Restless Legs

dollaqie
dollaqie Posts: 74 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Who is suffering from this and what do you do? Since I started the gym it seems to get worse and this prevent me from getting my 8 hours of sleep at night, getting up tired..............?

Replies

  • MaryMcnz
    MaryMcnz Posts: 39 Member
    My doctor told me it's a lack of potassium that is helped by eating a banana - seems to help!
  • NotGoddess
    NotGoddess Posts: 1,198 Member
    I've suffered horribly from it at times. It's not pleasant to want to go to sleep but be unable to because of the stupid twitching legs.
    Hot showers and stretching can help when it comes. To try to prevent them, make sure you are getting enough potassium as the above poster said-here's a link to a list of foods that are high: http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/food/potassium-foods.htm
    Try to get it from food rather than a supplement-potassium toxicity is a danger.

    Also, sodium and potassium work with each other to balance your water levels, so too much sodium/not enough potassium can affect water weight too.
  • Nessalee77
    Nessalee77 Posts: 78 Member
    I have had this over several stages in my life, I find that magnesium supplements have helped. A warm bath can be good, as hot as you can make it then go back to bed. Good luck, it is an awful feeling!
  • claireyf12
    claireyf12 Posts: 106
    i too suffer from this not every night but most, i'm going to eat more potassium :)
  • Nessalee77
    Nessalee77 Posts: 78 Member
    Oh, and don't give up on the gym! Just work through it, I had it for a while when I started exercising a lot but I kept going with the magnesium (potassium never seemed to be my problem) and it did pass eventually, and was even less frequent than before I started exercising.
  • snewsome7
    snewsome7 Posts: 189
    I know this will sound crazy, but my grandmother put a bar of soap under her fitted sheet on the bed. There have been studies done on it and some people swear by it and others think it is bogus. But it helped my grandmother, and my mom does it as well. It doesn't CURE it, but it is a home remedy that may relieve some pain. You can look more into it because I will probably get in trouble for posting a link on here.
  • morriusmfp
    morriusmfp Posts: 24 Member
    The bar of soap thing is a placebo most likely.

    Cut your alcohol, refined sugar and caffeine intake to zero for a few days and see if it improves, all three have given me RLS in the past.

    Sometimes I find a chamomile tea helps, it's a mild natural muscle relaxant.
  • getfitnfab
    getfitnfab Posts: 418 Member
    For me adding more magnesium helped, Naturally Calm, is a magnesium drink by a Dr. Peter Gillian, can be found on amazon or whole foods.
  • angieleighbyrd
    angieleighbyrd Posts: 989 Member
    i developed RLS from a side effect of a medication I was on. Unfortunately it's a permanent side effect. I've had it about 3 years. It got worse during my pregnancy. Nothing I have tried has worked and I can't take the medication that all the doctors I've seen recommend. My husband gets kicked all night. Some nights I really don't sleep well because I have to get up and walk around. I have it in my arms from time to time. Mine also effects me during the day, not just at night. My husband says I even kick in my sleep.
  • christianlady43
    christianlady43 Posts: 2
    I was told to try taking iron as I have slightly low iron and it makes a big difference.
  • professorRAT
    professorRAT Posts: 690 Member
    My mother has Restless Leg Syndrome. This is a neurological condition and the poor woman is miserable. See a neurologist. There are some medications that can help. I get it at times too, so I probably have a mild case, but my poor mom has suffered for decades and gets very little sleep. Do see a doctor, though, because some people can get relief with medication.

    As others have said, magnesium can help too. It helps me with mine as well as my horrible chronic constipation. Sorry, that may be TMI :)
  • jkleon86
    jkleon86 Posts: 245 Member
    I was haveing trouble with that but noticed after 3 months doing different exercise, mostly the exercise bike that it has pretty much gone away unless I have an extra long day on my feet. but still it isn't as bad.

    I do love bananas and after doing "Adkins diet" I eat then when I can , now they are a treat :happy:
  • comforter
    comforter Posts: 39
    I feel your pain - I have had it also, and certain things seem to make it worse for me - alcohol of any kind, antihistamines for allergies and
    analgesics (like aspirin, etc). I also get it more when I get a lot of exercise, although for the last few days it hasn't been too bad, which is
    amazing. Seems like water aerobics is an excercise which reduces the intensity of the RLS...Hope this helps....
  • snewsome7
    snewsome7 Posts: 189
    The bar of soap thing is a placebo most likely.

    Cut your alcohol, refined sugar and caffeine intake to zero for a few days and see if it improves, all three have given me RLS in the past.

    Sometimes I find a chamomile tea helps, it's a mild natural muscle relaxant.

    For some people it really works. My grandmother used it for years. And my mom uses it now. You can Google it and you will see a ton of people saying they tried it and it worked. Of course some say it doesn't, but if it works it is worth a try!
  • LesIsMoreXX
    LesIsMoreXX Posts: 169
    I find for me it becomes severe only when I'm under a lot of stress :S
  • 4manda76
    4manda76 Posts: 47 Member
    Who is suffering from this and what do you do? Since I started the gym it seems to get worse and this prevent me from getting my 8 hours of sleep at night, getting up tired..............?

    I find when I do a hard workout I get restless legs and DOMS for around 4 days/nights , I work earlies and up at 5am on some nights feel like I get no sleep at all. I have found that if I get my OH to give my legs a deep massage before I go to sleep it doesn't seem as bad.

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