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Re: RLS friendly drug for major anxiety
Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2015 10:59 pm
by Rubyslipper
Somewhere in this conversation was the information that untreated sleep apnea can cause anxiety and/or depression. Anytime you lose sleep for an extended period of time, that can be the case. You really need to address all the sleep issues first before trying new meds. CPAP machines are not fun and can take a long time to get used to but better that (if it takes care of the problem) than adding new meds you may not need. I am not saying that you don't need meds. And with that said, I haven't talked to too many people who have had success with anti-anxiety meds that don't cause the RLS to get worse. I take Wellbutrin but can't say it is very effective.
Re: RLS friendly drug for major anxiety
Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2015 1:51 pm
by pinkynose
I suffer from PTSD as well. I was the victim of strong arm robbery a year ago. What helped me the most with that was EMDR. At first I thought it sounded ridiculous and not worth considering. A friend convinced me to give it a try and I am so grateful to my friend and the pscychologist I went to. Just throwing it out there...
That being said, I just started taking gabapentin. That drug works pretty well for my RLS, but does very little for my insomnia. Some nights I have added Xanax and have not found it to be a trigger for RLS. I've also added Ambien which doesn't trigger either. The down side for me is I feel very drugged the next day if I try all 3.
Re: RLS friendly drug for major anxiety
Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2015 2:25 am
by peanut1
PJMccoy1,
Yes definitely. I see my doc next week. I still may consider the zanax as i hear it's great for anxiety. Never tried the other drugs, but I'll bring them up to the doc. Thank you!
Rubyslipper,
I was not officially diagnosed with sleep apnea, but came close to it (UARS) so they just sort of assumed I had it. The CPAP didn't do crap and I gave it a good amount of time. In fact, it was making the sleep worse. NO, this is complex PTSD and RLS and in this case, sleep apnea does not have one teeny bit to do with it. I also really need the meds when my sleep totally crashes.
Pinkynose,
I've had PTSD and dissociation since I was 3 years old which makes it very complicated. Been dealing with this for over 40 years. Yes, I decided that Zanax is definitely worth a try. Sometimes when I take the meds I am quite tired in the morning, but at least my anxiety is not skyrocketing and I'm more stable overall.