Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

Hi,
I joined this group years ago, but haven't visited since 2007. My RLS has been up and down, and is currently up. I was on anti-depressants for a while, which actually seemed to help. I'm off them now, though, and my symptoms have gotten worse. I take clonazepam on an as needed basis, which has been every night. About half the time, it doesn't help, so I get up and walk around, and that usually does the trick. By the time all of this happens though, I've generally lost 40 to 1 1/2 hours of sleep. So I'm looking for new alternatives.

Sabrina

Welcome back, Sabrina. So sorry that your symptoms are worse. Just curious, what antidepressant (AD) were you using?

Stress can definitely make symptoms worse - do you feel that you are more stressed since stopping the ADs?

What other medications have you tried?

Have you had your serum ferritin tested? It's not a cure-all, but increasing your ferritin has been linked to a decrease in symptoms.

I was on Wellbutrin for 1 3/4 years (stopped this past June), and Zoloft for 6 months (last year). It was the Wellbutrin that I felt seemed to help. I do get my ferritin checked. I've been taking an iron supplement (Vitron-C) for quite a while. Right now it's every other day. I don't think ferritin levels are my current problem, as they were normal the last time they were checked. At that time, I wasn't taking iron at all, but started again when the symptoms worsened. Stress... I don't think I'm any more stressed now than I ever am. A little less, probably, as my job situation recently changed for the better.

You say that you get your ferritin checked and that last time it was normal.
Many doctors and labs consider a level of around 20 to be normal.
Sufferers of RLS should aim for a level nearer 100.
Perhaps you could check with your medical practice what your ferritin level was last time it was taken.

Yes, since I've been reading on this board I plan to do that. Thanks.

Makes sense that the Wellbrutrin helped. It doesn't necessarily help, but it rarely hurts. And because of how it uses dopamine, there is some belief that it could help.

I had bought some Taurine, based on discussions I've read here. I took one before bed last night. No RLS, and I didn't wake up until it was time to wake up. One night isn't enough to think everything's fine now, but given that I've had issues every night without fail for many weeks, it's promising.

I see that Taurine is deemed to benefit seizure disorders and as seizure medications are a line of treatment for RLS/WED it is possible that some people may find benefit.