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If I'm so tired, why does sleeping hurt?

caledonia

Senior Member
Any form of magnesium, and any lithium supplementation, gives me horrific RLS – as well as my legs, I get it in my arms, neck, back, and even my chin. 'Restless' doesn't really describe it, it's so acutely painful that I don't know where to put myself and morphine-based painkillers have no effect at all. The lithium was easy to identify, but with the magnesium it took me a long time to work it out; turned out it was in a combined supplement and I hadn't spotted it.

Only posting in case anyone else develops very severe RLS but is finding it hard to work out why. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy!

Could be an imbalance in electrolytes. Magnesium and potassium work together. Everyone might need something a little different, but I also do a bit of potassium gluconate, and a pinch of sea salt along with the magnesium.

The combined magnesium/potassium supplements are usually a 50/50 mix, which might not be what you need.

I'm not sure how lithium would factor into creating restless legs.
 

Moof

Senior Member
Messages
778
Location
UK
Could be an imbalance in electrolytes. Magnesium and potassium work together. Everyone might need something a little different, but I also do a bit of potassium gluconate, and a pinch of sea salt along with the magnesium.

The combined magnesium/potassium supplements are usually a 50/50 mix, which might not be what you need.

I'm not sure how lithium would factor into creating restless legs.

I take potassium, which I do really well on, it's the magnesium that's problematic. I probably just get as much as my body can tolerate from my diet, and supplementing isn't realistic.

The drug lithium, prescribed for some conditions such as bipolar disorder, is well-known for causing severe RLS in a minority of people. I didn't take a full therapeutic dose (probably 2 or 3% of the amount you'd take for major mental ill-health), but as far as RLS goes, I definitely got the full effects! I don't know what the mechanism is, but it's been known about for a long while. An old friend who suffered from bipolar disorder once told me that it can be really problematic for folk whose best option is lithium, but are completely unable to take it.