I was waiting to post information after the one month appointment with the neurologist. Many, many responses on this topic ring so true, and I am sure it is because people have walked in my husband's shoes or been a part of someone's life who has RLS. The compulsion for video gaming machines subsided completely after about 5 days. The minor level dose of Methadone is working beyond our expectations. Is it scary to think he is taking Methadone but we have reassurances about it and his scripts are only for one month at a time. However, our neurologist had just returned from a conference in Denver when we first saw him a month ago and decided this was the route my husband needed to take. My husband is the most severe and difficult case our doctor has seen. Of course, he has always been a high achiever.
He said Mirapex, Ropinole, Neupro are all DA's and will never prescribe them to my husband again. Thank, God.
Remorse, regret, embarrassment, and guilt are just some of the emotions my husband feels after the patch left his system. One of the posts said he would experience this. I have had a difficult time emotionally too. I could not trust him, his deceit was overwhelming, and financial security was no longer a given. But we are at a good place now. As husband and wife with kids, we are a team and suddenly, I was the lone ranger trying to find out what was happening with him. What the hell was going on. It was detrimental on so many levels. I could not count on him to be where he was supposed to be but that has all changed.
I saw a behavioral health counselor because I had situational depression--no energy, not eating, sleeping a lot, and every morning as I had my cup of coffee and watched the news, I cried. Of course, my husband felt even worse seeing me this way because I am not like this. One very interesting thing the counselor said at my second visit (have not gone back--kind of a wait and see if needed) was that this gambling event including seeing him leave a place after gaming was such a shock to my life just like a sudden/tragic death. Also, I was shouldering all of this info without telling any family and friends. It was jarring to everything I counted on.
Luckily, no real financial loss for us. He knows it would have gotten worse. He also said everyday he thought about how he could get to a place to place--very weird. It was escalating and knew he had an issue. Was going to talk to me about it but I beat him to it. LOL The neurologist said that since addictions run in his family, he was more susceptible to have this compulsion. He doesn't like it that our kids, some close friends and family know about this. However, it didn't seem to bother him when our car was parked at these local joints and other people saw him in there A LOT. Of course he was in the throws of addiction. His glazed look is gone. He is more relaxed. He is remorseful. What a helluva situation!!!
Thanks out there on the RLS message board. All the links, webinars, information, guidance, and radiolab broadcasts helped me so much. I am putting away my Nancy Drew Senior Citizen Super Sleuth sign for now. You are the best!!