SISTER AWAKE No solution, No peace

[tazzer]

I dont know if you went to this website yet, hazel told you about the Dr. who does the site, but I copied and pasted it for you to read. It's not much, but it might help.

http://www.rlshelp.org/


dee


(7) Pregnancy and RLS
Pregnancy can cause a worsening of RLS (in at least 50% of patients who have RLS and become pregnant) or be the first time that a patient experiences RLS symptoms. It usually occurs in the third trimester and has been reported in up to 12% of all pregnancies. 10% of women will have their first experience with RLS during pregnancy. The RLS symptoms will usually go away after the pregnancy, then often come back later in life. Various problems such as iron or folate deficiency have been postulated as causes, but the real reason why RLS worsens with pregnancy is unknown.

If the symptoms are severe enough to warrant drug therapy, then the sedative category of medication has been used for treatment (with the approval of the patient's obstetrician). Many RLS specialists will prescribe the opioid category of medication during pregnancy, due to their safety in pregnancy.

The risk of RLS medication in pregnancy is as follows (Category A,B,C,D,X, where A is the best and X is the worst and should never be taken during pregnancy; Category A drugs are quite safe and have a proven track record in pregnancy, Category B drugs have limited data and experience and should be used only if clearly needed, Category C drugs generally have no adequate or well controlled studies in pregnant women and should be used only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus):

Pregnancy Risk Category
Drug Name

A
None

B
Pergolide (but limited data), Ambien, Percodan (short term use), Dostinex, Ambien, methadone (low dose), Percocet, Percodan, OxyContin

C
Mirapex, Requip, Sinemet, Ultram, Darvon (short term use), codeine (short term use), Vicodin or Lortab (for short term use), Sonata, Lunesta, Tegretol, Neurontin, Catapress

D
Xanax, Klonopin (and most benzodiazepine sedatives),
Darvon, codeine, Vicodin, Percodan, all for long term use, methadone (higher doses)

X
Restoril






Pregnant women should be checked for anemia and proper iron supplementation as indicated. Magnesium (used for treatment of toxemia of pregnancy) has recently been looked at for treating RLS, but this is only in the preliminary stages.

Nursing mothers can be treated with Darvocet (Darvon). Small levels of this drug will get into the breast milk, but no adverse effects have been noted in the infants getting the breast milk. Sedatives do get into the breast milk and can cause lethargy in the infants, so this class of medication should be avoided in nursing mothers. Dopamine agents may decrease lactation (milk production).

For more information on the risks of drugs in pregnancy or with breast feeding check out Motherisk Program or the Organization of Teratology.
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