Neurologist prescribed Sinemet and Lunesta
Neurologist prescribed Sinemet and Lunesta
As a last ditch effort to avoid opiates and/or benzos my neurologist prescribed sinemet and lunesta. Any thoughts?
jy13131
Sinemet is only meant for occasional use. Prolonged use will cause augmentation. Is occasional use what you and your doctor intend to use it for?
As for Lunesta, it's a fairly safe drug. All it will do is help you get to sleep, mind you. It won't offer any help with RLS or PLMD, and it won't really keep you asleep if you have waking problems during the night. If it's still useful to you in spite of that, but for some reason you decide you don't care for Lunesta specifically, there are other variations like Ambien or Sonata that work more or less the same way, while having different side effects. Note that you do develop a certain tolerance with these benzo-like hypnotic sedatives, and thus you'll get rebound/withdrawal if you quit, but the tolerance is not anywhere near as significant as it is with a real benzo, and it's much easier to recover from the rebound--days, maybe a week, or two, but not months, and there will probably be something you can switch to in the meanwhile. It's much more possible to cycle these things than real benzos.
One note on the hypnotics: They can produce brief periods of short-term memory loss while they're in effect. Basically, you may not remember everything that happens during the first so-many hours after you take them. People on long flights, for instance, might take Ambien to sleep through the flight, and then find themselves in their hotel with no memory of arriving. It's not particularly dangerous, as you're awake and aware and competent. You're simply not recording events for later remembering. The worst that usually happens is that midnight snackers might find that they got up seven times during the night and had the same snack seven times. Hard on the pantry and your waistline, but otherwise pretty benign. Anyway, that's why these drugs usually come with a warning to take them only if you will be going to bed immediately and will be able to get a full, solid night's sleep. Do take the warning to heart.
(Personally, I used to take Sonata, but it wasn't strong enough to overcome my delayed sleep phase problem. Even double the normal dose usually just made me weird and loopy. My wife would tell me things I'd said, or I'd find a chat window or an email message sent to a friend, and cringe.
It was like the internet equivalent of drunk dialing. I had to find an alternate solution. 
Don't worry, though, as that is *not* a typical result... but it *is* amusing.)
As for Lunesta, it's a fairly safe drug. All it will do is help you get to sleep, mind you. It won't offer any help with RLS or PLMD, and it won't really keep you asleep if you have waking problems during the night. If it's still useful to you in spite of that, but for some reason you decide you don't care for Lunesta specifically, there are other variations like Ambien or Sonata that work more or less the same way, while having different side effects. Note that you do develop a certain tolerance with these benzo-like hypnotic sedatives, and thus you'll get rebound/withdrawal if you quit, but the tolerance is not anywhere near as significant as it is with a real benzo, and it's much easier to recover from the rebound--days, maybe a week, or two, but not months, and there will probably be something you can switch to in the meanwhile. It's much more possible to cycle these things than real benzos.
One note on the hypnotics: They can produce brief periods of short-term memory loss while they're in effect. Basically, you may not remember everything that happens during the first so-many hours after you take them. People on long flights, for instance, might take Ambien to sleep through the flight, and then find themselves in their hotel with no memory of arriving. It's not particularly dangerous, as you're awake and aware and competent. You're simply not recording events for later remembering. The worst that usually happens is that midnight snackers might find that they got up seven times during the night and had the same snack seven times. Hard on the pantry and your waistline, but otherwise pretty benign. Anyway, that's why these drugs usually come with a warning to take them only if you will be going to bed immediately and will be able to get a full, solid night's sleep. Do take the warning to heart.
(Personally, I used to take Sonata, but it wasn't strong enough to overcome my delayed sleep phase problem. Even double the normal dose usually just made me weird and loopy. My wife would tell me things I'd said, or I'd find a chat window or an email message sent to a friend, and cringe.
It was like the internet equivalent of drunk dialing. I had to find an alternate solution. Don't worry, though, as that is *not* a typical result... but it *is* amusing.)Disclaimer: I often talk about what I do and what works for me, but these are specific to me and you should always consult a healthcare professional before trying these things yourself, lest you endanger your health or life.
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ViewsAskew
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jy, I seem to remember that you're augmenting on Requip. As I understand it, using Sinemet after already augmenting is crazy. Well, maybe only crazy for me, but I do seem to think that the RLS specialists think it should not be used if you've augmented. And, as Aiken said, it's never supposed to be used daily because of the huge augmentation rate (as high at 90% in some instances).
My neurologist did it to me - gave me Sinemet after augmenting....it was the worst 36 hours of my life (that's how long I had a hyper-RLS period). Now, I react crazily to the dopamine drugs, so don't expect to have nearly as much fun as I did!
I know you're having a tough time with the addiction issue and choosing medications....but please be careful with yourself. We have several people here in recovery AND using opiates and all is OK. It may not be for you and you may need to avoid them.
What I worry is that if these drugs do not work, feeling tired and not sleeping well because of RLS is problematic for your long term recovery. If at any time you start having miserable quality of life, please reconsider your options. I'd hate to see you slide because you were too tired and miserable to make good decisions.
My neurologist did it to me - gave me Sinemet after augmenting....it was the worst 36 hours of my life (that's how long I had a hyper-RLS period). Now, I react crazily to the dopamine drugs, so don't expect to have nearly as much fun as I did!
I know you're having a tough time with the addiction issue and choosing medications....but please be careful with yourself. We have several people here in recovery AND using opiates and all is OK. It may not be for you and you may need to avoid them.
What I worry is that if these drugs do not work, feeling tired and not sleeping well because of RLS is problematic for your long term recovery. If at any time you start having miserable quality of life, please reconsider your options. I'd hate to see you slide because you were too tired and miserable to make good decisions.
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.
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.
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ViewsAskew
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In all my years here, I only recall one person who didn't augment. She used it for many years successfully. Now, I don't know how many of us have mentioned we used it, but the success ratio among this group is pretty darn low, lol.
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.
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.