RLS and ADHD

[ViewsAskew]

Many of us here seem to be sensitive to meds. Could be coincidence, that we're just the ones talking about it, or maybe it's part of WED in some way. But, many of us do find that if we start at a dose lower than the doc suggests, that withing a few weeks we acclimate OK. Not saying to do this or that it will work for you! Just that it might be helpful to you at some point to try.

I took an old anti-depressant for sleep, trazodone, and it caused me to sleep 16 hours the first time I took it! Fortunately, I was able to break the tab in quarters and start with much less and after about a week it didn't do that anymore.

I take the 150 mg of modafanil. Or do when I can get it, lol.

[wyldaeval]

Thank you for your reply. Having FM/CFS, major depressive disorder, type 2 diabetes, degenerative disk disease, asthma and other problems, I've tried more than my share of medications with mixed results. I'm highly allergic to some of the more typical medications (ibuprofen, Lyrica, Wellbutrin, Savella, Nsaids) and yet other medications seem to do nothing for me.

I was able to fall asleep again after the dogs woke me up and my sleep schedule is becoming closer to "normal" since starting the modafanil. My Mirapex had been reduced to .25 mg at night and I was concerned that I'd have an increase in RLS/WED symptoms, but so far, so good. I did have a brief episode of RLS in my shoulders and arms when I tried to take a short nap this afternoon but it stopped when I got up, which isn't always the case, especially when it begins in my upper body. I'm still not as alert as I'd like to be during the day but compared to last week, I'm seeing great improvement.

*I had to edit the mg on the Mirapex as I'm always getting the dosages on my meds mixed up. I was taking .5 mg twice (the am dose was optional depending on how I slept) a day and was reduced to .25 mg at night by a new doctor at my GP's office due to concerns regarding side effects.

[ViewsAskew]

Seeing great improvement is a wonderful thing. Hope it continues.

[badnights]

wyldeval I take 50 mg (a split pill) modafinil in the morning and 100 mg at 1 PM. It has a very subtle effect. When I first started it, it seemed to consolidate my days and nights better - I got tired at bedtime, and I woke up less tired. But I am not sure if it is still doing this for me. Like I said, the effect is very subtle. Every time except twice that I forgot a dose, I noticed because I became deeply, deeply tired.

I Think there have been other conversations on here about a possibly beneficial effect of the ritalin class of meds on WED.

[jbuck]

i have ADD and RLS along with panic/social anxiety. I was taking Adderall 10mg for quite some time and then my doctor wanted me to try modafinil. initially, i was on 200mg in the am, but found that i really only needed 100mg and that would work for me. I would not take it if it was after 10am cause it would cause some sleeping issues. At first it was working ok, but not as great as Adderall. Plus, it was super expensive ($900.00/month), luckily my insurance paid for it, but i had to jump through hoops to get the Prior Authorization approved. After a time, probably about a year, it just wasn't really working as well for me, so I was switched to Vyvanse 50mg. This has been the best medication for my ADD than anything else. I have no problems with it and i'm not as distracted as I was before and am a lot more focused.

Now, here is my .02 on ADD. There are ALOT of so called tests on the internet for ADD or ADHD. Your doctor pretty much will ask the same questions as there really isn't a real test for it. I honestly, do not believe these test accurately diagnose ADD. I think people have different levels of ADD, so some can get by without medication and others need medication for it. In my opinion, the best test for ADD is to actually take the medication and see what it does to you. I think there are some signs of ADD for example, it would take me all day to mow my yard which should take 30-45 minutes. This is because as I'm mowing, I'm thinking, oh, the grass needs trimmed by the fence, so I would go do that, then I would see that the flower beds needed to be weeded out, so I would go do that, then I would see that the patio had weeds starting to come up from the pavers, so I would spray weed killer, then I would.... this goes on forever, until I realize it's 5:00 and I still haven't finished mowing the yard. Being antsy and wanting to be busy all the time, I'm not as much convinced is a reason to jump to ADD. For example, a friend felt this way and was put on Addrerall. It helped for awhile, but long story short, he actually was suffering from depression that was undiagnosed. So you have to tread lightly. If you take a medication like Adderall, Vyvanse, Ritalin, etc, which are mostly stimulants, if you have ADD it should make you tired rather than exciting you. So that has always been my advice to people that have asked me 'how do I know?'. Also, most people with ADD will not lose weight (maybe a little, but not significant) when put on a stimulant medication. Those that don't have ADD typically will lose a lot of weight and think it's the best diet ever. So, you really have to determine if the medication is really working for you or not. As I said, if you are on the lower end of ADD, you may not need any medication, but the opposite end you will notice right away that it makes a difference. Also, people with ADD tend to learn to self medicate with caffeine whether it be coffee, tea, or mountain dew. Now, in regards to how ADD meds affect RLS, I have not had any problem with these meds causing my RLS to get worse. In fact, others that I know that have RLS and ADD, say the same thing. Those that take ADD because they think they have ADD, but are actually on the lower end or don't have it at all, have ALL had issues with these meds causing their RLS to get worse. This is of course my opinion and very much antidotal, so I'll leave it with 'if it is working for you great, but if it isn't it could be something else like depression'.

It seems that you are seeing improvement so, ultimately that is what is important. Everyone is different and every medication works differently for them.

As far as going cold turkey (this was at the beginning of the post), I would advise anyone on opioids, stimulants, and benzos to NEVER go cold turkey off these meds. It is dangerous and can cause other problems especially with benzos...I think others have covered this topic fairly well. The best approach in my opinion is to always come off of them very very slowly. I've had friends that said that they didn't want to take a year to come off a medication and try to quit earlier and they just end up either back on the medication or have complications. I've said, so what if it takes a year...I'd rather be safe than sorry. Besides, if you've been taking them for years, what is another year to make sure you don't suffer withdrawal and you can make the process a lot easier for you. Believe me, it scares me to death. I was put on methadone at one time and just could not handle the side effects. I was on it for two weeks. I quit cold turkey and ended up practically a suicidal mess and couldn't leave my bed for a entire week. It was just plain stupid for me to do that, but I thought that since I wasn't on it that long, it wouldn't be a big deal....i was crying at a drop of a hat, sweating on and off, irritable, lashing out at anyone that tried to help me...it was like a scene from the Exorcist. So now, I know that it will probably take a year or even more for me to come off my meds, but I really can't see myself doing that. It's very hard to accept that you are dependent on a medication, but don't ever let anyone make you feel that you are addicted to your medication. There is a big difference between addiction and dependence.

Again, I hope this was helpful and you continue on the right path for what works for you. That's the important part.

[Neco]

I was diagnosed with ADD/ADHD when I was around 10 or 11 years old, and I had to go through about 3 hours worth of testing. This included both verbal communications and reading / writing.

I would put very little stock in any Internet tests, made by who knows.