Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

Bjorn - sorry to hear you had to reach for the pramipexole...I've done that myself on 4 of 4 washout attempts. Hopefully you are able to stay at the lower dose and that may help with your augmentation. Did you stop cold turkey from your 1 MG dose, or did you taper down? I believe the recommendation ...

Bjorn - thank you for sharing your experience, and best of luck to you! Hard to believe, but I'm a bit envious of your 2-3 hours of sleep during the first three days of your withdrawal period. I haven't gotten any sleep for the first two nights in all of my attempts, and unfortunately gave up due to...

I came across this document on Dr. B.'s website. I didn't see it posted anywhere else on this site, so thought I would post it. The entire document was too large to upload, so I just uploaded the treatment algorithm page. The entire document can be found by following this link:

http://irlssg.org/augmentation/

Congratulations, WBruce! I hope the worst is behind you, and that you are one of the "lucky" 25% that no longer needs medication when your washout period is over. I know all too well the "dark time" that you speak of; I can only stand the darkness for two days, so I really give y...

As I've stated in another thread, I'm not a believer in the 10-day, no coverage plan. I have to believe that for most of us, the withdrawal symptoms are too unbearable to endure for 10 days. I shared the John Hopkins 10-day plan with my PCP, and how they indicated the opioids likely only keep the DA...

Thank you for your responses. I did contact Dr. B, and he indicated MS Contin was a "tricky" drug to use for RLS because it is long-acting but not as potent as methadone or oxycodone. I did not tolerate it well, as I was very nauseous yesterday, but I'm sure part of that was from lack of s...

Thank you. I have not contacted Dr. Buchfurher, but I might just do that. Frustration is setting in. I'm not sure I'm going to make it. Last night was not much better. As bad as the nights are, the days are worse. I've had to take yesterday and today off work, because I cannot sit down, and of cours...

First night with no pramipexole last night. Took 15 MG of MS Contin at 8 p.m. to cover the withdrawal symptoms. Unfortunately, it did not do the job. I got zero sleep. Not what I was expecting. Looking at the dosing schedule in the "Clinical Management of RLS" book, it looks like MS Contin...

Had my doctor's appointment yesterday. This was my third appointment in the last 3 months to get off pramipexole and see where my symptoms are at. The first 2 attempts failed (1st attempt he gave me gabapentin to cover the withdrawal symptoms, which they didn't; the 2nd attempt we tried a very slow ...

Thanks for the responses. Hang in there Orrel...hopefully the worst is behind you! I know there is somewhat of a controversy among the RLS experts about whether or not to use a covering agent (most likely a potent opioid) during the withdrawal period. I wonder if using an opioid just for the first 4...

Just watched the webinar on drug holidays. Dr. Earley indicated those on a drug holiday should expect almost zero sleep for the first 4 days. Starting my next (and hopefully final) drug holiday next week. This may be a dumb question, but does it make sense, knowing that I probably won't get sleep an...

In all of my attempts to wean off Mirapex, I never even made it completely off. I got down to .125 MG a couple of times, and got no sleep. I gave up after a couple of sleepless nights. In those experiences, though, I did notice that my daytime and evening RLS were actually better, but my bedtime sym...

You are absolutely right, Steve. It is vitally important for us to put our suffering in perspective, as there are those that have been dealt a worse hand than us. It's similar to when a bad storm hits your town (which actually happened to my town last night)...your property might suffer a little dam...

JimmyLegs44 wrote:"If RLS is the worst thing I get in my life, I can live with that". I don't think that way anymore.

I should add, not meaning to tempt fate

Three different Neurologists have made this word-for word statement to me ......."You know there are worse things than RLS.". I used to think to myself "If RLS is the worst thing I get in my life, I can live with that". I don't think that way anymore. Those ignorant neurologists...