Magnesium Calms Restless Leg Syndrome

My attacks of Restless Leg Syndrome have taken on many different forms over the years. Finally, however, I've found that a magnesium supplement will give me relief from Restless Leg Syndrome most of the time. I don't take magnesium daily, but I do take it whenever I feel the familiar sensations of Restless Leg Syndrome gearing up to keep me from another night's rest. Never before have I ever tried anything that works as well as magnesium does. I've tried another remedy called Muscle Mist that came pretty close to being my fix, but magnesium has now become my preferred source of relief for Restless Leg Syndrome for about the past year.

Was Pain A Precursor To Restless Leg Syndrome?

Restless Leg Syndrome didn't present itself in the usual way with me. When I was a little girl, I used stay awake at night with agonizing pain in my legs. It felt like a burning ache that would center itself mainly in my calves and would torment me for hours on end. I couldn't sleep and I couldn't sit still. My mother would put me in a hot bath and massage my legs afterwards, but that brought only temporary relief as the pain wouldn't leave until it was good and ready to do so. By the time it was done with me, I'd usually fall asleep exhausted from crying. I remember my mother looking quite helpless as there was little she could do to calm me. Later, when I had my own son, he would go through similar nightly turmoil, before developing Restless Leg Syndrome when he got older. I'm not sure if the childhood pain is actually classified as Restless Leg Syndrome, but I do believe it's a sort of frontrunner for Restless Leg Syndrome in adults.

My pediatrician convinced my mother that I was merely experiencing growing pains and they would go away when I got older. Years later, my son's doctor would also say the same thing. It took me a while to conclude that those pains are a warning of the Restless Leg Syndrome to come. It's interesting to note that my mother didn't have the childhood pains, but she also developed Restless Leg Syndrome in adulthood. That makes three generations of us who have battled Restless Leg Syndrome so far.

When I was about 12, I recall being curled up on my friend's kitchen floor as a bout of Restless Leg Syndrome hit me when I was spending the night at her house. Her mother didn't know what to do and, looking back, I'm not even sure she believed the amount of pain I was in. Few knew about Restless Leg Syndrome then, so it wasn't something people were used to seeing. After futile attempts to help me, my friend's mother finally gave up after I assured her that I frequently experienced such pain and that it would eventually subside on its own. My friend, however, sat on that kitchen floor with me for what seemed like hours as she rubbed my legs and kept asking if I was going to be okay. Looking back, I really think that her mom thought we were little drama queens and didn't realize the true agony I was in.

Finally, I had my last bout with this pain when I was about 14 years old as it stopped just as mysteriously as it had started. For years, I was pain free. All of that changed, however, when I became pregnant in my early twenties.

Restless Leg Syndrome Began With Pregnancy

Beginning at about the seventh month of my pregnancy, I had my first full on attack of Restless Leg Syndrome. My legs would tense up and began feeling like they were twitching on the inside whenever I'd try to fall asleep. The only relief I could get from this incessant twitching and tension was to get up and walk around the house remaining in constant motion. I'd pace the halls for as long as the pain would last, which was usually about an hour, and then I'd try to get back to sleep. Already feeling irritable and uncomfortable from pregnancy, the last thing I needed was a condition keeping me awake nights. This time, my doctor told me that it was just discomfort from my pregnancy and treated it as nonchalantly as if I'd told him I'd had a kink in my neck the night before. Still, no diagnosis of Restless Leg Syndrome to help me figure out why my legs were, yet again, keeping me awake nights.

Restless Leg Syndrome Was Inactive For Several Years And Then...

After I delivered my son, however, the Restless Leg Syndrome would disappear for several years. Believing it had actually been pregnancy discomfort, I didn't think any more of it until I started feeling it again about thirteen years later. This time, I told my new doctor that something was definitely wrong in that it was happening frequently. I wasn't pregnant anymore, so I couldn't accept the pregnancy explanation for why my legs were restless at night. This time, my doctor told me that I needed to exercise more. Still, no diagnosis of Restless Leg Syndrome, but after a few more months of attacks, which began happening more and more frequently, I decided to do a little research of my own. I found out that there is a name for my struggle and it's called Restless Leg Syndrome or RLS for short. I discovered that there were millions of people around the world who were experiencing the same thing! Why three different doctors couldn't tell me this earlier, is beyond me, but that's not the point. I was finally on to something and set my determined sights on finding a way to deal with Restless Leg Syndrome.

This was all before the advent of the Restless Leg Syndrome commercials we see today. Later, when the commercials began airing, I knew relief existed, but I wasn't thrilled at the prospect of having to take medication for Restless Leg Syndrome. It would still take me a few years to figure out a natural remedy and, in that time, I had many, many, many sleepless nights. My husband eventually got used to me walking the halls at night as there was little else I could do to find relief.

