Adderall and RLS

jedsono27 · Post by **jedsono27** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 10:38 pm

Hello everyone.

Just curious to find out if anyone out there is taking Adderall for ADD and also has RLS?

I take Adderall for ADD in the morning when I get up. I hate to admit this but I notice when I wake up my legs are going nutts and as soon as I take my Adderall my legs are fine.

But the Adderall Wears off after 4 hours and that is when I notice I need something other than adderal to treat my RLS or else I will be up all night.

After my adderall wears off I take tramadol for the rest of the day to help with my RLS.

My big thing is , YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO DRIVE AND GO TO WORK ON WHATEVER YOUR TAKING!!!

Just like to know I am not the only one out there dealing with ADD and RLS... Thanks

Post by **ViewsAskew** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 5:31 am

I don't have ADD, and hopefully you will hear from other members that do, if there are some. From the best of my memory, only one other person every wrote that she took an ADD drug (and I think it was Adderall) and it helped with RLS. She had some well-reasoned ideas about why it would work. If you search on Adderall, you might find her post.

Well, I was curious, so I searched myself:

http://bb.rls.org/viewtopic.php?t=1054& ... t=adderall

Then, being more curious (a problem of mine), I did a search on the Internet and came up with this:

"None of the ADHD medications which are stimulants or antidepressants such as Ritalin, Dexedrine, Concerta, Adderall, Strattera, Desipramine consistently make RESTLESS LEG SYNDROME worse or better. " from here http://www.klis.com/chandler/pamphlet/a ... c121233813

I can't vouch for the knowledge of whoever posted this, but the info about RLS seems right.

I found this post on the So Cal RLS Support group site:

"I have noted an increase in the restless legs during the day, and my wife reports on some nights I have some leg movement during sleep. Can Adderall worsen RLS and PLMD?

Medical Reply
Adderall, like most potent stimulants (amphetamines and Ritalin) generally worsen RLS and PLMD. Provigil, which is a stimulant also but does not have the side effects of the older more potent amphetamines does not seem to cause this problem. There have been no studies on this problem but this is my general impression from managing many RLS patients with these problems."

But, it's definitely worked for some people, so maybe it's like most of the drugs out there - helps some, doesn't help others. Even the two drugs that help a lot of people, Mirapex and Requip, only help 80% of those that take them, and even some of those 80% can't take them forever due to problems. There just isn't a magic bullet, but this is great to know that for some people, they have another option.

Oh, and I think that the first link I posted said that something like 40% of people with ADD/ADHD have RLS! That's a lot! Definitely a connection somehow. They have said that some kids are misdiagnosed, too, that they really only have RLS and not ADD.

Ann

jedsono27 · Post by **jedsono27** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 6:40 am

Thanks for the reply. I have had the worst time discussing this with Doctors. It is funny how they know so little about RLS but yet they have so many answers when it comes to the patient telling them what works for them.

I had a really hard time convincing them on tramadol, they kept trying me on all this other stuff that didn't work and of course I obliged at my expense and then when I took the time to mention the adderal they just shrieked, stating that they couldn't understand how that would help considering it is a stimulant. They just kept saying it would make it worse.

It drives me nuts that they are so closed minded when it comes to RLS. I am going to have to go on a printing frenzy when it comes to my next appt because maybe if I show them these threads , then maybe they will take the time to do some research also....

Of course the one thing they need to remember along with everyone else on this site and myself at times is...... All these Doctors are going to do is exactly what all of us are already doing and that is the research on RLS. Seems to me these Doctors have it all right here at their finger tips if they would just use it .......

Gosh.... Some Doctors!!!!! Ughhh ... Who gave them their degree???? Oops I typed that out loud !!!!! Ha ..ha...

Can you tell I have worked in the medical field a couple of years to long ...lol.. Thanks for your help and I look forward to getting more responses and additional web sites if anyone has any.

Thanks

Jennifer

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 12:00 am

I have "ADHD" really just ADD and RLS. I havent been diagnosed with RLS though but I am SURE I have it. I took Adderall back in high school, I remember thinking "WOW I am so relaxed, I don't even need to move my legs around" which at that time was considered part of my ADHD. I was improperly diagnosed with ADHD. I am definetly not hyper, nor was I ever. Now that I see this though I do need something for my ADD again since I am in a very detail oriented and tedious job I need something to keep me focused and keep my mind off the feeling of needing to constantly be walking even though I need to sit and work at my desk. I will let ya know what affect the adderall has on me!

LMFT2B · Post by **LMFT2B** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 4:10 am

I take Adderall for ADD, and have just recently started taking Requip for RLS. I'm up to 2.25 mg Requip and it merely dulls the symptoms at night for me. I had been taking Trazodone for years just to sleep through the symptoms and am considering returning to that. I only started taking Adderall for ADD 1 year ago as I fought taking anything (thinking my ADD was due to environmental causes only). The Adderall does not change a thing for me in terms of RLS symptoms.
How high of a dose of Requip should I go before I give it up? The website gives a different dosing titration schedule for RLS and Parkinson's (which Requip was originally used for).

LMFT2B · Post by **LMFT2B** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 4:32 am

Just curious as to the time zone of this board.....my personal :?:

clock said 10:10p.m. when I posted this and the time on the actual post says 4:10 am. EEEEK!

Post by **ViewsAskew** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 4:34 am

Once you are a member, you can change the time zone to where ever you are! I don't know, but I have always assumed that the time is GMT unless you tell it where you are from.

Ann