Calf muscles cramping etc.= WED?

[Polar Bear]

So perhaps a wee phone call conversation with doc could adjust somewhat the best time for you to take the second Wellburtin pill.

[Betty/WV]

So perhaps a wee phone call conversation with doc could adjust somewhat the best time for you to take the second Wellburtin pill.

Yes, I will do that. Thanks to all of you.


BETTY/WV

[Polar Bear]

Good luck, and I wish you well.

[torrekay]

I used to tend bar and had claf muscle cramp issues....I resolved this by taking a Vitamin E tablet and drinking a bottle of tonice (quinine water) each day. Also, check out the shoes you are wearing---are the supportive? I use Powerstep insoles in all of my shoes.

[Chipmunk]

It would be dangerous for her to take them less than 12 hours apart - 300 mg is the seizure threshold for Wellbutrin, where seizures become much more common.

I found that I could only take one 150 mg dose in the morning as taking both ended up giving me numbness and tingling in my arms and hands. Somehow it builds up in my body - I think I am deficient in certain enzymes that process it. Anyway, the one dose worked just as well as the two for me - might be an option for you when you move to a maintenance dose.

[badnights]

Betty, I was about to suggest taking both Wellbutrin 150mg pills in the morning because one of my doctors told me that would be OK (I was on Wellbutrin for a few days but it made my RLS worse so I wanted to take it in the morning). But then I saw chipmunk's post, so I guess that won't work - thanks chipmunk!

I think you might be like me and need a sleeping pill every night, Betty. Something gentle like zopiclone, zolpidem, eszopiclone; not a benzo. I went through about 9 months after I got my RLS/WED under control, unable to sleep more than an hour at a time and that was very light sleep or dreaming sleep, no deep sleep; no RLS, but no sleep. Then I started zopicline, and it was the missing ingredient. Finally I had my life back. Have you ever been prescribed a sleeping pill before? How long do you have to wait til your sleep study is done? Can you ask to try a sleeping pill before that? I think there's an excellent chance that once you start getting some quality sleep, your depression will lift, then you might be able to lower the Wellbutrin.

I'm so glad your symptoms are finally under control and your new doctor is still eager to learn about this disease. As Randy said, you're helping him to learn, which will benefit all the RLS/WED patients he'll come across in the future.

About your sleep study, make sure the technicians know beforehand that you will be getting up a lot at night, and that that's part of your disease, and you can't help it. It's no use that the doctor knows, because he doesn't talk to the technicians much, and most of them don't know much about RLS/WED.

[Chipmunk]

Beth, was this recently? They used to think up to 600 mg per day (300 + 300) was fine but eventually realized that the increased risk for seizures was actually at only 300 mg per day.

I accidentally took two pills instead of one pill one morning, and I told my psych about it about a week later. He was like OMG in that tone one would use if they woke up and realized they had left a stove burner on all night long. He was very glad that I had avoided a seizure, although my legs did go crazy nuts.

[badnights]

It was about a year and a half ago, but my GP was fresh out of school. I don't think she knew very much, in retrospect.

[Betty/WV]

Betty, I was about to suggest taking both Wellbutrin 150mg pills in the morning because one of my doctors told me that would be OK (I was on Wellbutrin for a few days but it made my RLS worse so I wanted to take it in the morning). But then I saw chipmunk's post, so I guess that won't work - thanks chipmunk!

I think you might be like me and need a sleeping pill every night, Betty. Something gentle like zopiclone, zolpidem, eszopiclone; not a benzo. I went through about 9 months after I got my RLS/WED under control, unable to sleep more than an hour at a time and that was very light sleep or dreaming sleep, no deep sleep; no RLS, but no sleep. Then I started zopicline, and it was the missing ingredient. Finally I had my life back. Have you ever been prescribed a sleeping pill before? How long do you have to wait til your sleep study is done? Can you ask to try a sleeping pill before that? I think there's an excellent chance that once you start getting some quality sleep, your depression will lift, then you might be able to lower the Wellbutrin.

I'm so glad your symptoms are finally under control and your new doctor is still eager to learn about this disease. As Randy said, you're helping him to learn, which will benefit all the RLS/WED patients he'll come across in the future.

