low iron and DA

[Reverb]

I have been reading a lot of posts on here that people with low iron shouldnt be on requip.and mirapex. My iron is 13. Requip stopped.working and the restlessness also.went into my arms. Then i.went on mirapex and it stopped working. My neurologist last week increased my mirapex dose at night and also put me on small doses during the day. I am worried now that it might get even worse. Im not sure if i should go back and talk to him about this or give it some time and see if his plan works. Im wondering where people.got this information from and.if it is a reputable source. The last thing i want to do is go to see him and second guess him without having all my facts straight. Thanks for any info you can provide

[rthom]

Hi
Just want to mention that it is a ferritin test that needs to be about 100---It is a different test than iron. And yes the info is reputable. It is talked about from the foundation and the Dr's that study WED. Dr. B for instance. I would suggest looking at your iron test and see if it is a ferritin level or normal Iron level. The ferritin level is different--it's in the brain and is a test you need to request separetly. It sounds like you are augmenting and if your ferritin level is low it makes augmentation more likely--the more DA you take the worse it will likely get if you are augmenting.
Get a ferritin level test if you haven't already and read up about it and augmentation on the WED site itself--would be my recomendations. I hope you feel better soon,

[Reverb]

Sorry....it is my ferritin that is 13. And ive been gettng shots every week to boost my level since novemeber. And the number has dropped. It used to be 14.

[rthom]

Ah Yah I remember you mentioning that in another post I think.
Yes, you need someone to understand the co-orlation between augmentation, ferritin levels and DA's.
Have you read any of the WED foundation's notes on it? There is a lot of information you can get right off of their site.

[rthom]

http://www.rls.org/Document.Doc?id=2078
http://www.rls.org/Document.Doc?id=1985

2 WED foundation print-outs

[ViewsAskew]

I have been reading a lot of posts on here that people with low iron shouldnt be on requip.and mirapex. My iron is 13. Requip stopped.working and the restlessness also.went into my arms. Then i.went on mirapex and it stopped working. My neurologist last week increased my mirapex dose at night and also put me on small doses during the day. I am worried now that it might get even worse. Im not sure if i should go back and talk to him about this or give it some time and see if his plan works. Im wondering where people.got this information from and.if it is a reputable source. The last thing i want to do is go to see him and second guess him without having all my facts straight. Thanks for any info you can provide

Are you able to afford a book that costs $30 US plus shipping? If you are, I think your best bet is to purchase "The Clinical Management of Restless Legs Syndrome." A new version JUST came out - by Drs Earley, Lee, and Buchfuhrer. http://www.pcibooks.com/books/view/46 This book (well, I haven't seen it yet, but have the prior version), is terrific. It's written for doctors to use in their practice, so it is perfect to take with you and point out things you read and say, "Hmmm, I read this in here and I wondered if you could talk to me about it. Is this relevant to my case? It seems like it may be."

Then, PM me and tell me me your email. I will email you a copy of an article. Read it and highlight the parts about ferritin and augmentation. On the first page, it says that, "...maintaining a high serum ferritin level may help prevent the development of augmentation." There is plenty in here to show how important ferritin is.

[Reverb]

I actually just ordered a few more books from Chapters. The one you mentioned was not available. I will order it through the link you sent me. Thanks you

[ViewsAskew]

I actually just ordered a few more books from Chapters. The one you mentioned was not available. I will order it through the link you sent me. Thanks you

It literally was JUST published last week. Amazon has it but it's not yet available. The link I gave you is directly from the publishers and is the same price as Amazon's.

Because it was just published, it will have the most up to date information. I've actually bought in good condition used copies of the prior version and given them to my doctor at the time!

[Reverb]

I'm so excited. My ferritin blood test form last week shows 36 now. I was 13-15 since november. Finally it's moving up. I still have a way to go, but at least now some results are happening. Yay!!

[rthom]

[Reverb]

sh**....I purchased the older version of clinical management of restless leg syndrome by accident. Has anyone bought the new one yet? I'm just curious if it is worth buying the newer version. I don't mind spending the money, so long as it has some good stuff in it. Thanks

[ViewsAskew]

My guess is that it's worth it simply because the drug info is updated and they likely have newer info about ferritin levels and augmentation. The rest will likely be the same.

[badnights]

Ditto Ann, if you have the $, the new one will likely be worth it, though I haven't seen it yet, simply because it will have the recommendation for 75-100 ng/ml ferritin, it iwll expose the link between low ferritin and augmentation on DAs, and it will probably say, in print, that opioids are recommended to deal with withdrawal from DAs after augmentation. None of those things are in the first version.

Those things are all in Dr B's 2012 Neurotherapeutics paper, too. The book is better of course; more info.