As Ive gotten older, RLS has progressively gotten worse for me. RLS during pregnancy was HELL!!! Ive had alot of time to try things, almost 30 years! An RX called Ropinirole (sp?)
works really well, but its $95.00 for about 15 w/no insurance and I sometimes need 2 or 3 a night. Ive borrowed Vicodin from my Dad, like tonite, Im up at 1 AM writing this cause it is soooo bad. Banana's, sometimes, calcium used to help, now...just a little sometimes,warmed milk, a slice of wheat bread or crackers...carbs? seem to help...I know right? But last thing I wanna do is eat all night. Heat or pain creams, Bengay, Vicks, Aspercreme help, then I wrap my legs in tight ace bandages. ..Ridiculous, I know...Lately, even walking more, seems to make it worse?? Ive heard its linked to Parkinsons...really? Do we know what causes this horrible stuff??

This was really interesting! I have been reading through the remedies and it seems there are as many different remedies as there are people. I have suffered from RLS for years, as has half of my family. We usually meet in the kitchen at about 2 am in desperate search for some sleep. Sometimes brain games helps, sometimes lotion on the feet, sometimes movement, sometimes cheese, sometimes cold baths.sometimes magnesium, sometimes eating bananas. But there must be some underlying cause for it all. I see many seem to say it is a deficiency of some sorts, and I have found often that magnesium helps. But I am wondering if it is all in the mind. Some strange neurological disorder going on,some kind of electricity wiring gone wrong since brain games seem to do the trick everytime. I take my sodoku book and start and within minutes the RLS is gone and I fall asleep.

I am a 56 year old male that has RLS for many years. There is a simple, cheap cure that will vastly improve your sleep. Simple take a 400 mg Magnesium pill before bedtime. It works like magic.

I've tried many of these remedies over the years and often theorize about what causes or triggers RLS. One common denominator among almost all sufferers seems to be that attacks occur or peak at bedtime or when sleeping. This would support the theory of spinal pressure or misalignment. Any action that involves sufferers getting out of bed (whether to take/preform some remedy, pace the floor, or whatever) would invariably result in changing or reliveing that pressure on the spine to some degree. This could possibly explain why such a wide array of nighttime remedies seem to work (maybe it wasn't the remedy so much, as simply the action of getting out of bed). My spine is misaligned somewhat due to one leg being shorter than the other, which is a very common physiologic occurrence. I first experienced RLS as a 8 yr. old child (growing pains we called it) at a time when I was experiencing a rapid growth spurt. Symptoms returned when I was an adult (around 45) after I was in an auto accident. Anyway - just thought I'd share my thoughts on this theory, which several others on this site seem to share as well. Mirapex has worked extremely well for me, but I have had to increase the dosage 3 times already (over 7-10 yrs) and don't know if I will max out allowable dosage/effect at some point. I tried switching to Requip and had terrible time, and switched back. Hylant's Restful Legs works great for me -stopping nighttime attacks within 10-15 min. (dissolve 2-3 tabs under tongue). High carb intake, and/or alcohol before bedtime, makes symptoms much worse. Keep blogging guys! I think one of the keys to solving the RLS mystery lies in studying the commonalities in symptoms and successful remedies/treatments.

If you suffer from RLS like me, it seems impossible to sleep and you can't sit still. When I go to sleep I put a pillow under my legs under my thighs. It helps me sleep pretty good, it doesn't completely help, but thats the only thing that works for me. I know how bad RLS is, so I hope I help someone

I have suffered with RLS for years. I finally found a web-site that recommended sulfer. I went to a local vitamin store - a nationwide branch - and the only thing they had with sulfer was Colloida Life - Trace Minerals. It is in a sort of neutral tasting oil that you take by the eye-dropper and put under your tongue. For the first time in years I have found relief. I use 3 droppers at bed time (I measured it out to about 1/2 teaspoon). If I wake up at night, which is seldom now, I take another dropper and it works immediately!! I have since found little tablets with sulfer and they did nothing for me. It may be the colloidal silver, don't really know, but I do know that this works for me when nothing else has. My doctor tested me for low iron and low magnesium but they were fine. I have tried the prescription drugs for RLS and they gave me such terrible dreams that I could not take them. For the first time in over 20 years I can snuggle up next to my husband and sleep all night.

I've recently started suffering with RLS for the past few months, and it is pure torture!..I've went through so many sleepless nights and just wanting to tear my legs off. I was an opiate addict for about 12 years and I am only 25..RLS is part of opiate withdrawl but mine lasted way past the withdrawl stages. I never understood why until now. Now, if you think about it there is one thing that has all the vitamins and minerals people are saying to take like Magnesium, Potassium, B6, Iron, and so on..and it's cheap and very available.. Orange Juice! I drink a huge glass before bed and it works wonders for me! I'm so thankful that a lot of OJ and a lot of praying sure helped me sleep. Try it you may be surprised :) Hope I can help someone! :)

I have read through many of these remedies trying to find a solution to my RLS. I suffer from it severly on a nightly basis. I am noticing that based on what I am reading, many different remedies work for different people. For example: at this point in time the only remedy that I have found that works for me is drinking milk immediately before i go to bed and that will give me an hour or so before it kicks back in again. I have read where milk in other cases is believed to be the direct cause of their RLS. My suggestion is to make a list of all of the remedies submitted by people with RLS and try different thigs to see what works best for you.

Cherries, I couldn't believe it. I have had RLS for 10 years, Mirapex had to be increased, then finally stopped working. So many different drugs and many left me drowsey every morning. Not sleeping at night, I was a mess. I take the juice and eat the cherries. It does contain Melatonin, so I usually take it early evening. I know there are lots of remedies, but try the cherries and see if it doesn't help you.

I have had RLS since 1977 (34 years) and I was told by someone to take a tablespoon of plain yellow mustard before bed, and it REALLY does work!