OCTOBER 2022 New Members

[Polar Bear]

Tuesday 25th October 2022

Welcome today to:

dianealbert who is suffering from lack of sleep, brain fog. It has begun to control dianealberts' life!

Lack of sleep is one of the awful symptoms that eventually drives an rls sufferer to seek help. Please make a post telling us how you try to control your symptoms including medications that have or have not worked in the past. Have you had your blood ferritin serum level checked, very important. If you provide background details we will do all we can to help.

[Rustsmith]

Wednesday, October 26

Welcome to

dgwlkr, who is seeking help and experience with this condition. dgwlkr finds RLS is negatively impact life in many ways.

We would be happy to help you out with both experience and advice on treatments that work and don't work. All you need to do is to post a message with some info about what you are currently doing for your RLS and/or asking any questions that you have.

[Rustsmith]

Thursday, October 27

Welcome to

nancybgb, who is having trouble with RLS at night and wants to find out what others do to help with their RLS symptoms. She has tried iron, magnesium, Gabapentin, and is now starting acupuncture treatments.

The iron and gabapentin are the first two steps in the most recent consensus treatments for RLS. Unfortunately, they don't help everyone. The next step would be the use of a dopamine agonist, but these will eventually cause augmentation and can cause impulse control disorder (gambling, shopping, compulsive eating, etc) in about 15%. If you have any questions feel free to post a note to ask them.

[Rustsmith]

Thursday, October 27

Welcome to

Llcrade, who has RLS and wants to learn more about it.

This is the place to start learning. Take a look through some of the newer posts in Recent Publications thread of our General Interest forum. Or simply post a message with any questions that you have and we will do what we can to answer them.

[Rustsmith]

Saturday, October 29

Welcome to

Suzanne, who needs help coping with the effects of augmentation. She has had RLS for 25+ years and been on .125 of Pramipexole twice daily for about 15years, but its is no longer effective. She cannot even stand still for more than a few moments without needing to move intensely. Is tapering off the answer or is is it necessary to stop taking any at all?

Take a look through our forum on Augmentation, but from your dose, it is usually safe to just stop. However, be prepared for zero (absolutely none) sleep and horrible RLS for about a week with small naps starting on day 7 or 8. It is usually a good idea to five any pills that you have to a family member to hide because around day 4, you will lose your resolve.

OR, talk to your doctor about getting a few days worth of a low dose opioid (codeine or tramadol will work, you don't need one of the strong ones). Opioids will cover the withdrawal symptoms and might be what you will need after you get the pramipexole out of your system. If your doctor i worried about opioid withdrawal, remind him/her that the dose is low and that the risk of withdrawal is less than the risk of an injury due to a fall during pramipexole withdrawal.

If you have any questions, feel free to post a note. Most of us have been where you are today, so we can probably answer any questions that you have.

[Rustsmith]

Sunday, October 30

Welcome to

Tessiethecat, whose RLS has increasingly become an issue in her life, beginning about 10 years ago. She would like connect with others who are experiencing the same problem.

This is a great place to discuss RLS with other RLS patients. All that you need to do is to post a note with a question or join in one of our existing discussion threads.

[Polar Bear]

Monday 31st October 2022

Welcome today to:

Olsensl who has been plagued with RLS for a decade. Olsensl was given Requip and what a wonder drug until it was not and now there is augmentation. Olsensl is off the Requip. Olsensl lives In Oregon and is trying to find a neurologist that understands the research and protocols for treatment.

Well done is getting yourself off Requip after having been on it for so long. You will find lots of information on the Augmentation Forum if you haven't already had a good look through it. Finding a good RLS neurologist can be challenging, many who say they treat RLS are not well experienced.
Please make a post giving some background information on how you have been coping with your RLS, ask questions and we will do our best to help. There certainly are members who have been in your position.

[Rustsmith]

Monday, October 31

Welcome to

sahdev_asr, whose RLS has turned life upside down and reduced sahdev's quality of life and the family's quality of life severely.

If you would like suggestions on how to improve the control of your RLS and therefore your quality of life, all that you need to do is post a note that gives us an idea of what you are currently doing for your RLS so that we will know where to start with our suggestions.