How long until iron therapy would work? - Restless Leg Syndrome Message Board

deanb · 05-20-2005, 12:40 PM

Hi. I am a 24 year old male. I have not been medically diagnosed with RLS, as I have no health insurance and not much money to throw around on what seems to be (in this case), mostly non-definitive tests.

However, I have been suffering from the exact symptoms (except mine seem to peak during day hours and only a nuisance at night) for about 6 months now. This past week the symptoms have doubled, and it becomes increasingly difficult to function during the day.

I have seen alot of situations where Iron deficiencies and a need for more magnesium have been the cause. I have begun an Iron therapy supplement (my mother is iron deficient and i use her over the counter tabs), as well as taking a magnesium supplement each day.

Could anyone tell me how long it would take for someone to feel the effects of these supplements if they were the reason for my RLS? A few days.. weeks?

Any feedback would be helpful. Thanks!

Uff-Da! · 05-20-2005, 02:14 PM

Please be extremely cautious with iron supplements. Too much can be dangerous. While it is true that many pre-menopausal women have low iron due to their monthly losses, men need only about half as much iron daily. Unless you are a vegetarian or eat very little red meat, it is unlikely that you are getting too little iron. Not impossible, of course, because there are individual differences in ability to absorb nutrients which could cause this in a few males. Frankly, I'd be more inclined to look at other possibilities as a cause of RLS for you. Folic acid, for example. Do you eat LOTS of colorful fruits and vegetables? My doctor prescribed a folic acid to my late husband for his RLS, and it solved the problem for him.

However, I do take an iron supplement and have off and on all my adult life. I never believed it had anything to do with my RLS when I had it, but I did suffer incredible fatigue and lethargy when I wasn't taking a supplement. And I'd usually come out of that within a week or so after taking iron daily. I've since backed off to taking an iron supplement only occasionally and so far that is working out for me.

Do let us know if you do decide to proceed to taking an iron supplement for a while and what result you get.

deanb · 05-20-2005, 06:23 PM

Thank you so much for your reply. I'm grateful for the information.

I have heard Iron can be dangerous, which is why I was only planning on using it for up to 2 weeks or so unless I saw results. Kind of just trying to toy around with the main factors I've found online before believing i am completely screwed in a sense.

I will definately try the folic acid. I do not eat alot of fruits or vegetables, though my diet otherwise is decently healthy (lots and lots of water, no fast food, little sugar or caffeine, etc).

When your husband had taken the folic acid, do you recall how long it took before he felt relief?

Thank you again so much for your generosity and time in trying to help.

Uff-Da! · 05-20-2005, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deanb

When your husband had taken the folic acid, do you recall how long it took before he felt relief?

Sorry, I don't recall at all. But folic acid is a water soluble vitamin, so it is not dangerous to continue taking it. In fact, if you aren't eating 5-10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, you probably need it. If it turns out that folic acid doesn't seem to do the trick for you on the RLS, you really should consider increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables, at least, as it seem there is more and more research coming out that indicates they are good for preventing various health problems. There are probably a lot of things we need in these foods that has not yet been identified as a specific nutrient.

You might want to plug your foods eaten for a few typical days into one of those nutritional counters on the web, like the one from ******. Those can give you an idea if you are likely lacking in certain nutrients.

Uff-Da! · 05-23-2005, 06:35 AM

The more I think about it, the more I think it must have taken only a few days or, at most, a few weeks for my husband to get relief from RLS by taking the folic acid. If it had gone on longer than that, we would have probably mentioned it to the doctor that we didn't think it was working.

Wouldn't you know it? I've started having problems with RLS again myself the last couple of nights. Had only had it about once in the past few years. And this time I know it is not a need for more folic acid. I'm still taking 800 mg. folic acid supplement plus I'm eating about eight servings of fruits and vegetables a day. As I mentioned above, I did back off on taking iron supplements daily a few months ago, so I'll try increasing that again. At my age, one wouldn't think I need so much, but since I eat so little red meat (the usual best source), I suppose it is possible. I only got three hours of sleep last night as a result of this RLS, so I'm going nuts with this.