Pseudoephedrine
I've seen a suprisingly low number of people reporting Pseudoephedrine as a serious painbringer for RLS sufferers. So I wanted to add my two cents. I'm a healthy 29 year old male and do not experience RLS on any type of regular basis. I've experienced RLS a total of maybe 10 times over the past 3 years. Most of which have been associated with NyQuil "Cold & Flu" which contains Pseudoephedrine. (Note: NyQuil Cough does not affect me as it does not have Pseudoephedrine.) Now I knew that NyQuil C&F brought on RLS for me, but at first I didn't know which ingredient was the culprit until I took Allegra-D this past week. Allegra (non-D) does not have Pseudoephedrine and I have never had problems with the regular Allegra. However, after taking Allegra-D , which does have Pseudoephedrine, I had RLS for two nights straight and could not sleep a wink.
Phenylephrine
Has anyone out there tried Phenylephrine based decongestants instead of Pseudoephedrine? Sudafed and many other medicenes have or will be changing their meds to use Phenylephrine. I bought Sudafed PE with Phenylephrine to see if it works for me without brining on RLS, but I'm a little hesitant. If anyone has any experience with this drug, please let me know. There is not much online just yet specific to RLS.
Kritter
Pseudoephedrine Brings On the RLS Pain!
Boy I hope you get an answer to your question! If you discover one on your own, please post! I tend to stay away from anything ending in 'ine' and was recently taken off of claritin due to exacerbated RLS movement. I also posted elsewhere that Zantac is an antihistimine and it did the same thing for me, had to quit taking. I need relief for allergy symptoms and gerd, but am not willing to worsen RLS/PLMD. It's wierd how some meds we might never consider as problems, can really affect RLS. I've also learned that blood pressure meds in the family of calcium channel blockers will exacerbate movement. Who'd have thought? And even though my doctor is aware of my RLS, she prescribed all three of these meds. It was only after I suffered long enough that I did some research and brought it to her attention.
Please let us know what you find.
Please let us know what you find.
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ViewsAskew
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One of the hardest parts of having RLS/PLMS is that drugs don't always affect people the same - for good or for bad. But, for info on drugs, my first source is always www.rlshelp.org. A quick search often nets great info about drugs plus there is a lot to read anytime the legs are annoying. Here's a reply I found just now by searching on claritin:
"Usually, Clarinex, Claritin and Allegra (all of which do not cause drowsiness and likely do not enter into the brain like the older non-prescription antihistamines) should not worsen RLS or PLMD.
Some patients are bothered by the above safer antihistamines anyway so the safest approach would be to use a steroid nasal spray (Flonase, Nasonex, Nasacort, Rhinocort, etc.) which are also very safe and do not have any effect on RLS or PLMD."
He also has a section that documents all the drugs that have been found to help RLS. Kimberly, not sure the difference in BP meds, but here's what he has on the site:
"Catapres (Clonidine)
A few trials have shown that Catapres has been helpful in RLS. It comes in 0.1 mg, 0.2 mg, and 0.3 mg tablets. The dose can be started at 0.1 to 0.3 mg at bedtime (which can often be helpful) and increased to 0.9 mg per day in divided doses. Side effects tend to be few and commonly consist of dry mouth, drowsiness, dizziness and constipation.
Inderal (Propranolol)
This common blood pressure medication comes in 10, 20, 40, 60, and 80 mg tablets. It has been documented to help RLS even at low doses or 5 - 10 mg taken in the evening. Dosage can be increased and is usually well tolerated. Inderal also comes in a sustained release form (Inderal LA), in 60, 80, 120, and 160 mg tablets."
He is very good about answering questions. Kritter, maybe a quick post to him and you'll get an answer.
Ann
"Usually, Clarinex, Claritin and Allegra (all of which do not cause drowsiness and likely do not enter into the brain like the older non-prescription antihistamines) should not worsen RLS or PLMD.
Some patients are bothered by the above safer antihistamines anyway so the safest approach would be to use a steroid nasal spray (Flonase, Nasonex, Nasacort, Rhinocort, etc.) which are also very safe and do not have any effect on RLS or PLMD."
