I have found several things that bring on my RLS and as long as I avoid them, I do quite well. I've been able to isolate 4 RLS triggers for myself. They are:
1. Ginger (like ginger tea, candied ginger, or even spice cookies!)
2. Glutamates (like monosodium glutamate and other glutamates). Labels indicate if products have them in it. Often found in things like boullion cubes.
3. Walking too much/ too much time on my feet.
4. Antihistamines
These 4 things are terrible triggers for me. But if I avoid them, I live 99% without RLS. From my experience, RLS is a condition that is a reaction to something I'm sensitve to. That may be true for everyone but we all may be sensitive to different things. It took me some time to figure out my triggers but it was worth it. Fortunately, I'm not presently on any medications that are triggering although I have been in the past.
Anyone else care to share their known triggers? It might help us all!
This is new to me...My understanding of RLS is that it is a neurological based syndrome, treated with the same medication as Parkinson's disease. I know that a lack of iron can make the symptoms worse.
Yes, there are numerous things that can trigger RLS. Antihistamines and caffeine are extremely common. For many of us, drinking coffee in the day will trigger RLS at night -- in other words, the effect is not immediate, which is why it is often difficult to figure out "what" the triggers are. Many antidepressant drugs are associated with RLS also. RLS runs in my family (both sides) and I've suffered with it for most of my adult life. RLS is a side effect with many prescription drugs for those of us susceptable to it. Foods also.
It is a neurological condition, but substances can trigger the neurological response. That doesn't mean all cases of RLS will be attributable to a substance, but I would guess that most are. Unfortunately, a lot of times it is prescription drugs that trigger it; many are known and well documented on this.
