroidism, and other problems. In some people, RLS may be associated with hypoglycemia. Some medications, especially Elavil and perhaps lithium, can aggravate RLS. Diagnosing RLS
If you tend to scatter your sheets and blankets, and especially if you tend to kick your bed partner or if you note that your legs tend to feel jumpy and uncomfortable at rest at night, you probably have RLS. You can also have a sleep study done to look for leg muscle contractions. If contractions occur every twenty to forty seconds and last for about one-half to five seconds each, you have RLS. The sleep study will determine if these leg movements are associated with waking from deep sleep into light sleep to a degree that would be expected to cause daytime fatigue. Leg movements are not considered significant unless one has associated daytime sleepiness—for example, CFS/FMS. You may want to start by simply videotaping yourself sleeping one evening. Leave off your sheets and blankets when you first go to sleep and aim the video camera so you can see both your legs and your face. This way the next day you can watch and look for evidence of either jumping legs (RLS) or snoring associated with stopping breathing (sleep apnea). Treating RLS
There are both natural and prescription approaches to treating RLS. Following are summaries of those that have been found to be most successful. Natural Treatments Natural remedies for RLS focus on diet and nutritional supplementation. Avoiding caffeine is important.34 Because RLS may be associated with hypoglycemia, eating a sugar-free, high-protein diet with a protein snack at night may decrease episodes of cramping and RLS at night.35 An estimated 25 percent of RLS patients have low serum iron levels.36 As noted above, if your serum ferritin score is under 60, your doctor should prescribe an iron supplement. I recommend either the prescription iron supplement Chromagen Forte, because it also contains folic acid, and vitamin C, which helps the iron to be absorbed. An excellent over-the-counter alternative is Chelated Iron, which has 29 mg of iron and 100 mg of vitamin C per capsule. Take iron supplements on an empty stomach or else they won't be assimilated. In addition, do not take iron within six hours of your thyroid dose or thyroid will not be absorbed. Iron can be toxic if too much builds up in the bloodstream, so be sure that your doctor continues to monitor your serum ferritin score while you are taking this supplement to make sure they do not go over 150. Giving your stomach a vacation from the iron several days a week actually increases its assimilation, so feel free to miss a couple of doses every so often. Vitamin E can also be very helpful, although it takes six to ten weeks of treatment to help.37 Take 400 international units a day, and be sure that it is a natural "mixed tocopherols" form. If you have RLS in which pain, numbness, and lightning stabs of pain are relieved by movement or local massage, taking 5 milligrams of folic acid three times a day (available by prescription) is helpful. However, folic acid does not help cases of RLS where there is no discomfort.38 Finally, a few case reports have suggested that taking the amino acid L-tryptophan can be effective. Because it is hard to get this without a prescription, I recommend using the related compound 5-HTP (see under natural sleep aids). Prescription Treatments Ambien, Klonopin, Lyrica, Neurontin or Gabitril are the medications I use to treat sleep in patients whom I suspect have RLS. These medicines usually do a superb job in suppressing RLS, but are often no longer needed after the iron levels are optimized (though they are still excellent for treating sleep in those with CFS and fibromyalgia). I tell patients to adjust the dose to not only get adequate sleep, but to also keep the bedcovers in place and to avoid kicking their partners. References: Available in the book "From Fatigued to Fantastic!�?/FONT> From: [http://www.endfatigue-dev.com/health_articles_r-s/Rls-and_periodic_leg_movements.html] {something in /produced by most fermentation processes may also trigger RLS, some items include rubbing alcohol, vinegar -white household cleaning, yeasts to name a few ~ Blue Opal} |
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