I've been dealing with adrenal fatigue for many years but just recently it seems I've take a turn for the worse. My appetite has decreased to almost nothing and my sleep has gone from "unrefreshing" to hours and hours and days and days of insomnia. And I still have all my "old" adrenal fatigue symptoms.
Even with all that going on, the thing that is bothering me the most is Restless Legs. It's only been going on for a couple of weeks but it's driving me out of my mind! And of course it makes it MUCH harder to sleep... the LAST thing I need.
I had NO idea what was causing it, but did some looking on the net and found that they've established a pretty solid link between CFS, Fibro, (two diseases which amost certainly have an adrenal component), Adrenal Fatigue itself and Restless Leg Syndrome.
Can anyone relate???? Has anyone experienced the same thing? Did you discover anything that helped?
I know that only real "cure" (if this is related to adrenal fatigue) is to re-strengthen my adrenals. But that is easier said than done when I can't get any decent sleep or any nutritious food (I panic whenever I eat almost ANYTHING)!
Any help or ideas or just a "yeah, I had restless legs and they went away when my adrenals got stronger" would be GREATLY appreciated. It's scary to have tried to get better for so many years and instead get MORE symptoms instead of getting better!
Do you have a copy of Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum's book Fatigued To Fantastic? On page 127-129 he talks about Restless Leg Syndrome. Here are the highlights....I URGE you that if you are fighting multiple conditions to GET THIS BOOK. I've read many in the past few years and I deeply regret I didn't read this one FIRST. Don't be put off by folks that say he 'prescribes too many medicines'. He FIRST suggests natural remedies and resorts to meds only when desperate times call for desperate measures so to speak. I've been following his protocols and finally am starting to improve after 5 years of being disabled!
I TRIED and TRIED to build up my adrenals naturally but as I watched my morning cortisol numbers slip from 15 to 7 to 5 to 3 with nearly nothing the rest of the day I tried Cortef, which gave me too many side effects and eventually tried Isocort (see my other posts on this). FINALLY, my numbers are coming up, I'm eating again, most of the nausea is gone.
Dr. Teitelbaum explains in the book WHY we don't sleep (because of hypothalamic dysfunction), suggests many ways of getting sleep and on and on. I realized that after 5 years of doing things completely natural that it was time to get to the bottom of why I've been so sick and my why adrenals were tanking. And, this book REALLY helped me in a way the other ones could not.
Here's the scoop on RLS
1. Approx. 1/3 of Fibro patients have RLS
2. Experts suspects it might be a result of dopamine deficiency
3. It may also be aggravated by iron deficiency - having blood ferritin levels less than 50 even though over 9 is considered normal.
4.) Other causes may be b12 or folic acid deficiency, hypothyroidism or hypoglycemia
5.) Elavil and Lithium aggravate RLS
Natural Remedies
No caffeine
iron supplement if ferritin under 50
sub-lingual b12 & folic acid
L-Tryptophan (My NOTE: L-Tryptophan is now back on the market at http://www.swansonvitamins.com
5 HTP
Prescription Remedies
Ambien
Klonopin
If these 2 do not control add Sinemet 10/100 or 25/100 on hour before bedtime
I've never read From Fatigued to Fantastic. The only book I've read that I felt understood the problem is Adrenal Fatigue by James Wilson.
I will definitely get From Fatigued to Fantastic.
I was under the impression that it was just suggestions for more supplements... and I feel like I've tried SOOO many supplements. I'm so broke, I simply can't keep trying more. I may try some kind of iron supplement though, because I've wondered for quite awhile if I many not be anemic. Since I eat almost nothing, I get most of my nutrition from "nutritional powders" and I don't know if there is enough iron getting into my system. My skin has kind of a "pale/grayish" hue to it (instead of regular pink or tanned color). Obviously SOMETHING isn't right.
I really appreciate you taking the time to respond and to type out info from the book. Thank you.
