Are Your Legs Restless from Running Through Your Mind All Night Long?
As you already know, another “syndrome” called Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) or Wittmaack–Ekbom syndrome, is plaguing Americans of all ages. If you ask some of the victims of this mystery condition, they might call it restless body syndrome.
It’s a myth that the painful prickling, pins and needles sensation RLS victims suffer are limited to only their legs. Many people experience these symptoms non-stop, not only in their legs, but also in their hips, arms, neck and face muscles, as well.
Sometimes the RLS symptoms of this syndrome are so bad that people are unable to walk and have to take powerful pain-blocking drugs just to get through another day.
After reading dozens of testimonials posted on reputable medical websites, it becomes obvious that conventional medical treatment doesn’t have a clue what to do about RLS.
This isn’t something that appeared on the horizon just six months or a year ago when I first heard of it. It’s been around for decades, just not in the massive numbers we’re seeing today. Some adults report having suffered life-long RLS symptoms since childhood.
As with any syndrome, doctors just don’t know what the root cause is. The other challenge is that many other medical conditions have very similar symptoms, therefore making accurate diagnosis difficult.
Some possible misdiagnosis for RLS are:
- Sleep apnea
- Narcolepsy
- Muscle disease
- Joint conditions
- Nerve cell problems
- Circulation difficulties
It appears that exercising helps a lot of people stop the irritating and often debilitating RLS symptoms. On top of all the tingling and burning sensations, sudden involuntary jerking spasms are the most annoying and potentially dangerous part of the syndrome.
Imagine trying to drive a motor vehicle while dealing with unpredictable nervous seizures of muscle and limbs – not to mention the “phantom-limb” pains, severe sleep deprivation and adverse drug effects they often suffer.
Since the jury is still out on exactly what causes RLS, perhaps we should do our own due diligence and look into this together.
Let’s slip into our “health detective” shoes for a moment and do some medical investigation of our own; perhaps we can find some clues to the root cause.
It only makes common sense that before you can solve any problem, you first need to identify the “root cause.” So, let’s see what we can find out about RLS.
Here are some clues that may be associated with RLS:
- Pregnancy
- Obesity
- Iron deficiency
- Nerve disease
- Hypothyroidism
- Heavy metal poisoning
- Hormone imbalance
- Diabetes
- Kidney failure
Poor lifestyle choices have been found suspect as well, such as: cigarette smoking, caffeine, alcohol, as well as taking H2 histamine blockers (Tagamet and Zantec), antihistamines and antidepressants like Elavil.
While we’re on the subject of drugs, let me point out that H2 Histamine blockers, suspected of triggering RLS, interfere with at least 3 important factors necessary for proper health:
- First, blocking stomach acid production can interfere with the immune system, as well as central and peripheral nerve function. Health experts recognized the gut as the “second brain” because it has so many neurotransmitters, nerve endings and receptors.
- Second, histamine is a “water-regulating” neurotransmitter. Blocking histamine can trigger chronic dehydration. You need water for vital cell, muscle and nerve function. The right amount of water in your cells provides proper electrical signaling, neurotransmitter function, sleep patterns, nutrient absorption, DNA repair, oxygen absorption, waste elimination, immune function and reduces risk of neurological diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Multiple sclerosis and Lou Gehrig’s disease.
- Third, H2 Histamine blockers are toxic to the kidneys, muscle cells and nervous system. Here are some of the adverse effects other than Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS):
Abdominal pain back, leg, or stomach pain, bleeding or crusting sores on lips, blistering, burning, redness, scaling, or tenderness of skin blisters on palms of hands and soles of feet, changes in vision or blurred vision, coughing or difficulty in swallowing, dark-colored urine (dehydration), dizziness, fainting, fast, pounding, or irregular heartbeat, fever and/or chills, flu-like symptoms, general feeling of discomfort or illness, hives, inflammation of blood vessels, joint pain, light-colored stools, mood or mental changes, including anxiety, agitation, confusion, hallucinations (seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not there), mental depression, nervousness, or severe mental illness, muscle cramps or aches, nausea, vomiting, or loss of appetite, pain, peeling or sloughing of skin, red or irritated eyes, shortness of breath, skin rash or itching, slow heartbeat, sore throat, sores, ulcers, or white spots on lips, in mouth, or on genitals, sudden difficult breathing, swelling of face, lips, mouth, tongue, or eyelids, swelling of hands or feet, swollen or painful glands, tightness in chest, troubled breathing, unusually slow or irregular breathing, unusual bleeding or bruising, unusual tiredness or weakness, wheezing, yellow eyes or skin, constipation, decreased sexual ability, decrease in sexual desire, diarrhea, difficult urination, dizziness, drowsiness, dryness of mouth or skin, headache, increased or decreased urination, increased sweating, loss of hair, ringing or buzzing in ears, runny nose, swelling of breasts or breast soreness in females and males, trouble in sleeping* . . .
*Notice: Many of these symptoms are also symptoms of severe dehydration. As you can see, taking drugs like H2 histamine inhibitors can make it difficult to properly diagnose your Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), so be sure to let your health practitioner know all the medications you’ve taken to help make a more accurate assessment of your situation.
“As medical investigators our goal is ultimately to find the most natural cure solution to any health problem.”
By knowing which conventional treatments are being used for RLS you can get a better idea of what mainstream medical practice is learning. By putting all the pieces together we can only hope the bigger “holistic” picture will reveal itself.
