Hello--
A note for those "lucky" persons who experience both PD and RLS (I am among
that number): ("RLS" = "Restless Leg Syndrome").
I attended a sleep disorder conference at a Seattle hospital a few weeks ago
and one of the anecdotal suggestions made for help on RLS was the elimination
of caffiene and milk from the diet. The lady who gave this advice said it
had worked wonders for her. I had been having an increasing problelm with
RLS and decided "it couldnl't hurt".
My caffiene consumption had consisted of a relatively modest two mugs of
coffee in the morning (you know we Seattleites love our coffee, lattes and
mochas) and a very occasional coke or Pepsi or cup of tea. I completely cut
out, "cold turkey", all known sources of caffiene from my diet and went
through the headache and so forth for a day or two. No caffienated coffee, no
tea, no colas; I've even tried to eliminate chocolate (sigh).
I can report that within a week or so I noticed dramatic improvement on the
RLS front, and for the past two or three weeks, I seem to be sleeping much
more normally, with just the usual PD complaints: stiff achy shoulders,
difficulty turning over, saliva on pillow, and waking frequently (among
others), but not the debilitating and disturbing RLS symptoms.
Decaffienated coffee seems to be okay, and I did not get to the point where I
tried eliminating milk or other lactose-based products.
This may not work for everybody, and (assuming it does work), I couldn't say
whether the caffiene reacts adversely with the PD process itself or with the
medications or combinations of meds that I take. (I take three
carbadopa/levadopa (sinemet) (25/100), three 100 mg amantadine (symmetrel),
one 5 mg eldepryl, one 5 mg bromocriptine (parlodel) per day, plus 3000 mg
vitamin C, 3000 IU's vitamin E, 45 mg beta caratine, and one 325 mg aspirin
per day.) I am a 49 year old male, diagnosed 3 1/2 years ago, with a number
of PD symptoms but ones which might be categorized as "minor" or "subtle",
although as previously stated in this forum, while some of the symptoms are
merely annoying or bothersome, others are dismaying and depressing. I
received the mixed blessing of a very early diagnosis, and count myself as
fortunate to still think that a casual observer would not be able to tell I
have PD. With everyone else in the PD "boat", I'm holding on, trying to
stave off the progression as effectively and as long as possible, waiting for
the breakthrough which I firmly believe is inevitable for this and other
neuro-degenerative disorders. Keep the faith!
So, I pass this info along for what it's worth. Although I'm not prepared to
conclude that eliminating caffiene intake is the "answer" to RLS, it's
encouraging enough in my particular case that I wanted to share it with this
exchange.
Best regards,
Larry Allen
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