Coming off Meds after IV Iron

[Oozz]

How long did you wait before coming off medication to see if the iron had any impact? Did you notice any differences while still on medication?

Thanks,

Oozz

[stjohnh]

Generally takes 1-2 months for peak effect of IV iron, though there are some that respond more quickly. I waited until it seemed like the residual RLS symptoms I had while taking my prior meds improved. You can start tapering your prior meds when you like, just don't get discouraged if it has been less than 2 months and you have no benefit.

[Oozz]

Generally takes 1-2 months for peak effect of IV iron, though there are some that respond more quickly. I waited until it seemed like the residual RLS symptoms I had while taking my prior meds improved. You can start tapering your prior meds when you like, just don't get discouraged if it has been less than 2 months and you have no benefit.

Thanks for the constant great feedback.

[badnights]

Like Holland, I noticed that my residual symptoms improved, so I lowered my meds when that happened, and it was the right thing to do. So you'll probably be able to tell. (unless you currently medicate so strongly that you have no residual symptoms)

[Oozz]

I was augmented on mirapex, in that I was developing tolerance. My doctor told me that I’d need to deal with the augmentation before evaluating the efficiency of the infusion. Wanted to provide this information to others.

[badnights]

I was augmented on mirapex, in that I was developing tolerance

Were you augmented, or developing tolerance?

Tolerance is when you need more of a medication to get the same effect because the medication is losing its effectivenss. Augmentation is when your WED/RLS symptoms worsen in response to the medication - either over time (the more usual way) or for a short time after each dose. Worsened symptoms in the usual way means, in comparison to before you started taking the medication, you now get symptoms of greater intensity, symptoms that start at least 2 hours earlier in the day, symptoms start sooner after sitting or lying down, or symptoms spread to the arms.

When you're augmented, you may need more medication to get the same effect, so in that sense it is similar to tolerance, but with tolerance, your symptoms aren't getting worse, instead the medication is becoming less effective. With augmentation, the medication is just as effective as before but the symptoms are worse.

[Oozz]

I was augmented on mirapex, in that I was developing tolerance

Were you augmented, or developing tolerance?

Tolerance is when you need more of a medication to get the same effect because the medication is losing its effectivenss. Augmentation is when your WED/RLS symptoms worsen in response to the medication - either over time (the more usual way) or for a short time after each dose. Worsened symptoms in the usual way means, in comparison to before you started taking the medication, you now get symptoms of greater intensity, symptoms that start at least 2 hours earlier in the day, symptoms start sooner after sitting or lying down, or symptoms spread to the arms.

When you're augmented, you may need more medication to get the same effect, so in that sense it is similar to tolerance, but with tolerance, your symptoms aren't getting worse, instead the medication is becoming less effective. With augmentation, the medication is just as effective as before but the symptoms are worse.

You make a very good point. I would consider it partly tolerance and partly augmentation because, while tapering off the mirapex, I needed a stronger dose of opioids to control my symptoms than I usually require. This implies to me that my symptoms were actually getting stronger.

[badnights]

Ah. So that sounds like augmentation, with the symptoms getting stronger and needing a higher dose of opioid to control them.
At any rate, that was a good point you made, about having to get rid of the augmentation before judging the effectiveness of an infusion.