The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Avoid MSG
Posted by Citygirl27 (Richardson, Tx, Usa) on 09/19/2012
★★★★★
Not eating MSG stopped my leg jerks. When I eat MSG, the twitching starts again. I have been avoiding it for several weeks now and my legs have been quiet.
Blackstrap Molasses
Posted by Cat22 (olympia wa) on 01/21/2026
detox and get rid of up to 20 lb of fecal matter stuck to the colon walls like spackle or paste
Quinine
Posted by Share (Il) on 03/01/2014
Hi I have had Restless Leg for at least 20 years. I have tried several types of over the years and I found Quinine worked for a short period of time. I even had a prescription for quinine capsules however as anyone who has had this illness long enough understands that something that is associated with it is called the phenomenon meaning at anytime the symptoms may reappear. These are the things I have tried and that have been prescribed
Neurontin, 1-2mg of anti psychotics, these minuscule doses worked for years so well that several doctors couldn't reason why! Mirapex, Chamomile, Valerian capsules, Passion flower, Teas, kava Kava, Melatonin Alcohol removed wines, Borion under the tongue pellets, Total blood cleanser, water, exercising, Hylands restless leg product, peppermint, cold applications soap vinegar etc....
As you might can see my restless leg symptoms are quite severe early on when I started suffering with the illness I also went to Mayo clinic after being told I might be a little batty however Mayo stated contrary to others belief it was not a fact however they could actually see the physical manifestation of the illness but however they couldn't come up with a illness they could recognize. However they did find a somewhat of a solution after a week of testing me. That was years ago and I no longer use that method because I became a herbalist .
So these are the ones I found to be helpful to a small degree Borion allergy salts pellets at one time worked like a charm. As well as another one that begins with a M however I have not seen it in a while. The teas still work however since my symptoms are flare up during the day, and the teas cause sleepiness as well as the Melatonin I choose to be without them at certain times because otherwise I couldn't function . Alcohol removed wines actually helped moved my gut around, and afterwards I would get a little relief. Ivory soap, helps a lot, but it worked better when I smoked cigarettes!! Herbal cleansers aggravated my condition severely. Mirapex worked for 10 minutes, water aggravates my symptoms, so does wheat, grape juice, chocolate, peach, and green tea. peppermint gum helps as well as keeping the sheets off my legs my legs, as well as my arms need to be cool. Riding the train causes my symptoms to flare up severely. Lastly vinegar does not work for me. Neurontin does work, however its effectiveness wears down after time.
Which brings me to the conclusion that its seems like its the brain however I believe its the heart due to the pulsating and rapid beats twitching itching and crawling sensation surrounding the rapid beats. thus I apply pressure and sure enough given the right amount of pressure and wait time that place of sensation and others are relieved; however other areas are not relieved. But if I put pressure near the third toe on the top part of the foot from the little toe all symptoms end as well sometimes if I place pressure on the skull in certain areas Folks I have Restless Leg in majority of my body, I a mostly attacked in the inner part of my legs top part where the toes end, hands, fingers, inner arms, shoulders and back. currently I am trying magnesium and God willing a withdrawal of milk products. By way the iron use to work now its doesn't . Yes, they saw my ferritin was very low.
Quinine
Posted by Mmsg (Somewhere, Europe) on 03/01/2014
Share, I was wondering when magnesium would come up in your post, and it did towards the end. Try Epsom Salts baths, soaking for 20 minutes at a time.
For iron, the only thing that helped get my ferritin level up to normal was Blackstrap Molasses, about a tablespoon a day.
Light Therapy
Posted by Jbrown82 (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) on 05/14/2012
★★★★★
I've been using light therapy to treat my RLS for 18 months now and it's been working great. I use it for 30 minutes a night every night and if I use it faithfully I never have a problem. There's been a few times I've gone on a trip for over a week and forgot to bring my device and my RLS came back but after I get back on it it works! I bought it from this company here in Canada called Tranquilmed. Has anybody else found success with using light to treat RLS?
A Bar of Soap
Posted by Doc (Youngstown, Florida) on 03/31/2012
★★★★★
I have never tried Ivory soap, but have found that Dial (gold) or Leaver Brothers 2000 (green) works really well. They were the ones recommended by my vascular physician. I unwrap the soap and place it in a clean, somewhat thin cotton sock. It is easy to smell the soap and know when it is time to change bars. Be very careful taking additional magnesium without also taking calcium. If the magnesium/calcium ratio becomes out of balance, the result may be jerking muscles in the shoulders, etc. which can make sleep difficult.
Coconut Oil
Posted by Lardiver (Abbotsford, Bc ) on 11/02/2011
★★★★★
Coconut oil for my RLS [restless leg syndrome]
For 25 years I have had RLS, I used drugs for it every night. When I started using coconut oil the RLS stoped, I haven't taken the drugs in a month now, and am so glad to rid of them. I can still feel them coming on of the RLS if I don't take enough coconut oil so I just take some more and I'm good.
