An elderly woman is looking for solutions to her "restless leg" syndrome
   which is apparently severe enough to cause chronic insomnia.  She would
   prefer a "natural" solution, but will take any recommendation at this
   point.

   Thanks in advance for any suggestions; posting or e-mail is fine.

   PLEASE NOTE: I have cross-posted for convenience, but any replies to
                the net should limit newsgroups to those which apply.

                Thanks.

-Rich Young

(The view expressed herein may not reflect that of Eastman Kodak Company, Inc.)

The standard medication for this is Sinemet.  Has that been tried?

David Nye, MD * Neurology Dept., Midelfort Clinic, Eau Claire, Wisconsin
For all but the elite, work holds less promise, less purpose, less
security and less dignity than a generation ago -- Peter T. Kilborn

I have had "restless leg" syndrome many times, which was triggered
by eating foods I was allergic to or taking Vit . E. The best symptomatic
treatment I found was recommended by Adel Davis - Folic Acid - I
usually take between 6 and 10, .8mg tablets, generally my knees are
fine and I am back to sleep in 20 to 30 minutes.  I have pretty much
eliminated the problem through a comprehensive nutritional program,
if you would like more info about that please e-mail me directly.

        I have found that vitamin E is very helpful for restless legs.

        Also calcium and magnesium can be relaxing but not as specific
to restless legs as Vitamin E.  

        Wendy
--

        ...Wendy

Paraphrasing from Medical Advances by Lawrence Galton (MD?), 1977, Crown
Publishers:

Dr. Samuel Ayres, Jr., Emeritus Professor of Medicine at UCLA, has reported
on the value of vitamin E in restless legs.  Of 9 patients with restless
legs of long duration, including 2 of his office employees, complete control
was obtained in 7, 75% in 1 & 50% control in 1.  Dr. Ayres prescribes
vitamin E--in the form od d-alpha-tocopherol acetate or succinate--in doses
of 400 IU from 1-4 times daily before meals.  Patients with hypertension or
damaged hearts, or diabetics on insulin, he reports, should be started on
much smaller doses.  Inorganic iron should be avoided because it combines
with & inactivates vitamin E.  Frequent laxatives & mineral oil are also to
be avoided...
--

occasionally the Reply-To info in the header is unreliable

I'm a little curious about this term, "restless leg".  One or two nights
a year I get a sensation in an ankle, one that is difficult to describe --
basically that I really, really need to stretch the ankle as hard
as I can.  I flex the foot as far as it will go, and hold it for a while,
but of course this does no more good than would trying to soothe a referred
pain or scratch a referred itch.  The sensation persists.  It's really
no more than mildly annoying, and it is infrequent, but I've never heard
anyone else mention anything similar.  Is "restless leg" similar to this?
Does it sound familiar to anyone else?
--
cary kittrell

                       I can't define geography, but I know it when I see it

Barbara,

I'm 41 years old and I've had restless leg syndrome since I was very young.
It is most distressing, and sometimes it will also move into my arms.  All I
can do is flail around until I finally go to sleep which can be as long as 2
or 3 hours or not at all!  My father also suffers from the same thing.  My
theory has always been that it is some kind of circulatory problem, perhaps
akin to intermittent claudication or something.  At any rate, the only help
I have ever found for it is to get up and run the bath tub full of VERY hot
water. . . as hot as you can possibly stand.  Then immerse your legs in the
water and begin deep massage starting at the ankles and moving up the calves
and into the things.  Repeat this massage 2-3 times.  Keep running the hot
water if the water starts to cool off.  I usually soak and massage for about
15 minutes.  Then get up and dry off and return to bed.  You'll probably be
hot all over, but you should sleep like a baby.  There is also an over the
counter product now available called (I believe, but I could be wrong) Qvel
or something like that, which is specifically for leg pain and restless legs.
Hope this helps
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

           --                                  --
          |   Son 'a me gun, gonna have big fun, |
          |     On 'de Bayou!                    |
          ---------------------------------------
           Until we meet again and the case is solv-ed.
                             Inspector J. Clouseau
-------------------------------------------------------------

I have information I can send you via snail-mail about a particular blend of a
type of bioflavonoid called proanthocyanidins that has recently been patented
in the United States and is available as a cooking.net">food supplement.  If you'll E-mail
me your address or the elderly woman's address, I'll be happy to send detailed
information.

A book I have about the product says:
     "The benefits of proanthocyanidins, demonstrated in many studies and
decades of clinical experience, include the following:
      improves skin smoothness and elasticity,
      strengthens capillaries, arteries and veins,
      improves circulation and enhances cell vitality,
      reduces capillary fragility and improves resistance to bruising and
          strokes,
      reduces risk of phlebitis,
      reduces varicose veins,
      reduces edema and swelling of the legs,
      helps restless-leg syndrome,
      reduces diabetic retinopathy,
      improves visual acuity,
      helps improve sluggish memory,
      reduces the effects of stress,
      improves joint flexibility, and
      fights inflammation in arthritis and sport injuries."

I look forward to hearing from you.

Joe Matthew

I know this may sound strange, but when I find myself unable to sleep
because of the need to keep moving my legs, I ask my wife (or do it
myself) to give me a fairly strong punch on the back of my legs, at the
bottom of the calf muscle. Works almost every time.

Hmmmm. Sounds sort of like the old days when you would give the tv or radio
a good whack when they went on the fritz. Are you a child of the 60s? Do you
remember vacuum tubes?

I have this restless leg syndrome once in a great while. I've been running
for 4+ years now, and I'm not sure but if it isn't related. Haven't had it
in many months, but it is very frustrating to experience.

I'm not clear about the "bottom of the calf muscle". Would that be on the
Achilles Tendon then, or higher? And how did you arrive at this "cure"?

Is this a scientific treatment? Does your wife succuss her{*filter*}before she
strikes your leg? Does the FDA approve? Heck if it works, I'll try it!

Mark Sandrock
--
Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign   "Here is the test to find whether
Chemical Sciences Computer Center       your mission on earth is finished.
505 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana, IL 61801   If you're alive, it isn't."

The standard medical treatment for RLS is Sinemet which works very
nicely.  The usual dose is one 25/100 tablet taken one or more times
daily.  If you haven't tried this, ask your doctor about it.

David Nye, MD * Neurology Dept., Midelfort Clinic, Eau Claire, Wisconsin
This is patently absurd; but whoever wishes to become a philosopher
must learn not to be frightened by absurdities. -- Bertrand Russell

This is something that the majority of patients with restless leg
syndrome discover to be helpful.  Unfortunately the effect is usually
too temporary to be of much help.  As I've mentioned before, Sinemet is
often dramatically helpful symptomatically.

David Nye, MD * Neurology Dept., Midelfort Clinic, Eau Claire, Wisconsin
No rational argument will have a rational effect on a man who does
not want to adopt a rational attitude -- Karl Popper