Supplements for Restless Legs and Internal Tremors

You may remember a prior post on my struggle with internal tremors— a feeling of vibrating internally, in addition to restless legs syndrome. I was very concerned because of how jarring it felt, the diseases they were associated with it (like parkinson’s and MS) and mainly because I had a hard time finding information from anyone who successfully treated them or explained why they happen.

I pieced things together from what I could find on RLS, Parkinson’s (preparing for the worst case scenario), and tremors. When I found out that both RLS and parkinsons sufferers were found to have low dopamine, I got curious. This stuck out to me at the time because I noticed things got worse one night that I took melatonin. I researched to see if by chance melatonin supplements can deplete dopamine. Come to find out it can, and can potentially have negative effects for those suffering from restless legs as a result.

I also suffered way worse after taking niacin. This made me look into potential side effects and it’s link to methylation. Like melatonin, I’d been high dosing niacin for a long time at this point. Niacin is an indiscriminate methyl- group diminisher.

Magnesium Glycinate

  • 80% of population is deficient in magnesium
  • Protects against excitotoxicity (which causes cell death- when happens in the brain it can kill neurotransmitter- producing cells (R), leading to imbalances like low dopamine, which has been associated with RLS and some tremors (R)).

Not a supplement I take, but we all need methionine. This is most abundant in animal protein. If you get enough, it can lessen the amount you need of other supplements. I noticed once I started focusing on getting plenty of meat and incorporating whey protein into my lifestyle, I stopped depending so heavily on the supplements every day to avoid symptoms.

L- Tyrosine, 750 mg (extra strength)

  • Dopamine precursor, low dopamine has been associated with restless legs as well as tremors in parkinson’s. Internal tremors are not well studied from all I’ve seen, which is why I decided to try it and see how it worked myself. I’d tried tyrosine before so I knew I did okay with it. Do not take it you’re on MAOIs, SSRIs, adderal, ritalyn or any pharmeceutical stimulants or dopaminergics

L- Theanine

  • Found in green tea
  • Balances neurotransmitters, increases GABA, a calming chemical for the nervous system

Iron Bisglycinate (non- constipating)

  • Deficiency a known cause of RLS
  • Not enough studies on internal tremors, but linked to tremors, and anecdotal evidence related to internal tremors

Potassium

  • Start by trying it in foods
    • Sources in food are sweet potatoes, potatoes, plantains, leafy greem=ns esp. beet greens, coconut water, apricot, seafood, tomato sauce/ juice, squash, beans, banana (only 10% dv)
  • We need 4700 mg
    • The vast majority of people don’t get that much
      • it needs to be balanced with salt, generally in 2:1 ratio potassium: salt
    • How much you can handle depends on your current level of health
      • If adrenals are really depleted, you’ll do worse with potassium, and rather need salt instead because you’re too depleted
        • Drinking too much water/ water rich foods w/o enough salt or glucose. cellular requirements like fat, calories, protein can make this worse
  • Supplements have very low quantities because taking too much is dangerous.
  • I use potassium bicarbonate powder
    • Before you try that, tartaric acid is lower concentration and safer if food isn’t enough

Methylated B complex

  • This is the only one I’ve found that helped rid me of the tremors, due to the high ratio of methyl donors: niacin (depletes niacin
  • I explain why that matters in my post about my experience with tremors, niacin and methylation here
  • Not everyone does well on these due to methylation.
    • Methylation is different for everyone, with different variations in different areas, so one person may benefit while another may be worse
      • Ideally some form of testing or biofeedback is best to help determine

Methylated Multivitamin:

As is the case with the B complex, I found I do best with this due to it’s unique balance of methyl donors: niacin, helping contribute methylated b vitamins.

  • Very important for getting to the root of RLS and internal tremors is getting all of the vitamins and minerals, including the lesser known ones like manganese (vital for detox) for instance. The minerals it doesn’t supply enough of (in my case, as someone who has their fair share of meat, one of the better sources of bioavailable iron, and magnesium sources on a lot of days) are included elsewhere in this list for that reasons. Most multivitamins I’ve ever found or taken don’t supply enough on their own as well.

