Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

I have noticed that my PTSD is what fuels the RLS along with food allergies. My dog occasionally coughs in the middle of the night due to his heart condition which will only get worse. I need something that will help me get through this that is an anti-anxiety, but does not antagonize the RLS. I was thinking about Xanax as it is something I can take as needed. Also, I cannot due Clonazepam as the drug does not work anymore since I need to take like 4 pills just to get any effect at all. Any help is much appreciated!

Sincerely,

Kathy Schoemer

I am not aware of an anti anxiety medication that we can be sure will not aggravate RLS.
Wellbrutin has been named as being unlikely to aggravate but I've also heard that it is not the most efficient anti anxiety medication.
We do know that us RLS sufferers all vary in our reactions to medications and so it may be a case of trial and error.

I take citalopram 20mg and believe that it has not aggravated my RLS. However, that is me, and it is only my opinion.
Having said that, my RLS does appear at times to be quicker to breakthrough but that could also be progression and/or augmentation.

Dr B has said that if an anti depressant / anti anxiety medication is needed then it should be taken and if there are any increased RLS symptoms then they should dealt with via the use of the relevant RLS treatment medication.

With regard to a definite particular anti anxiety medication that would not affect your RLS, sorry....

Xanax or Valium definitely are RLS/WED friendly. But, they are in the same family as clonazepam. If it doesn't work, I don't know if they would. Worth a try.

I've been on Clonazepam (was initially given it in combination with Carbidopa/Levadopa) to treat my RLS. It helped the anxiety too. However, it lost the sleep aide and RLS effectiveness over time but still helped my anxiety. Anyhow, Psych decided to try Lorazepam because it is shorter acting for the sleep aspect. Severe insomnia. You might consider that. However, I was taking .75mg - 1mg clonazepam and needed minimum 1mg of lorazepam at night. Eventually went back on clonazepam because it had longer half life and was giving me more daytime RLS relief than I realized. And Wellbutrin is not great for anxiety. It's mainly for depression and definitely alerts so I wouldn't want to take it if you're dealing with extreme anxiety.

I'm sorry I cannot offer any help with an RLS friendly med. Was reading back through some prior discussion. Am I correct that you currently are not treating your sleep apnea? If that is the case, just want to make sure you are aware that untreated sleep apnea is notorious for contributing to both anxiety and depression. I can only suggest you reconsider treating your sleep apnea. Sorry to hear your doggie is not well. That in itself is stressful.

Hi all, thanks for the replies! thank you Ann for stating that the zanax is in the same category as the clonazepam. Don't think I'll bother. Right now, NONE of the meds are working with sleep. So I'm having to take up to 4-5X the amount if I want to get any sleep at all with the clonazepam as I get ill taking that amount with the lunesta. I am one of the weird people where methodone makes the sleep worse and if I take more than 1 mg? of the neupro patch I'm up all night. I know the stress is what is activating it this bad as my dog only has a few months left to live and when he coughs (even once) I'm up all night long from the anxiety and the flashbacks. And the vet tells me the cough will only get worse. Waiting on a call back from my doc.

I took an anti-psychotic which helps with anxiety but it's not good for RLS. But if you're on methadone and it's managing the RLS it might be worth a try short term. It does put on rapid weight, but seems to be more of a problem and more rapid gain for slimmer people. Zyprexa is the name of it. Low dose is used for sleep and anxiety. Also Seroquel helps sleep too, but again, it can agitate RLS but again, if methadone has RLS under control you might be okay. Just a thought. I'm so sorry about your dog. That has to be so sad. I will remember you, Peanut, in my prayers tonight, when I'm not sleeping...

I took Ativan without too much trouble when I was transitioning from Mirapex. Also took Valium, but that was not a nice med for me.

debbluebird wrote:I took Ativan without too much trouble when I was transitioning from Mirapex. Also took Valium, but that was not a nice med for me.

That is interesting - all benzodiazepines, but very different experience. So, maybe it really is worth trying something else from that family. Something the most different from clonazepam?????

Thanks all! After a little experimenting, I'm learning that I need to take something for the anxiety and then something for the WED. One night I took some herbs for anxiety, plus 1 clonazepam and 1 gabapentin and slept like a baby with NO side affects. Then I tried 2 gabapentin with one lunesta and only got 5 hours with some side affects, but not too bad. I can see why the meds have not worked before because I didn't tell the doc about the complex PTSD which can create high bouts of anger and anxiety, not good for WED! I can see why the methodone does not work because it causes me to get hyper which is not good for the anxiety. Maybe I'm FINALLY starting to figure some of this out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Primary care wanted to refer me to a psychiatrist, but I would rather stay with my sleep neurologist who UNDERSTANDS WED. Otherwise, they will focus on the anxiety and want me to be on meds that screw up the WED. This has happened before were I was trying to educate the doctors and frankly got tired of them not taking my WED seriously, unlike Dr. Hudson my sleep neuro.

I follow some kratom forums, since I use it to manage my RLS. There is a good deal of chatter on them about its effectiveness for PTSD. You can look on reddit to find some messsages, or just put "kratom" into google with PTSD.

Good luck to you . . .

PJMccoy,
So sorry I didn't see your post earlier. First of all thank you for the prayers and well wishes for my dog. Very much appreciated. I think I had Zyprexa in the past and got very ill on it. Also methodone is terrible for my sleep. I tried it twice and got 0 hours of sleep both times This makes me wonder if the PTSD is the primary culprit in the severity of the RLS, but I have it bad enough to need an RLS drug with the anti-anxiety.

Sleepdancer,
Thank you for the well wishes for me and my dog. Was tested for apnea and had the machine. Still only got 3 hours a night so doc told me to discontinue.

Polar Bear,
What Dr. B told you made sense. Deal with the trigger first (anxiety) then provide the RLS meds if needed. Perhaps that's why doing an RLS friendly anti anxiety med with and either neupro or gabapentin seem to be the best combination for me.


Also one person mentioned Lorazepam. I did not see that in the RLS drug approved medication in the sleepwalkers magazine.

You may have already tried herbal supplements. If not Valerian is good for sleep and anxiety. Only side effects I had was some mild diarrhea after a long period of taking it (but I also was dealing with untreated depression in addition to anxiety so who knows). I took Valerian up to 900mg sometimes would take 450, along with clonazepam and it helped. Also, haven't taken in a long time but Kava Kava can also help with anxiety, along with Passion Flower and sometimes St. John's Wort but it is also an anti-dep so might hype you up. How is your dog doing?

Unfortunately for me Valerian and Kava Kava make the RLS worse. However, the Zysphus formula helps with the sleep. This is an herb I got from my acupuncturist.

Lorazepam, Temazepam are in same class as Clonazepam, shorter acting and shorter half life. Might consider??