New to Board, Longtime RLS Patient Seeks Advice
Posted: Wed May 20, 2020 9:50 pm
70 years young, I've been treated for RLS for close to 20 years now. Some guidance I've seen has indicated the level of pain tends to plateau at about my age but I haven't seen any evidence of that, in fact the reverse seems to be the case.
In the early days I was treated with Mirapex, gabapentin, and so on. The most effective med for me was NeuPro but after I a ran through the samples and some starter programs, the reality of the standard price made it a non-starter for me.
About 5 years ago I was lucky enough to find a neurologist that was a sleep expert and lots of experience with RLS. This was fortunate as about this time the symptoms started to worsen rapidly. Doc switched me to Oxycodone a couple of years ago with a dosage of 5mg 2-3 times a day. This was effective but unfortunately since this time the symptoms have continued to get progressively worse. Doc says I have a "severe" case of RLS and has Ok'd an increase in the Oxycodone so that now I take around 30 mg or so a day.
As I understand it, Oxy is not supposed to have augmentation effects but regardless, symptoms have reached the point where the management of my med intake is become a major disruption. I'm never further than 4 hours from my next need for a pill and I of course have to balance the pain with staying within a 5-6 pill level over a 24 hour period (in order to prevent running short before the month is out). I can probably get doc to go higher but ...
I'm concerned about needing increased dosages of Oxy (because of the major side effect of constipation for me AND the hassle/restriction burden in the medical system fo needing that drug).
Doctor says he can switch me to Meth and also suggested trying to buy cheaper NeuPro from Canada might be an alternative.
So two areas of advice from the board requested:
(1) Is it practical/legal to buy NeuPro from a Canadian supplier? I've done a bit of research but haven't turned up any indication that its practical or indeed cheaper.
(2) What advice/experience does anyone have switching from Oxycodone to Methadone?
Apologies if this post is too lengthy. I'll need to get used to the protocols of the Board.
Thanks in advance for any assistance provided.
In the early days I was treated with Mirapex, gabapentin, and so on. The most effective med for me was NeuPro but after I a ran through the samples and some starter programs, the reality of the standard price made it a non-starter for me.
About 5 years ago I was lucky enough to find a neurologist that was a sleep expert and lots of experience with RLS. This was fortunate as about this time the symptoms started to worsen rapidly. Doc switched me to Oxycodone a couple of years ago with a dosage of 5mg 2-3 times a day. This was effective but unfortunately since this time the symptoms have continued to get progressively worse. Doc says I have a "severe" case of RLS and has Ok'd an increase in the Oxycodone so that now I take around 30 mg or so a day.
As I understand it, Oxy is not supposed to have augmentation effects but regardless, symptoms have reached the point where the management of my med intake is become a major disruption. I'm never further than 4 hours from my next need for a pill and I of course have to balance the pain with staying within a 5-6 pill level over a 24 hour period (in order to prevent running short before the month is out). I can probably get doc to go higher but ...
I'm concerned about needing increased dosages of Oxy (because of the major side effect of constipation for me AND the hassle/restriction burden in the medical system fo needing that drug).
Doctor says he can switch me to Meth and also suggested trying to buy cheaper NeuPro from Canada might be an alternative.
So two areas of advice from the board requested:
(1) Is it practical/legal to buy NeuPro from a Canadian supplier? I've done a bit of research but haven't turned up any indication that its practical or indeed cheaper.
(2) What advice/experience does anyone have switching from Oxycodone to Methadone?
Apologies if this post is too lengthy. I'll need to get used to the protocols of the Board.
Thanks in advance for any assistance provided.