About your sleep study, make sure the technicians know beforehand that you will be getting up a lot at night, and that that's part of your disease, and you can't help it. It's no use that the doctor knows, because he doesn't talk to the technicians much, and most of them don't know much about RLS/WED.

Beth: Thanks for the post. I was prescribed -------( I'm getting scared, my memory is so bad) give me a second to think???? Ok, it was Ambien, and I took it one night and I walked in my sleep, ate a huge piece of ice cream cake and didn't know I did it. Most horrible night. I called the doctor and he told me to stop taking it. Since then I haven't taken any sleeping pill. I think my neuro wants to start from the beginning, with a sleep study and see where to go from there, but I will ask about the sleeping pill. I want to get my life back also and I will be 76 so how much more life do I have. I want to be able to drive again. I feel like such an invalid. I'm depending on my new neuro to help me. I think he is trying. And I want to stop being depressed. But who wouldn't be depressed--right? What would I do without the friends on this site, no one else realizes what I deal with, every day and night. And there is no one else I can even talk to about the WED/RLS, I can tell by their expression that its almost like they are rolling their eyes at me This is exactly how they seem. (the smilies) And this is how I feel,

Thanks again

BETTY/WV

[badnights]

Betty, it's hard when one problem causes another which makes the first problem worse; and you have to struggle to break the cycle. As the depression eases, the sleep will get better, which will ease the depression, etc.

I think it's worth asking about the sleeping pill. Maybe one of the others (not Ambien/zolpidem) would have different side effects. I take Imovane/zopiclione and find I sometimes do things I don't remember but it's generally not embarrassing, and I'd much rather sleep than not.

Clonazepam has been used successfully by many people although other have had a hellish time trying to get off of it, and it's a benzo that builds up in your system and might make you groggy during the day. But who knows, maybe you're one of the people it will work for. Also maybe you will take it only for a month or a few weeks, until your body learns to sleep again, not forever. So it's worth a discussion with your doctor, for sure.

I hope you can get mobile again, once you've gotten some quality sleep. We're all rooting for you here! All your RLS/WED friends . Hugs for you:{{Betty}}

[Betty/WV]

Thanks Beth: You would think that I would have caught up on my sleep by now. I sleep a lot, mostly through the day.

Once I get this sleep study over with, I hope that the doctor can come up with something. I have to get back to driving. My husband will be 80 in June and I will be 76. If anything happened to him I would be in a mess. Not only with the not driving. But our elderly neighbors had a similar problem, although they are both gone now. But she quit driving, I don't know the reason, then he got to old and sick to drive. They had to always ask someone to take them for appointments etc. And it was hard on them. And we live in the country, sort of. So we have to drive to do anything.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

BETTY/WV

[rthom]

Betty, good to hear from you again, I always look forward to reading your posts. My mother-in-law has a similar problem. Her husband had alzheimers-therefore he could no longer drive, and they lived in the country part of a small town that they lived in all their married life. No reason to move housing (also couldn't afford to rent), and her driving was both important (physically, monitarily and psychologically) and concerning. It's a hard thing to figure out and an even harder thing loose.
With regards to the Clonazepam, I've taken it successfully for years. It has no ill effects on me. I take it for long periods of time then just decide to quit and It's like nothing happened. No headaches-sleeplessness, or increased syClonazepammptoms etc. I seem to be one of the lucky few. Just wanted to share this as I cannot relate to what is said at all. Whatever you decide--go with what you feel deepdown. And good luck. Keep us poated.

[Betty/WV]

Hi: In the past I have decided to stop the clonazapam and nothing happened. But once I stopped the clonazapam and Wellbutrin and it was horrible so I went back on them. I take such a low dose of the clonazapam. Then I started reading about the dreaded clonazapam but everyone reacts to meds different.
And I usually go with whatever seems right for me, after I think, pray, and do research. I really have no other choice.

Nice to hear from you. Stay healthy and happy, as much as you can.

BETTY/WV

[rthom]

I take 30mg clonaazapam you?

[MENINBLK]

I have really bad RLS and Charlie Horses.
I heard of a medication / supplement called DolRx and I can't find any information on it anywhere.

I got one Charlie Horse that was so bad, it tore my leg muscle and I could not walk straight for three weeks.
My Doctor can't tell me why I'm getting these. I want to rip my legs off.



Pete...