Methadone and Gabapentin no longer working well

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ViewsAskew
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Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 6:37 am
Location: Los Angeles

Re: Methadone and Gabapentin no longer working well

Post by ViewsAskew »

debbluebird wrote:This has been a strange few days. My husband is sick with shingles. He is very miserable. At times he has been pacing.
I realized something, that I live day to day maybe more than some people. I won't know when I will no longer be able to sleep with my current meds. It will just happen.
Of course no one knows what is going to happen tomorrow. It just feels like those of us who have this disease live differently than most people.
My husbands misery reminded me of when I have had no sleep, and pacing.
Luckily I have slept the last two nights. I thought I was feeling pretty good today. Then a friend called me tonight and told me I sounded very tired. I guess I sound tired most of the time.


Poor hubby - I've heard how miserable shingles can be.

I've slept 3-4 hours for the last few nights and am reminded how fragile ANY improvement is for us. Can be gone so quickly.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

debbluebird
Posts: 2385
Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 3:27 pm

Re: Methadone and Gabapentin no longer working well

Post by debbluebird »

This is very odd. My poor husband can't sleep tonight because of his legs. He is having pain. First it was on the back side of his thighs, now in the back side of the calves. He is sitting in bed, with knees bent, less moving from side to side not together. He says it makes the whole body feel better, there is a discomfort/ pain all over. I know he doesn't have what I have but I keep telling him I know how he feels.

ViewsAskew
Moderator
Posts: 16566
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 6:37 am
Location: Los Angeles

Re: Methadone and Gabapentin no longer working well

Post by ViewsAskew »

debbluebird wrote:This is very odd. My poor husband can't sleep tonight because of his legs. He is having pain. First it was on the back side of his thighs, now in the back side of the calves. He is sitting in bed, with knees bent, less moving from side to side not together. He says it makes the whole body feel better, there is a discomfort/ pain all over. I know he doesn't have what I have but I keep telling him I know how he feels.


At least for me, there is a lot of comfort in knowing the other person "gets" it.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

debbluebird
Posts: 2385
Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 3:27 pm

Re: Methadone and Gabapentin no longer working well

Post by debbluebird »

Well, let's see. I take gabapentin 600 mg, afternoon and evening.
Methadone 2.5 mg every 6 hours
Mirapex .125 mg. The fifth night I take it again. The first two nights I sleep wonderfully.
Oxycodone 2.5 mg on night three and four when mirapex no longer working.
I think I need to stop the oxycodone. Seems to not be helping much anymore. I've had RLS on and off all evening. I am terrified of augmentation. I've been there and done that.
I need to mix it up again, but I am not sure how yet. Probably I have reached a tolerance on all of rhem, since I just kept adding meds as I became tolerant of each one. Trouble is I really don't have time right now to go through a month or two of help.
It helps me to write here, to figure it all out. A new babysitting job showed it self today too. I really hate to pass that up when we need the money. It's only 10 hrs a week, which is ideal.
I am leaving Saturday for 3 weeks, to house sit for my daughter. It would be easy to not sleep while I am there, since I will be alone most of the visit. So I could experiment. 3 weeks isn't long enough to wean off methadone. I do think I will stop the oxy starting tomorrow. I prefer riding my recumbent bike to pacing. I have already ridden 10 miles.
Any other suggestions?
Deb

curqlink
Posts: 75
Joined: Sat Jul 21, 2018 6:38 am

Re: Methadone and Gabapentin no longer working well

Post by curqlink »

I totally understand your fear of augmentation. I never want to go thru that again. It was the only time that it got so bad that walking wouldn't stop it.
Does gabapentin work for you? It did nothing for me..except to make me feel weird. Lyrica helps a little. But just a little.Thank god for insurance and a coupon from my Dr tho. Lyrica ain't cheap.

debbluebird
Posts: 2385
Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 3:27 pm

Re: Methadone and Gabapentin no longer working well

Post by debbluebird »

I can't take Lyrica, made me suicidal. I don't remember what it did for my legs. I took it several months. Gabapentin helps me with my nerve pain and the spasms I get. Since my RLS and leg spasms come from my back, I think it is time to get another injection in my back. It has been causing me more pain in the last few months. It will be interesting to see if it changes anything.

Yankiwi
Posts: 548
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2014 7:20 am
Location: West Coast, South Island, New Zealand

Re: Methadone and Gabapentin no longer working well

Post by Yankiwi »

Shingles is the pits, my husband had it. Everyone who has had chicken pox, make sure you get the vaccination. Zostavax used to be the one but I've heard there is a better vaccination now.

curqlink
Posts: 75
Joined: Sat Jul 21, 2018 6:38 am

Re: Methadone and Gabapentin no longer working well

Post by curqlink »

There are nights when i just am going to have problems sitting and resting no matter what i do or take. It's all about getting a good restful sleep the night before. Any less than 7 hours and i can really tell the next day and night. 8 or 9 hours is best. I do whatever it takes to get sleep. Excercise really helps. I like to do a 25 minute workout about 2 to 3 hours before bedtime. 20 min of cardio..followed by 5 min of strength training. I take 2 tramadol per night and a small dose of ropinirole along with lyrica about an hour and a half before bedtime. If needed i will get back up and take a hydrocodone to get to sleep. I don't want to take it if i don't have to. If i have to take more than 5 mg then i need a little THC to cancel out the alerting i get from it. But usually 5mg is enough to do the job. So far i have not had any tolerance issues.

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