Has anyone tried buprenorphine?

[Polar Bear]

A supportive doctor is worth his weight in gold.

[debbluebird]

It was a wonderful week without any RLS. It started very mild last night. I restarted the buprenorphine. That seems to work best if I wait until it starts. Taking it a few hours before bed doesn't work. It takes affect very quickly. The steroid injections are a factor.
Such as life.

[Oozz]

I find that my sleep quality is worse on buprenorphine than methadone. If I had to choose an opioid, methadone would be my preferred.

[debbluebird]

Actually I agree.

[debbluebird]

I'm still doing well with buprenorphine. When my RLS is worse, I take 1/4 of the film. After I've had an injection of a steroid in my back, then I take less. Either none or 1/8th of a piece.
I had more break through RLS on methadone and before that mirapex.
I'm sleeping much better.

[Polar Bear]

Excellent news. We are so happy that this continues to work for you.

[debbluebird]

It's turning out that I am taking 1/4 th of the film. I have started exercising. When I do anything but sit, I have increased RLS. This is working to take it at 2:30 pm. I may even move it to 2 pm to combat alertness. At least my RLS is gone.

[Brendan]

I have been on it for more than a year. Around 1/3 of a 2mg SL tablet so around 0.7 mg. It stops all RLS symptoms at night - it is the best medication in that regard. Main side effects: unable to fall asleep, usually accompanied by a sense of euphoria/excitation. Staying awake until 4AM. Difficulty waking up before noon. Extreme tiredness/drowsiness in the afternoon (unable to stay awake). Lack of energy/motivation during the day. Some dizziness/nausea during the day. I read that the SL tablets can cause tooth decay - you should rinse right after absorption.

I take it at 9:30PM but the bottle says take at 4:00PM so I may have to try taking it earlier and see if that helps. I don’t want to take it that early because it makes me feel “off” and I want to enjoy workouts/dinner etc.

I don’t think it is a long term solution if I want to stay employed.

Ropinirole caused severe augmentation but I had more energy during the day.

[debbluebird]

I would try moving your dose to earlier. That really helped me with the alertness. I usually am able to go to sleep between 11 and midnight. If I took it at 9:30 pm, I'd be up all night.
Good luck.

[Brendan]

I will try earlier - thanks