Urge to get feet wet

[berriesandjuice]

I was diagnosed with RLS after completing a sleep apnea study a couple years ago. The dr told me I move my legs constantly. He prescribed a sleep mask, Roprinole and iron. I was able to manage by only using the Roprinole as needed. As in getting up and walking, soaking feet, etc to provide relief instead.

I currently have a bacterial infection that the doctors are treating aggressively with 3 doses daily of Cefapime via infusion at home. I've been on this antibiotic for over a month.

I have to take Roprinole daily now since starting these antibiotics and it only seems to help a little. I get the symptoms earlier in the day but that could be because I'm resting a lot. I havent been using the mask, but I am going to try it for a few days. Do antibiotics make RLS worsen? The only other medication that is new is Hydroxyzine.

When my symptoms are at their worst, I have an urge to get my feet wet This only provides temporary relief but the urge is so strong. Does anyone else experience this type of urge?

[ViewsAskew]

it is the hydroxyzine - all older antihistamines (and some newer ones) worsen RLS.

And, oddly, many of us find being in a bath, a hot tub, or feet in bucket helps!

Glad you are taking the ropinerole as needed...try not to take it daily.

Also - have your doc test your serum ferritin and iron levels in your blood.

[badnights]

I agree, it's the hydroxyzine.

I will mention, though, that once when I was on antibiotics for pneumonia, my WED/RLS symptoms went through the roof. It was so hard to get better when I couldn't sleep. Since it seems that there's an intimate (although complex) connection of some sort between gut health and neurological health, it might be that broad-spectrum antibiotics (those which don't target specific organisms but instead kill everything they come across), can harm the populations of beneficial bacteria that we have in our guts. This could lead to downstream neurological effects like worsened WED/RLS. So think about adding some raw fermented foods to your diet - raw saurkraut or kimchi, and yogurts with live cultures.

The dr told me I move my legs constantly. He prescribed a sleep mask, Roprinole and iron. I was able to manage by only using the Roprinole as needed. As in getting up and walking, soaking feet, etc to provide relief instead.

Of the three, iron and the mask are most important to take. The iron alone might be enough to eliminate your symptoms, and should at least reduce them. WED/RLS is basically a deficiency of iron in the brain. There is a problem with getting iron across the capillary walls from the blood into the brain. If we load up on iron in the blood, more makes it across into the brain, which helps us immensely. It is tricky, though, because our bodies will not absorb iron if there;s already "enough" in the blood - no matter how much is lacking in the brain. So we have to encourage absorption as much as we can - by taking one or two pills of ferrous sulfate or ferrous fumarate (65 mg elemental iron each) at night on an empty stomach with 200-500 mg vitamin C, and by avoiding foods that interfere with absorption of iron (search for lists of these on the internet).

The mask is also important, even tho it's hard to get used to. You actually stop breathing multiple times a night, and every time your blood pressure rises (potentially to dangerous levels) and you wake up for an instant in order to start breathing again. This is hard on your heart, and even more important, stops you from getting the quality of sleep you need. Sleep is so important - you know that, I'm sure - but the amount of time you spend in bed unaware of your surroundings is not necessarily all time spent in sleep. You are probably not getting the amount of sleep you need, because of the micro-arousals.

Add WED/RLS on top of that, and even more reason to wear the mask - treating sleep apnea can make the WED/RLS better - and treating WED/RLS helps you endure the mask.

I hope this helps a bit. Good luck with all this!

[berriesandjuice]

Thanks. My husband thoroughly cleaned my mask so I will start again tomorrow. My apnea seemed to go away with my weight loss but I am waiting for the other test to he scheduled at home. My first test was at a sleep center. I also take iron daily.

I am stopping the hydroxyzine. I'm miserable st the moment. I have a wet towel wrapped around my feet. The Roprinole is not helping at all.

ETA. The nurse comes to my house weekly to draw blood. I will check with the infectious disease dr next week when I see him and ask for a copy of my lab work.

[debbluebird]

One thing that helps me wear my mask is a cloth that I place between me and the mask. I cut up a very soft T-shirt. I cut it with holes matching the holes in the mask where my mouth and nose go (2 holes). I have what is considered a full face mask, but it does not go across the bridge of my nose or cheek bones. I found that type too uncomfortable. Mine covers my nostrils, and it sort of looks like it goes under my nose. The cloth is nice because I didn't like the feel of the plastic on my skin. I can't use what's called the nose pillow because I sleep with my mouth open. Also with the cloth I don't have to clean the mask everyday. I just wash the cloth ever so often, or cut a new one. They tend to stretch after awhile. Wearing your mask will help your RLS. I understand, I hate it too. Another thing, I would sweat under the mask and the cloth prevents it. I guess it was the plastic on my skin.
Good luck

[ViewsAskew]

You know....one thing that we could have missed is augmentation. It is possible that this just was coincidence, that both the antibiotics and the hydroxine, or that it is some other combination. It is rare to augment when having taken ropinerole for only a short time. But, it does happen.

Give it a few days and see if it is better - I know you are miserable. If it does not get better after removing the hydroxine, there isn't much you can do until you stop the antibiotics. I remember getting the home antibiotics for several weeks years ago - not fun! Hope your infection is on the way out.