According to the American Parkinson Disease Association 10% of adult Americans suffer from RLS (Restless Legs Syndrome). RLS is a neurological disorder that causes unpleasant sensations in the legs. These annoying or painful sensations cause a very strong urge to move the legs in an effort to ease the discomfort. It is considered a movement disorder because suffers need to move the legs to get temporary relief. Symptoms are generally worse at night and can interfere with sleep. Women are twice as likely to suffer from RLS compared to men and childhood RLS can sometimes be mistaken for “growing pains” or even attention deficit disorder.

What Causes RLS?

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke indicate that RLS is related to dysfunction in an area of the brain called the basal ganglia that relies on a chemical called dopamine. Individuals with Parkinson’s disease, another disorder of the basal ganglia’s dopamine pathways, often have RLS, as well. Many people are affected with RLS by middle-age and symptoms often become more frequent and last longer with age. Symptoms of RLS typically get worse over time and are due to decline levels of dopamine in the brain.

Natural Relief:

It has become apparent that RLS is caused by a lack of dopamine in the brain. So it would make sense that increasing levels of dopamine in the brain would be beneficial for this condition. Unfortunately, there is not a nutrient or drug that contains dopamine that will reach the brain. In order to raise dopamine levels in the brain, something called a dopamine precursor is required. This dopamine precursor must be able to cross something called the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The BBB is a very selective barrier that only permits certain substances and chemicals enter the brain. A nutrient called tyrosine can be used to produce dopamine in the brain, unfortunately, taking tyrosine supplements will not usually result in enough dopamine to control the symptoms of RLS.

There are however natural substances that contain high amounts of a dopamine precursor called L-DOPA (Levodopa). The L-DOPA will cross the BBB and can raise dopamine levels high enough to control RLS symptoms. It should be noted at this point that we do not recommend you attempt this treatment without direct supervision from a doctor who is familiar with this treatment approach. At Naperville Integrated Wellness, we have successfully used this approach for managing RLS and other disorders related to low dopamine levels. L-DOPA is also used to treat Parkinson’s disease but it is mixed with another drug called Carbidopa (to manage nausea associated with high levels of L-DOPA). The combination of L-DOPA + Carbidopa can have damaging effects on one’s health and its effectiveness is reduced over time. Sinemet is such a drug. We do not advocate the use of this drug and prefer to increase dopamine levels using L-DOPA and other non-prescription nutrients to manage any nausea associated with it.

Drug Treatments:

Various drugs are prescribed to control the symptoms of RLS but none of these actually increase the levels of dopamine in the brain except the Dopamine Precursor class (Sinemet).

• Dopamine Agonist: Mirapex and Requip

• Benzodiazepines: Xanax and Klonopin

• Anticonvulsant: Neurontin

• Dopamine Precursor: Sinemet

Restless Legs Syndrome can be effectively managed for many people using non-prescription nutrients. At Naperville Integrated Wellness, Dr. Sexton utilizes a functional medicine approach.  If you would like more information about RLS, Parkinson’s disease or other neurotransmitter-related diseases please contact our office.

Do your own research, inform yourself and ask lots of questions. When collecting information you MUST consider the source. There is no shortage of false, misleading, outdated, profit-driven and utterly biased information in healthcare today; even from the most respected sources.

Good Health!