Homeopathy
Posted by Lee (New York, Usa) on 08/15/2011
Thank you Janet from Kendal, UK for your imput. I have tried tonic water and as with all the other remedies I've tried, acv, baking soda etc, I only get about 1 1/2 - 2 hours of some relief and then I'm up again. As an update on the Restful Legs remedy... It works sometimes and not as well at other times. I'm now trying it with the other remedies, tonic water, acv, baking soda, etc. I had blood test to see if I'm deficient in anything but I'm not. Many thanks to all who contribute to this site!
Eliminate Coffee
Posted by David (Greenville, Sc) on 10/04/2012
Try this; worked for me. My leg agitation would drive me crazy at night and I realized that there was a corrolation between intake of sugar after six oclock or so, and the irritable leg issue.
Two solutions: First I cut way back on night time consumption of sugar products. Especially damaging is sugar late at night. That almost always caused RLS.
But, if I break down and do have the ice cream etc. And know that the irritation is likely, in fact, I usually can feel it coming on even before I am ready to sleep, I use a solution of baking soda in water; a half teaspoon in a half cup of water and apply on my knee caps... Which is where the irritation centers in on me. Then I drink the remainder of the soda/water. That combo alkalizes the body. The sugar is a terrible cause of acidic body condition, probably produced over a lifetime of too much sugar consumption and the inability to metabolize it efficently gives a side effect of acidic condition which perhaps along with insulin issues causes the RLS.
This formula really works. No sugar at night but if you do and the RLS starts take the baking soda in water topically and drink the rest to create an alkaline condition.
Niacin
Posted by Wendy D (Houston, Texas/usa) on 06/18/2011
★★★★★
Niacin (use the non-flushing kind) may work for some people. I read where you can take 50mg to 500mg an hour and 1/2 before bed with food can help. I had a bad couple of nights with relatively little sleep due to my legs and tried all of my usual tricks that didn't work. I bought a 250mg of niacin, opened it and sprinkled about 1/3 into a glass of water and drank it. Last night I slept like a baby.
Niacin is known to give the skin a flush for awhile. I would start off slow to see if you react to even the non-flushing kind.
Aspirin
Posted by Tbocamp (Texas, US) on 09/26/2014
★★★★★
I take 2 low dose aspirin every night for my RLS, and that usually does the trick. There are some nights -when symptoms are really bad - that I have to get back up and take 2 to 4 more, but not very often. Soap did help some. Hot, hot baths at 3 in the morning sometimes worked, too. Aspirin has been the most reliable source of help for me. BTW - I have also found that sleeping in lightweight pajama pants, year round, helps.
Pineapple Juice, Tonic Water, Nutmeg
Posted by Tulip (Monticello, Arkansas) on 11/14/2010
★★★★★
For RLS: 3 oz. Pineapple Juice, 3 oz. Tonic Water with quinine, and a couple of shakes of Nutmeg. Mix these 3 ingredients together and drink nightly about 30 minutes before your RLS usually kicks in. I was given this recipe by a holistic doctor and it works every night.
A Bar of Soap
Posted by Blanche (New Iberia, La.) on 03/24/2010
★★★★★
Yep. I felt a little foolish doing this, but it does indeed work for RLS. I happened to use an old bar of Lifebuoy soap, and it is firm enough to have lasted for at least three years. Every now and then I use it for handwashing or something and it seems to revive the smell of it, which I happen to like.
A Bar of Soap
Posted by Sal (Fresno, Ca, 93726) on 01/04/2010
★★★★★
Yes. A bar of ivory soap also worked for my RLS. You would have to put a new one every now and then.
A Bar of Soap
Posted by Stephanie (Racine, WI) on 07/29/2009
★★★★★
I have used the bar under the sheets as well. I think it is a life saver!!! another trick, if you wear socks to bed at night; you can also use a sliver of soap in each sock. I do this too, when my husband complains about the bar of soap in the bed.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Barbara (Swansea, South Wales) on 07/13/2009
I have just recently been suffering from RSL and it is making my life completely miserable. So I have just been reading all the useful remedies provided by fellow sufferers. Thank you very much. Starting to-day! I am going to have a go. Strangely however I have always dedicated my good health to Cider Vinegar, but in recent times have neglected to do so. I wonder if this is the cause of my nightly suffering. I saw my doctor who gave me pain-killers and sleeping tablets but they are causing other problems like I do not have the energy I usually have. I will start to-day from the beginning of these pages and will let you know in about a week how I have got on.
Thank you all so much.