Methyl B 12

  • A methyl donor that builds myelin which coats and protects the nerves
  • B12 vital for tremors and any neurological issue
  • The form that benefits each person may vary based on methylation requirements. Alternatives I’d try are hydroxocobalmin or adenosylcobalmin, not cyanocobalmin (cyano- indicating cyanide)

TMG (trimethylglycine/ betaine) is another methyl donor I needed to bring back balance. Again, may not be the cause for everyone.

  • For those intent on continuing niacin, this is said to offset niacin’s methyl group depletion when taken in an equal ratio

Other Considerations to prioritize after the above:

  • Detox/ Binding: detoxification supports the liver while excreting toxins and encourages the flow of detox organs to allow this. Binding is using something to then “capture” these toxins so you don’t feel badly and so they don’t recirculate and do damage somewhere.

Detoxification agents that works best depends on your body and I can’t guarantee anything specific will work for any individual. But the basic systems that need addressed is the same for everyone. Some supplements are known to benefit and supply nutrients for various organs

  1. Liver: NAC, milk thistle, beets, dandelion
  2. Gallbladder: beets, dandelion, artichoke, milk thistle, bitters
  3. Lymph: Manjistha, hibiscus, ginger, deep red produce and herbs. I really like hibiscus and ginger. They’ve made me feel way better during a rough time with die off (of parasites) when I was detoxing without understanding the vitality of supporting all the organs)
  4. Colon: Magnesium citrate, magnesium oxide, magnesium in general to bowel tolerance (400-800 mg may be needed), Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) to bowel tolerance– should not cause diarrhea, but enough should be taken to hear a gurgle in the stomach or have a soft, not loose, bowel movement. Start slow with this. Choline is a great colon supporter, doses of about 500 mg per day is optimal for most people. If you’re constipated, it’s safe to take more as long as you can tolerate choline. With anything, start slow and be patient to avoid discomfort. Castor oil packs are also great.

Bioactive Carbon Foundation is my favorite binder. It’s quite expensive. Some alternatives include activated charcoal (30 minutes after supplements), or modified citrus pectin.

I’d expect the above to help the immediate RLS/ internal vibrations symptoms for most. But if some still remains, it may be helpful to detox parasites. I find these are the most widely present afflicting pathogen that unfortunately gets ignored in developing countries (in humans that is– dogs are dewormed regularly for some of the same parasites we could get from them).

In such a case, oil of oregano can be helpful for parasites. Clove is needed to kill the eggs which is important because females can produce hundreds of thousands of eggs per day. Normally the effective combination for beginners is black walnut, wormwood and clove (tincture of all 3 are linked– it tastes bad). Everyone should start very slow, with maybe 1/4 the amount suggested on the bottle just to be safe. Parasite detox can be really rough, especially if you already have an irritated nervous system. This is why it’s absolutely vital you take a binder when you’re doing this. You must be supporting all of the organs for detoxification and having regular bowel movements (at least 1 daily, fully evacuating) before you start.

Aside from these foundations, you may get symptomatic relief by soothing the nervous system with items like wood betony, oat straw, lithium orotate, fish oil, ashwaganda, or other nervine tropho restoratives.

Eating enough in general is vital, your nervous system can literally atrophy without adequate calories.

Please comment below if any of you try these and let me know how you do!

I’d also be curious to hear from any of you with these symptoms who have had testing done for methylation and what SNPs were affected, and how methylated B vitamins, or any of these nutrients made you feel.

this information helps I really hope you feel better. It made such a difference for me! I never have the internal tremors and restless legs anymore unless I miss one or more of the things mentioned consistently.

This post contains affiliate links to facilitate reader access to the products I used. I would make a small commission if you use the embedded amazon links.

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