Health Q&A: Does Wine Affect Restless Leg Syndrome?

Posted: May 17, 2007

Q: I am a female of 53 years, and I enjoy a glass of wine with my dinner. I was diagnosed with restless leg syndrome (RLS) and was told that drinking wine will contribute to my problem. How true is this statement?— Trina W.

A: Dr. Mark Buchfuhrer sees many RLS patients and is the medical director of the Southern California RLS Support Group. His answer:

"Many RLS sufferers notice that their symptoms significantly worsen shortly after consuming alcohol. The duration of worsening varies considerably but generally lasts a few hours. Therefore, we must recommend these people to be cautious with alcoholic beverages so that they do not aggravate their RLS symptoms.

"Each person with RLS should determine whether alcohol does indeed bother their RLS and, if so, the correlation between the amount of alcohol consumed and the degree of worsening of RLS symptoms."

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