Restless legs syndrome!

I found that a glass of orange juice gets rid of my restless legs. There is a large amount of potassium in orange juice. Potassium assists in muscle contraction and in maintaining fluid (water) and electrolyte balance in body cells. Potassium is also important in sending nerve impulses as well as releasing energy from protein, fat, and carbohydrates during metabolism.

Basically your body is starving for potassium so your muscles can work properly. When you run low on potassium you get restless legs.
taking iron tablets is also helpful for restless legs syndrome.

 

Regular muscle toning exercises for the legs often helps idiopathic restlessness. But if the condition persists longer with no end to it then you should seek a physician's advise... it could have a neurological trigger for which there are quite a few treatments in the market. Good luck & hope you feel better.
L.

 

This potassium deficiency can cause a lot of nerve problems.Some time back,I used to get these involuntary muscle movements on my face,mostly close to the left eye.The muscles around it would twitch and therefore it will look like as though I am winking,and when I laugh,the left eye would just close.I found it very uncomfortable while talking with other people.I went to a neurologist who asked me to increase intake of bananas,oranges and even tomatoes which contain potassium.He did not recommend any other medicine.But this did help.So,as Rosema said,try and increase the intake of oranges and bananas.

 

Hello Sunitha... just a thought... you may want to get your blood profile done regularly... 'coz if you had twitches only 'coz of potassium deficiency then it may signify other problems as well. Potassium is essential to maintain rhythmic heart contractions as well, so keep tabs on your blood electrolytes.
-L.

 

Dear Lavanya


Thanks for the response.Can you tell me a little more in detail please.

 

Hello Sunitha,
First of all did you go to the doc only to stop the twitches? If so was the doc a general physican or a specialist? Did he run any blood tests on you? Have you ever got a second opinion from a neurologist? I'm not trying to scare you its just that I dont know what your issue was originally...
L.

 

Yes,it was only to stop the twitches and the doctor was a neurologist,and he did not do any blood tests.He asked me to do some expressions on the face,to close my fists etc., and he concluded that there was no problem.

 

If it was a neurologist & if you didn't have any other issues then it shouldn't be a cause for concern. Because a slight deficiency in potassium doesn't generally manifest as twitches. Its more like muscle cramps etc. May be in your scenario you had only potassium deficiency. I hope you have a internist or family practionner who does annual follow up. Blood profile is a good indicator of what goes on in our system & its good to have it done atleast once in 2 yrs if not yearly. You should also try & find out what caused the deficiency & try to solve the problem. It is not very common to see potassium deficiency in otherwise healthy adults unless you have had severe gastointestinal disorder or you've been losing salts through excessive dehydration. Even if you don't show symptoms now, try to find out the reason why you got it in the first place & try to prevent it from happening again in the future.
L.

 

Thanks a lot ,Lavanya..

Well,the problem was not severe and it has stopped now.Maybe I should consider this blood profiling.Thanks a lot.