Nicholas Davis4 said:You should have a neurologist you can actually talk to; you shouldn't just be picking up anti-epileptic drugs on the black market based on a whim.
Anti-epileptics aren't something you play around with, much like dopamine agonists.
For me, alpha-lipoic acid didn't really make a difference—I tried it, but I didn't notice any real change. Still, everyone responds differently.
So, if you're dealing with RLS, did your neurologist prescribe you gabapentin or perhaps pregabalin, or one of those?
This advertisement focuses on peripheral diabetic neuropathy—which isn't the same thing as RLS at all.
It even explicitly states they haven't found studies linking this supplement to RLS. It's just a way to splash money around for marketing.
Alpha-lipoic acid is only stable in the R-ALA form—so if you weren't taking that, you basically threw your money down the drain. Btw, R-ALA combined with ALCAR is absolute magic.
My neurologist prescribed me Pregabalin 75mg for BFS (benign fasciculation syndrome) and potential SFN (small fiber neuropathy). You can't officially prove SFN unless you do a biopsy.
I deal with fasciculations, twitching, tingling, crawling sensations, all that good stuff...
Between the Pregabalin, R-ALA, ALCAR, and benfotiamine, I feel like a new person. Maybe do a little homework before jumping to conclusions.
With just Pregabalin alone for four months, maybe I felt 15% better at most. With this combo, though? It was a literal game-changer.
I also started a B-complex—specifically B12 and folate in their methylated forms.
advanced forms of B-vitamins, including benfotiamine (thiamin/vitamin B1), pyridoxal 5-phosphate (P5P/vitamin B6), methylcobalamin (vitamin B12), patented Pantesin(R) (pantethine) and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (folate). These superior forms offer higher bioavailability for reliable supplementation.
This was a randomized, double-blind trial conducted in a hospital setting. A total of 64 consecutive patients (mean age 61 years; range 29-85) with acute backache and moderate sciatica were recruited. The 33 patients in group received 1180 mg of ALCAR daily for two months and the 31 patients in group 2 received 600 mg of R-ALA daily for the same period. The researchers measured changes in clinical signs and symptoms as measured on the Neuropathy Impairment Score in The Lower Limbs (NIS-LL) questionnaire, the Neuropathy Symptoms and Change in The Lower Limbs (NSC-LL) questionnaire, and the Total Symptom Score (TSS) questionnaire. The next level of improvement was how successful were the supplements in improving neurological deficit (as measured by electromyography) compared with baseline.
Both treatments showed significant improvements from the start regarding neuropathy (nerve pain) on electromyography by day 60. While the ALA group saw slightly better mean improvements than the ALCAR group, the difference between the two wasn't statistically significant. Notably, 71% of those on ALA said they needed fewer painkillers, compared to 45.5% of those on ALCAR (p < 0.05). The study is published in The Journal of Clinical Drug Investigation, 2008;28(8):495-500. Commentary by Jerry Hickey, R.Ph.; research indicates that pairing ALA with ALCAR might boost results significantly. Furthermore, a recent study in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine suggests that combining ALCAR with ALA enhances energy production, antioxidant activity, and cellular repair at concentrations 100-1000 times lower than when used individually in studies involving human brain cells and protection against Parkinson's disease.
