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Not sure how to message you sorry. I've had RLS 40 plus years but I don't think its age that's made it worse. There are two things that improve it, when I feel an attack starting I use a home made magnesium spray and I take a magnesium tablet every day. As well as the Magnesium I had a course of Ferritin Infusions last year and they reduced the number of attacks. Hope this is of some use to you.

Hi John,  RSL does tend to increase with age. Are you on any medication? Any thing from cold remedies to anti-depressants can make it worse and few GP’s are aware. Shortage of Ferritin or Magnesium can make it worse and you need your GP to measure. For a sufferer you need a Ferritin level of 100+ so don’t accept “ it’s normal” from your GP which can be 20. Try doing a diary if some nights are worse than others. Record food, drink, alcohol, stress level, exercise level to look for your triggers. Spicy  food, strong coffee, heavy exercise are triggers for some. Dopamine Agonists used to be the common approach but cause “Augmention” and are not a good idea. Gabapentin or Pregablin can be effective but an opiate such as Tramadol may be required for serious RLS. Worth spending time researching RLS, reading the book RLS by Buchfuhrer etc, and checkout RLS-UK. Good luck!

Almost EVERYTHING gets worse with age.

However, with almost all RLS medications there is the high risk of "augmentation". That is where your symptoms come on sooner and last longer. Increasing the dosage makes it better until the next round of augmentation. The only med that doesn't do this is opiates (oxycodone, oxycontin, etc.) As you know, opiates are very controversial these days. I have used these for 20 years with great success. 

Have you looked at the RLS Foundation?

rls.org

Chuck.

Hi John,

I have had many sleepless nights due to rls, was getting desperate. Did not want to use medications due to side effects. So during those sleepless nights I scoured the internet for some relief. I stumbled across a site for essential oils. What I found were recipes for rls relief so I could sleep, I thought what do I have to lose. Picked up the oils at a store that does the mixing for me, Escents Aromatherapy Canada. Along with 300mg Calcium citrate, 1-1 magnesium.

Grape seed oil 100ml, lavender 16 drops, cypress 16 drops, lemon 12 drops, rosemary 12 drops, and juniper berry 8 drops.

Massaged oil into my leg and wore a heating pad for 30 min. In the evening. Massaged oil once again into my leg just before bedtime and took one pill of the calcium citrate.

I slept like a baby no leg activity or pain at all during the night, I was so ecstatic I did the happy dance, I will continue doing this nightly because the oils are not harmful to me and the calcium/magnesium are also part of my new healthy plan to sleep better.

Had to share and hoping this works for you as well, too all a good sle