Psychology Today examines how the blend of chemicals in the cannabis plant acts within the brains of people with restless leg syndrome.
Recent studies have shown that chronic cannabis use is associated with reduced dopamine synthesis capacity. Thus, the efficacy of cannabis in patients with Restless Leg Syndrome may be due to its ability to prevent the excessive release of dopamine and restore normal neural activity in the basal ganglia.
It is too soon to claim that we understand the role of the brain’s endogenous cannabis system in Restless Leg Syndrome. However, as more information accumulates it might one day be possible to design effective cannabis-like drugs for a variety of human disorders of the brain.
Just finished reading this after awakening just 2 hours after falling asleep. Everything this doc is doing is encouraging to me. I have been treated for RLS for 30 years. Tried it all. After having reached augmentation with meds like Mirapex, I have been taking methadone for 4 years with great results. Unbelieveable results. Currently, I’m taking 20mg per day. Recently, I have been bothered by it more than usual and having difficulty. Blood work shows nothing out of the ordinary, Ffor instance, ferritin levels ok. Not sure where to go from here. Have had RLS for so long I feel this is what I am doomed to live with.
I was using Marijuana daily, and have done so for almost 20 years. However, in the past year, I have noticed that during times when I am using frequently, I am experiencing extreme RLS. When I stop using marijuana “perhaps after a week”, my RLS seems to go away. Thus, I have an opposite result from what your article states. Can this be explained?