FACT: Many of the medicines being used to stop RLS symptoms are powerful synthetic opiates or “opioids.” These synthetic chemicals attach to natural opioids peptide receptors found in the central nervous system and gut to temporarily block RLS pain.
Opioid adverse effects include sleepiness, nausea, vomiting, itching, dry mouth, constipation and miosis (constriction of the pupil), weight gain and dental issues. “Opioid detoxification has been associated with provocation of RLS-like symptoms during withdrawal . The word is taking opioids is like, “Making a deal with the devil.”
All the more reason to find a natural cure solution . . .
Furthermore, the danger is anyone on one of these opiods three or four weeks will become dependent. They may not show the psychological manifestations of addiction, but they will be physiologically dependent.
Recently, the FDA has approved the use of Requip and Miraplex for treatment of RLS. These are traditionally used for Parkinson’s disease, a disorder of the nervous system. The side effects of these two drugs are too many to list in this report, but they look even worse than opioid side effects.
Treatments that are known to help some RLS sufferers are electric nerve stimulation, acupuncture and magnesium “ion” supplementation.
Just based on these limited facts, you can see that RLS is mainly being treated as a neurological disorder rather than a circulation issue. Obviously, circulation is an important factor. That is why eliminating cigarette smoking and alcohol can help reduce RLS symptoms, but I think you’ll agree we can eliminate poor circulation as a root cause.
So, let’s look at nerve health . . .
Based on a further in-depth investigation there are three key health factors that come to mind when considering nerve health:
- Heavy metal poisoning
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Acidosis
It’s no secret that exposure to heavy metals like aluminum, lead and mercury cause severe nerve and muscle cell damage. Heavy metal poisoning, especially from lead and mercury are best controlled with “beet sourced” vitamin C. The worse the poisoning, the more you’ll need.
(Research shows common corn-sourced vitamin C isn’t nearly as effective as beet-source vitamin C. If it’s made from GMO-corn it can cause anaphylactic shock. Otherwise, vitamin C is proven safe to use.)
After 28 years of research, an effective daily dose regardless of age and weight has been determined by Dr. Klenner to be 30 grams of “real” vitamin C a day. I use Sir Arnold Takemoto’s patented oral vitamin C protocol, which also contains “alpha lipoic acid” to help draw out heavy metals across the blood-brain barrier.
As you already, know vitamins and minerals are vital for human function, each one playing a different role. It’s also a scientific fact that your cells can’t absorb vitamins unless there are “ionic” minerals already present. Leading scientists know calcium is one the most important minerals for nerve and tissue health, but did you know without magnesium that calcium can become toxic?
Minerals act as catalysts in nerve response, muscle contraction and the metabolism of nutrients in foods. They regulate electrolyte balance and hormonal production, plus they strengthen skeletal structures.
That’s because all the trace minerals work together as a whole and the same goes for vitamins. If you suffer a deficiency of any mineral, nutrient or their cofactors, it affects everything. So, don’t be afraid to take my nutritional findings with a grain of salt. Sea salt, that is!
Here are some vitamins and minerals that are important to healthy nerve cells:
- Vitamin B6: Helps support healthy nerve function.
- Vitamin B9: Known as folic acid is vital to nerve development.
- Vitamin B12: Promotes healthy nerve growth.
- Vitamin C: Helps remove heavy metals, protects nerve cell growth.
- Vitamin E: Helps blood, muscle and nerve cells.
- Vitamin D: Promotes calcium and phosphorous absorption.
- Calcium: helps proper nerve and muscle function.
- Copper: Helps develop the central nervous system
- Iron: Works with calcium for blood, nerve and muscle health.
- Magnesium: Works with calcium and phosphorous for nerve and muscle health.
- Phosphorous: Works with calcium for nerve health.
- Potassium: works with calcium for nerve and muscle health.
- Sodium: involved in nerve impulse transmission, muscle tone and nutrient transport.
- Zinc: works with calcium and magnesium for nerve and tissue health.
Last but not least, suspect #3 . . . acidosis.
Acidosis can be triggered both by heavy metal poisoning and mineral deficiencies.
Your health and vitality depend on you having a balanced pH level. Your pH level is a measure of your tissue’s acidity or alkalinity. The more acidic your tissue is, the lower the pH level. For example, a pH of 1 is very acidic; a pH of 7 is neutral; a pH of 14 is very alkaline.
Your body should maintain a pH level between 7.25 and 7.4, which is slightly alkaline or “salty.”
When I say salty, I mean like sea salty. Mama Nature makes 72 important mineral salts necessary for proper blood, nerve cell and muscle cell function.
Acidosis is a life threatening condition where acidic body waste, drugs or environmental toxins overwhelm your kidneys. Your kidneys recycle and regulate life giving minerals such as sodium, phosphorus, and potassium. Your kidneys are responsible for removing the toxic acid waste from your cells, but to do this your body needs plenty of “ionic” mineral salts, nutrients and precious water.
Bottom line . . . it didn’t take us long to discover the 3 key factors to helping prevent Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), did it?
Perhaps the root cause of RLS is as simple as, “Nurturing a balanced pH level, maintaining adequate hydration and providing sufficient mineral salts and their associated nutrients.”
Now the final chapter is up to you. You are the final authority on your health.
I don’t claim to have the cure, but I do believe for every imbalance, dis-ease or syndrome, there is a root cause. Where there is a root cause, there has to be a natural cure.
I hope our little medical investigation helped shine some light on Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) for you or for someone you love. Thanks for participating!