A Temporary Fix

Finally, one day, we visited the County Fair in our area and I met a woman who was selling a product called Muscle Mist made by Aroma Sensations. The label explains that it's for the temporary relief of muscle and joint pain, but after talking to her for a few minutes and explaining my plight, she told me that she believed Muscle Mist would work for me. She said she'd had other customers use the product for Restless Leg Syndrome and they'd indicated it worked well. I was skeptical, but I bought a small bottle and used it a few nights later when I felt a bout of Restless Leg Syndrome coming on. Menthol and clove oil are the key ingredients in Muscle Mist and I really think the menthol is the main champion against Restless Leg Syndrome as the sensation that the menthol produces on your skin seems to somehow distract the feeling of Restless Leg Syndrome. I know it sounds weird, but Restless Leg Syndrome is a weird syndrome so...

Anyway, I used Muscle Mist religiously for about eight or nine months until it began to lose its effectiveness. I'm not sure if my legs got used to it and the Restless Leg Syndrome began to overpower it or if the ingredients in Muscle Mist actually lost its potency after a while, but I was back at square one with the twitching sensation, the need to move and stretch my legs and the sleepless nights once again.

Finally, It Was Time To Give Magnesium A Try

On various natural healing message boards, I'd read testimonial after testimonial from Restless Leg Syndrome sufferers about the positive effects of magnesium. I don't know why it took me so long to try magnesium for myself, but it would be months before I finally would. The last straw came one night at the movies with my husband and another couple. For a few weeks prior to that, I'd noticed that my bouts with Restless Leg Syndrome were starting earlier and earlier in the evening. That night, at the movies, I felt an attack coming on. I tried to sit still, but ended up squirming for several minutes until finally, I couldn't take it any more, and I jumped up in the middle of the theater. I'd already whispered to my husband what was happening, but the other couple had no idea. I quickly excused myself and made my way out of the aisle. My legs needed to move or I felt like I was going to scream.

I walked around to the entrance of the theater where I could see the screen, but no one could see me from their seats and I paced for several minutes trying to will the Restless Leg Syndrome away. Of course, it was just settling in for the evening and would only increase with my efforts. Finally, my husband came down to see about me and found me pacing at the entrance. After convincing him that there was nothing that he could do and that I didn't want to ruin everyone's evening by going home, he stood at the entrance with me and tried to watch the film from there. The couple that we were with, however, still didn't know what was going on and they eventually came to look for us. Finding us in the walkway at the entrance to the theater, I explained to them what the problem was and begged them to finish watching the movie. By this time, I was thoroughly embarrassed.

The couple and my husband eventually sat at one of the lower seats near the entrance and finished the film while I stood in the corridor and watched it while pacing back and forth. A few passerby's noticed me and, I'm sure, it was quite a sight to figure out. After we left the theater, however, the other woman that was with us told me that also had recently developed a milder case of Restless Leg Syndrome, but that she uses magnesium as was recommended by her doctor and hasn't had any severe problems with Restless Leg Syndrome since trying magnesium for the first time.

Magnesium Works!

The next day, I purchased my first jar of magnesium and have been successful in combating Restless Leg Syndrome most every attack since. The brand of magnesium that I buy is actually made by the same store where I purchase it, Sprouts Farmer's Market. It is called Mag Relax and offers 650 milligrams of magnesium per serving. I don't take magnesium every night, but only when I feel symptoms once or twice a week, so an 8 oz. Jar of magnesium will last me several months at a time. I simply add 3 scoops of powdered magnesium to a half glass of hot water, let the magnesium dissolve and then add a little cool juice for taste (and to cool the water) and sleep like a baby afterwards.

Magnesium Is Not 100% Effective All The Time, But 98% Is Pretty Good

I have to say, though, that magnesium was full proof in giving me almost instant relief for almost a year. Lately, however, there have been two separate occasions when magnesium didn't seem to work. I'm not sure why this happened, but I've taken it many times since those two occasions and magnesium still works mostly within minutes after I drink it. I'm a little concerned as the Muscle Mist stopped working too after months of success and I'm hoping that the magnesium remedy isn't losing its effectiveness like the Muscle Mist did. I've heard of people having to switch remedies, even pharmaceutical ones, because they stop working after a while. I'm really hoping that the magnesium continues to work, though, because I don't quite know what to try afterwards if magnesium stops working. I've heard of Requip and other drugs, but I prefer taking a more natural route, which is why magnesium is such a perfect fit for me.

Try Magnesium For Yourself

If you've been stricken with Restless Leg Syndrome, I strongly suggest that you try magnesium if you haven't already done so. Hopefully, you'll have as much success as I have had with magnesium and will, once again, return to enjoying a peaceful rest.