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Last Updated:
Jan 3rd, 2010 - 00:09:53
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Question
My 17 year old daughter has been dealing with Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS)for many years. She has also been bothered by anxiety attacks recently. One medical doctor put her on Zoloft for the anxiety and sent her to a sleep doctor. The sleep doctor said the Zoloft will make her RLS worse and changed it to Wellbutrin. Her regular doctor wasn't happy because Wellbutrin is for depression not anxiety and my daughter doesn't have depression. This was several months ago and my daughter stopped taking everything since nothing worked. I took her to a naturopathic doctor because I thought there was a more natural way to help her. After her first appointment getting to know some things about my daughter and other symptoms, she put her on 100mg of progesterone. She said it should help with her insomnia and possibly her legs.
Should I be concerned that at 17 she is on progesterone? She is not on any form of birth control. I am really at my wit's end with this and just want to get her some relief.
Julie
Answer
Dear Julie,
RLS can be from a number of causes, such as iron deficiency, diabetes, thyroid or kidney disease, magnesium, folic acid or vitamin B 12 deficiency. It is often genetic. Medications that can exacerbate RLS include antihistamines like Benadryl, or SSRI's like Zoloft. In a young woman, it can be secondary to iron deficiency from heavy menses. So, it would help to have NFP charts to look at her menstrual pattern. Sometimes the RLS is worse in the luteal phase and progesterone may help if timed to her ovulation, which she could identify if using one of the more scientifically advanced methods of NFP. If not timed to her cycle, it may disrupt her normal pattern.
It would be helpful to have some blood work done to see if the ferritin (iron stores) is greater than 50 mg/dl. Looking for the other causes, as mentioned above would also be helpful. In the meantime, trying a supplement of magnesium and Vitamin E may be helpful. There are medications that can help both the anxiety and the RLS, like Clonazepam, though with the potential for addiction,usually other things are tried first.
Like in most disorders, charting the menstrual cycle can be very helpful, and should not be viewed as only for family planning.
Lynn Kerr, MD
Lynn Keenan, MD, is an NFP Medical Consultant and member of the Executive Board of the California Association of Natural Family Planning.
Dr. Keenan is an Assistant Clinical Professor at UCSF/Fresno Internal Medicine Residency Program, and Medical Director of Sierra Adult Health Center.
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