Barbara from Wales
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Gail (Melbourne, Victoria Australia) on 04/29/2009
★★★★★
RLS
I believe the recommended dose of vinegar for weight loss is 2 teaspoons in 16oz of water sipped throught the day I don't know if this will be enough for rls if not do it 2 or 3 times throught the day but also rub your legs with the vinegar, I get almost instant relief from this. Hope it works for u too. Gail
Rubbing Alcohol
Posted by Nancy (Shreveport, LA, U.S.) on 04/27/2009
★★★★★
Since I am seeing more posts about Restless Leg Syndrome, I thought I would share with all of you as a possible solution. I was telling a friend about the Earthclinic web site and she told me she once had restless leg syndrome. She said remembers how releatives used rubbing alcohol for horses legs. She thought, why not and rubbed her legs with it. The next day and to this day she has had no more symptoms. I don't have personal experience with this but I thought I would throw it into the mix to see if anyone else had tried it.
Magnesium
Posted by Mary (Douglasville, Georgia, USA) on 03/28/2009
I have found magnesium supplements at bedtime work like a charm. However, they also loosen the bowels a bit, but nothing uncontrollable.
A Bar of Soap
Posted by Rita (Plano, TX) on 03/19/2009
★★★★★
I had never heard about putting the bar of soap at your feet but I have put soap on a wet paper towel and rubbed it on my legs at work. It works wonderful. I am so glad someone told me about it. It's awful when you are trying to work or sleep and can't because of RLS.
Folic Acid
Posted by Pamela (New Smyrna Beach, FL) on 02/19/2009
★★★★★
Folic Acid cured my inherited Restless Legs. My mother also had restless legs. I am 47 years old and I have had restless legs in the evening for about 10 years. I couldn't sit on the couch and try to relax or take a long car ride at night without my legs going crazy twitching. It's only been in the last year or so that it has actually affected me in bed while I'm trying to sleep. It progressively got worse until it was keeping me awake for most of the night. That's when I realized I was not going to take this lightly anymore. I have done research and tried many things over the years, but when you read so many things some of it just goes over your head. The folic acid connection was one of the things that just kept going over my head. So when I looked deeper into it recently, I started seeing many accounts of how folic acid deficiency can be inherited. Some people just cannot absorb and utilize folate effectively and that can be an inherited problem. I looked deeper and learned that some of the signs of folic acid deficiency, aside from restless legs, are periodontal disease (my mom had it in her mid thirties and had all her teeth removed), poor circulation (my hands & feet are always cold), and even Alzheimer's (my mom contracted Alzheimer's in her mid sixties). I read that if this is the case with you that you need to supplement with high doses of folic acid. I bought the 800 mcg tablets and started with just a couple of them at a time. I have built up to taking 15 of them at night before bed and my restless legs are no more. I can hardly believe it, but it's true. It took about a week or two for it to completely disappear and if my body adjusts to this dosage and it comes back, I will just continue to increase my dosage as necessary. I am a firm believer in healing ourselves with natural products and methods. I have used much information from this wonderful site to improve and cure my problems.
I'd like to add that EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), which is a form of self-applied acupressure, has also helped me greatly. Used correctly, it will stop the twitching in your legs. For me it was only temporary because of the folic acid deficiency, but it was a huge help to me in the middle of the night when I couldn't get to sleep because of my restless legs. I hope this can help someone else who struggles with this problem.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Margaret (Denver, Co) on 12/09/2010
"three places inside the legs that feel hard and painful" sound like trigger points. Check out the book "Trigger Point Therapy Workbook" by Clair Davies to see if it makes sense to you. I've suffered from RLS for about 10 years and finally reached out to a naturopath who immediately knew what caused it and what to do. RLS is from lymphatic waste pooling in the legs which irritates the nerves, causing the muscles to spasm. This made perfect sense to me, but I'd never thought of it before. Before I went to the naturopath, I'd been taking 3 capsules of magnesium asporotate (Solaray brand) before bed, which works as a muscle relaxant. (Taking much more than that has a laxative effect. ) I'd also do deep runner stretches of the hip flexors, which were the muscles giving me all the trouble. This helped somewhat. Often I'd be up 2-3 times during the night, awakened by jerky legs. I'd walk around the house, sometimes almost to the point of tears because it was SO incredibly frustrating. The magnesium and stretching helped, but obviously they weren't enough. The naturopath suggested the following things which worked like magic:
- 10 to 15 minutes daily bouncing on a mini trampoline. This helps stimulate and clear the lymphatic system
- homeopathic lymphatic drops daily, again to stimulate the lymphatic system
- curcumin daily to clean out the liver which deals with waste delivered to it by the lymphatic system
- yoga, especially inverted poses. For the last 25 or so years I've taken good care of myself: exercised regularly, eaten health food, drank plenty of water, taken supplements. I was already avoiding foods that cause toxins (waste) in the first place--meaning junk food and foods I was allergic to. This was a difficult problem to solve. Now, I usually sleep normally and have slacked off on the trampoline. (If I did the trampoline daily, I'd probably have a complete cure. ) When I exercise a lot, the RLS flares up. I can usually stop it and get back to sleep by deep leg stretches and then a shoulder stand for about 5 minutes. This was really affecting my life in a negative way. I'm so thankful I found things that worked and hope others do too.
