Daily Column

DEAR DR. GOTT:
I would like to comment on the problem of severe nocturnal leg cramps. I was a victim myself until I found the solution, so I understand the misery and frustration cramps cause.

The activities of the day cause fatigue and perspiration, resulting in depletion of saline and other electrolytes from the bloodstream. Tired and sensitive leg muscles respond by cramping. The cure is simple. Replace the electrolytes!

As soon as the cramps begin, drink an entire glass of Gatorade and wait five minutes. If the cramps have not stopped, drink another glass of Gatorade, go back to bed, and enjoy a peaceful and painless sleep! Forget the soap and prescription drugs. I have a hunch that restless legs syndrome (RLS) will respond to this therapy as well. And, for Heaven’s sake, stop the quinine. I’ve been told it can be harmful.
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Daily Column

DEAR DR. GOTT:
I am a 66-year-old woman. Three years ago my RLS started bothering me to the extent that I had to take medication. I am on one Requip tablet before I go to bed. Over a period of several months, I’ve noticed that my long-term memory is failing. Is it possible that this is a side effect of Requip? If so, can you suggest another treatment for RLS that is effective, but less harmful and can be obtained without prescription?

Maybe one of your readers has a suggestion regarding this dilemma.

DEAR READER:
Requip is a dopamine agonist. It is used for the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease and Restless Legs Syndrome.

Requip is associated with a long list of side effects, including confusion, depression, trouble concentrating, and memory loss. If you are experiencing memory loss because of the medication, I urge you to stop taking it and make an appointment with your physician. Discuss your symptoms and concerns that the Requip was the cause. He or she may wish to send you to a neurologist for further testing to rule out another cause, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, normal pressure hydrocephalus or dementia caused by a vitamin deficiency. If your memory loss is truly a result of the Requip, you should see results within a few days or weeks after stopping it.

To the best of my knowledge there are no other approved medications for RLS. However, some of my readers have had great success using quinine. Quinine is a common ingredient in tonic water. Eight ounces before bed should provide results. If it does not, you may wish to try my soap-under-the-sheets therapy. This only works for some RLS sufferers. (It works better for nocturnal leg cramps.)

If your RLS symptoms are truly bothersome and interrupt your sleep several times a night, I suggest you see your primary care physician. He or she may know of some other treatment options of which I am unaware.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Dr. Gott’s Compelling Home Remedies”. Other readers who would like a copy should send a self-addressed, stamped number 10 envelope and $2 to Newsletter, PO Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.

Daily Column

DEAR DR. GOTT:
For a full year I have been afflicted with a restless leg type syndrome that developed into frequent violent shakes and jerks in my whole upper body. This became very bothersome and disturbed my sleep when it occurred at night, as it often did.

A consultation with a neurologist, that resulted in prescriptions for clonazepam and carbidopa/levadopa used for Parkinson’s (which I don’t have), did not help. Several other doctors had nothing to suggest.

My own research led me to try calcium and magnesium, both at 200 mg per day. This did not completely stop the shakes, but greatly reduced them.

Finally a friend suggested taking three hawthorn berry capsules a day — the product is known as a heart tonic. Within two days the severe symptoms were gone and except for three or four minor episodes, there have been no problems now for six weeks. The relief is absolutely wonderful, and the solution is so simple!

I hope mainstream medicine will do more to learn about and promote nutritional approaches to our health problems and let “food be our medicine and our medicine be our food”

DEAR READER:
During my medical training, both in medical school and later in my residency, I was not exposed to alternative therapy because it was considered to be nonsense, dangerous and a money maker for phony medical practices.

In my 40 years of medical practice, I have had to change my orientation about alternative therapy because 1.) it sometimes works and 2.) many patients prefer it to the expensive, prescription alternatives so popular among physicians.

This is the reason I publish such therapies; in a sense, my readers are the subjects of a larger study, and this gives me some perspective on the success of various alternative therapies.

Such is the case with your experience with hawthorn berry curing restless legs syndrome. Do I believe this viewpoint? Let’s just say I’m skeptical. Nonetheless, I am willing to give it merit because if it works, it would be a tremendous help for hundreds of tired and discouraged RLS patients. There is no harm here (to the best of my knowledge), and the products are reasonably priced.

So with this lengthy explanation, I will now keep quiet until I receive some feedback from other readers. Thanks for writing.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Compelling Home Remedies”. Other readers who would like a copy should send a self-addressed, stamped number 10 envelope and $2 to Newsletter, PO Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.

RLS not connected to rheumatic fever

DEAR DR. GOTT: I am an 86-year-old widow of a disabled WWII veteran. I am the eldest in a family of 5 girls. I and two of my sisters have restless legs syndrome (RLS). We three also had rheumatic fever. I have often wondered whether there was a connection between the two conditions.

My father also had rheumatic fever but he died at age 46 so I do not know if he would have had RLS.

DEAR READER: Restless legs syndrome is in no way related to rheumatic fever, but as you know, the cause of RLS remains unknown, so the future may tell us more.