how refreshing planlover that you realize that all these cleanses, etc are really not the answer some of the time. When someone is sooo down and in crisis with AF it weakens the body furthur i have found. I have been in such a place, and tried all sorts of cleanes recommended to me on this very forum 2 years ago this month. they made me worse. Especially the one with lemon juice and molasses, I almost died. I was severely hypoglycemic and it almost killed me. I was already having loose stool up to 10 times a day, and cleansing myself worsened my condition, so to the person with restless legs, I agree. I had RLS badly and magnesium did not help me. I finally had to take klonipin to get thru just so I could sleep. It had been weeks with NO sleep and the adrenals can't heal without proper rest. that is the main thing, among a perfect diet. I was sick all the time and could not eat, so i drank alot of chicken broth and soups with no gluten. I am allergic to gluten and corn which was also making my symptoms worse. You may want to look into that. i had no idea. once i gave those up i began to improve. I agree about saliva test, I have had 2. i am also sensitive to supplements, so you may want to cut down on what you're taking. supplemets were just being thrown at me, but most did not help. I actually had to quit each for a period of time to see what the buggers were. Most gave me panic. i could not take magnesium in any form. Also my multi was bad. I ended up taking kelp for iodine(thyroid) and glandulars which have never bothered me as long as they have nothing added. chinese herbs killed me, too stimulating. i also take 5'htp and a good vitmain b complex, thats it and these things help. i saved alot of money but going off things that made me worse. my body was so sensitive that i had to think about EVERYTHING i put into it. Even a piece of sugarless gum set me off. Leslie
How right you are!! The other thing I've discovered over time is that allergies or sensitivities are so specific to each person it's difficult recommending things. It's a process of elimination at times and each item has to be considered in how it will stimulate or overstimulate the adrenals. I'm was the same as you, herbs and certain supplements that were supposed to create 'energy' just didn't BECAUSE my adrenal function (as measured on saliva tests) just got less and less.
I agree that there are many issues that we as adrenal patients face. And it is vitally important to address things such as yeast overgrowth, parasites, food sensitivities, removal of chemicals from the home, dietary changes, supplements, and so on....The caveat is this....
IF your body is at a point where it can recover naturally by using only these methods that's super....but I was at a point where my adrenals were so non-functional that I HAD to address replacement (as in Isocort, which is available online without a prescription) not just supplementation. I have done all of the things above...to the tune of multiple 1000's of dollars and none of that is wasted, but without my adrenals functioning none of it is in and of itself enough to get me well.
Have you had an Adrenal Stress Index or 4 part saliva cortisol and DHEA measurement done???? If not, it is imperative to have a baseline and know where you are, especially if you've been sick for awhile. You don't need a doctor. They're available on line from http://www.thehormoneshop.com
for about $100. The Hormone Shop uses the exact same lab, Pharmasan, that my doctor uses but doesn't require a doctors order. They even ship out of the country.
I agree with you about supplementation. As I said in another post, I've tried EVERYTHING.... and while I don't feel that money was "wasted" (it's probably kept me alive... literally), it's also bankrupted me and has definitely not given me a decent quality of life.
I used to live in the States, but now live in Canada. I had health insurance in the States, but here, since they have "universal health care" (and I'm not a "citizen"), everything I do "doctor-wise" is out of pocket.
I do use Isocort and I think it helps me quite a bit. I used to see a Naturopath in the States who prescribed Cortef, which I felt helped a LOT. But obviously, he won't continue to treat me while I'm living here. (I need to be here for family reasons by the way.... and can't just go back to the States..... even if I could, I would be alone, with no way of taking care of myself or supporting myself financially).
I did have a DHEA/Cortisol saliva test done....but that was years ago. It was REALLY messed up. I used to use Cortef at certain times of day and DHEA at others.... but living here, I don't have access to either. (I need a prescription for Cortef, and Health Canada has made DHEA illegal, claiming it's the same as "performance enhancing steroids"!)
Sorry to sound so negative. I appreciate your suggestions so much, but without money or access to the products I need, I really don't know what to do.
I do not know what everyone said here but I think restless legs can sometimes be associated with a sleep imbalance. Call and find out if Dr. thinks you have one. I think you can answer a questionaire. Looke under sleep problems under Physicians. It's worth a try. If that is it that is and EASY fix. good luck.
Hi! Personal experience from many friends with fibromyalgia. Both fibro and simple low thyroid seem to come with restless legs. But you might want to find out if you have simple fibromyalgia. There is a doctor who has a test that is definitive about 75% of the time. He's at Stopfibro.com. His name is Dr. Paul Whitcomb and he had fibro and cured himself, and many others, myself included. He has a book, which you might find informative. Amazon has it: "Fibromyalgia: Finally, solving the mystery." There's a chapter on restless legs in the book. Many of the other patients at the doctor's clinic in South Lake Tahoe had restless legs before they came, but that symptom went away after a couple weeks of treatment. This doc can tell if you're one of the people he can help with his simple test, and if you are, it's a real miracle to get well in 8 weeks. I like to sleep now that I can, and the fibro is a thing of the past. All the other ladies who were treated with me are doing well, too, and rebuilding our health. Our glands all got depleted from the stress of various pains, and that led to restless legs for many, most likely from thyroid collapse. While the thyroid is a fairly delicate gland, it will recover quickly if it has the stress removed. I no longer have to take thyroid hormones, and still take adrenal bio-identical hormones, and do very well. Good luck to you.
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Restless Legs- Please Help! 