He also has a section that documents all the drugs that have been found to help RLS. Kimberly, not sure the difference in BP meds, but here's what he has on the site:
"Catapres (Clonidine)
A few trials have shown that Catapres has been helpful in RLS. It comes in 0.1 mg, 0.2 mg, and 0.3 mg tablets. The dose can be started at 0.1 to 0.3 mg at bedtime (which can often be helpful) and increased to 0.9 mg per day in divided doses. Side effects tend to be few and commonly consist of dry mouth, drowsiness, dizziness and constipation.
Inderal (Propranolol)
This common blood pressure medication comes in 10, 20, 40, 60, and 80 mg tablets. It has been documented to help RLS even at low doses or 5 - 10 mg taken in the evening. Dosage can be increased and is usually well tolerated. Inderal also comes in a sustained release form (Inderal LA), in 60, 80, 120, and 160 mg tablets."
He is very good about answering questions. Kritter, maybe a quick post to him and you'll get an answer.
Ann
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Kris
- Posts: 82
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- Location: www.wiresplice.com
I am ok with allegra, but not the DS.
Sudafed and the like KILL me. I took some pain medicine one time - way before I was ever diagnosed with RLS - I can't remember right now what it was but I've since seen it listed as a no no - and MAN - I was about ready to shoot myself. It was totally awful. I spent most of the night in the shower. I was itching - so I thought I was allergic to it, but the itching is just a sign of my RLS.
I'm up tonight b/c my feet are itching so bad. Skins not dry, lotion, its just driving me bonkers. Right arm is aching, and the feet are just itching up a storm, but its a deep itch, not like a bug bite.
Sudafed and the like KILL me. I took some pain medicine one time - way before I was ever diagnosed with RLS - I can't remember right now what it was but I've since seen it listed as a no no - and MAN - I was about ready to shoot myself. It was totally awful. I spent most of the night in the shower. I was itching - so I thought I was allergic to it, but the itching is just a sign of my RLS.
I'm up tonight b/c my feet are itching so bad. Skins not dry, lotion, its just driving me bonkers. Right arm is aching, and the feet are just itching up a storm, but its a deep itch, not like a bug bite.
ViewsAskew wrote:One of the hardest parts of having RLS/PLMS is that drugs don't always affect people the same - for good or for bad. But, for info on drugs, my first source is always www.rlshelp.org. A quick search often nets great info about drugs plus there is a lot to read anytime the legs are annoying. Here's a reply I found just now by searching on claritin:
"Usually, Clarinex, Claritin and Allegra (all of which do not cause drowsiness and likely do not enter into the brain like the older non-prescription antihistamines) should not worsen RLS or PLMD.
Some patients are bothered by the above safer antihistamines anyway so the safest approach would be to use a steroid nasal spray (Flonase, Nasonex, Nasacort, Rhinocort, etc.) which are also very safe and do not have any effect on RLS or PLMD."
He also has a section that documents all the drugs that have been found to help RLS. Kimberly, not sure the difference in BP meds, but here's what he has on the site:
"Catapres (Clonidine)
A few trials have shown that Catapres has been helpful in RLS. It comes in 0.1 mg, 0.2 mg, and 0.3 mg tablets. The dose can be started at 0.1 to 0.3 mg at bedtime (which can often be helpful) and increased to 0.9 mg per day in divided doses. Side effects tend to be few and commonly consist of dry mouth, drowsiness, dizziness and constipation.
Inderal (Propranolol)
This common blood pressure medication comes in 10, 20, 40, 60, and 80 mg tablets. It has been documented to help RLS even at low doses or 5 - 10 mg taken in the evening. Dosage can be increased and is usually well tolerated. Inderal also comes in a sustained release form (Inderal LA), in 60, 80, 120, and 160 mg tablets."
He is very good about answering questions. Kritter, maybe a quick post to him and you'll get an answer.
Ann
Thanks for the link Ann! Im going to check it out. You're so right, meds can affect us all in different ways. Benadryl, for example, makes alot of folks very sleepy, but has me jumping out of my own skin, much like the claritin and calcium channel blockers do.