Pharma and herbal treatment possibilities for restless legs

Hey, CD!! Always love when you share with us!!

A good article, but I'd like to add an herbal option to that - avena sativa. It has helped for both myself and my hubby (even though his is from a different condition) survive despite restless leg syndrome.

I'm no Suzy Cohen, but here is my take.

RLS can occur because of multiple issues and it's not always a "one size fits all" type situation. As mentioned, magnesium can be beneficial for some but for many, it does not help. Getting down to the biochemistry of the condition, there is often an elevation of acetylcholine which causes the muscles to fire uncontrollably. Aluminum is a common culprit to elevated acetylcholine and a reduction of its levels often leads to a decrease in RLS. Heavy metals like lead, mercury, chromium, and cadmium are just a few metals that can cause situations of RLS. It has been shown that people with RLS have a deficiency of central nervous system iron. One could assume this is directly related to the increase in the harmful metals since they have the same valence but that would only be an educated assumption. More research is needed.

High glutamate levels don't affect the movement portion of RLS but it does affect the sleep problems involved in RLS. Lowering glutamate levels will only help in RLS. Vit D seems to play a role as well.

Since the dopamineric system is involved in RLS, tracing the biochemical chart of dopamine production can be beneficial if trying to find a rate limiting step or problem along the chain. A tyrosine deficiency, a phenylalanine deficiency, or a deficiency of one of the catalysts along the cascade could cause the problem. Since there is no "known" cause of RLS, it's more likely an issue along the chain as there are many cofactors like BH4, oxygen, iron, P5P, and several enzymes. Isn't it interesting how we keep going back to BH4 production? Some may find it odd that oxygen is a cofactor and it could be an extremely important one. What if CO2 was produced in a reaction and limited oxygen availability? CO2 is produced in several important reactions and there are pathogens that increase its production. There are a lot of "what ifs" in RLS and I'm glad I don't have it. But if I did, I'd be going down this list one by one and eliminating what may be contributing to my problem.

Thanks Huddie. I'm not a scientist, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn last night. I have done a lot of research in my attempt to get well and I'm persistent. For a long time, my insomnia kept me up at night and I'd read scientific articles about things that could help me get well. Among other things, I did take Biochemistry, Medical Microbiology, and Medicinal Chemistry many years ago. I can't remember someone's name but I can remember that stuff for some reason.

I keep a lot of notes and research links on file. I wish I had done that from the beginning but only started keeping the links a couple of years into it. I've got hundreds of articles.