Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

Brenda,

I'm worried about the depression and falling asleep side effects of Klonopin. Did you have any of those?

Of course, they all have side effects, don't they?

Thanks, Rachel

Hi Rachel,

Every medicine has side effects. I was on so many meds to try to get me to sleep that i think i've had every side effect there is!

However, in my case i have not had one single problem with my cocktail.
I take everything between 2-3 sometimes 4 hours before i want to go to bed. I usually take the Niquil about an hour before,it's the kicker. It's like it makes everything else kick in.

I don't take daytime meds right now, i have Ultram written should my legs act up but 99 out of 100 days i don't take them during the day.

I believe taking meds that make us drowsy during the day makes us sleepy and is counterproductive.
I won't even have a beer during the day for that reason and then i decide i don't want to get up all nite to go to the bathroom so i don't it then either and i LOVE beer. It just isn't right for my RLS.

I don't wake up during the night and sleep sound. It's just everything i prayed about for so many years..I can't begin to tell anyone here how strongly i feel about RLS and Klonopin but i can't advise either.

what you and your doctor decide, good luck!

brenda

Brenda,

I think that's what my doctor is trying to do with me at night, but he gives me Darvocet instead of Klonopin.

He has me in Mirapex during the day, and I don't think it's working well. I'm tugging, pulling, crawling, and finally twitching in the early afternoon hours. It's ridiculous.

I'm just so tired of all of this.

Rachel

Hi Rachael, do not know if I welcomed you to this group, if not, I am glad that you joined us but not glad that you have rls.

How long have you been on mirapex and what mgs are you taking? Reason for these questions is that you mention that you have rls during the early afternoon hours. You may be augmenting (having rls anytime of the day or night.) There is a sticky post on augmenting. I believe that it is in the forum New to RLS, but not sure.

I hope that you are doing fine. I take clonazapem .75mg and mirapex but with the mirapex the dosage is .125 mg and I half that at night time. I only take both meds just before retiring and so far is working fine.

I know that what works for one may not always work for someone else. I am not a dr nor have any medical knowledge; only what I read on the other posts.

Please keep us posted and let us know how you are doing.

Klonopin is the name brand for clonazapem. Check it on WebMD.

20 years ago, Klonopin was the drug of choice for RLS. It just didn't work for the majority of those who took it. That's why they kept searching for other answers. It just isn't that effective for the majority of us. It's great, though, that it does help some and that when other things don't work, it's there for them.

If you compare efficacy, side effects, withdrawal, dependence, possibility of addicyion, and the number of people helped, I imagine that the dopamine agonists come out on top. When you factor in augmentation, opioids are probably are very, very close second.

I guess I grudgingly agree that it makes the most sense to try the dopamine agonists for daily RLS that affects your quality of life. But, ultimately, some of us do better on opioids, some of us on benzos, some of us on anti-seizure. . . I just wish there were better ways to determine ahead of time what is most likely to work for a person so we didn't have to go through so much to get to the one that works.

Both daughter and myself doing well on Klonopin.

I was on all 3 Dopamine agents with side affects.((FYI))

Hi Brenda. I also took requip and the side effects were awful. I know some people do well, but I was one of them that it did not work. I know what works for one may not work for someone else. Clonazapem does work well for me and that is the most important thing is if the med is working for someone I say "go for it"

I know alot of people have to go through a cocktail of meds to see what works for them and sometimes that can be pure h***. I know I have been there and do not want to go there again.

If we all took the same meds, guess we would not be having any problems and there would not be a support group here for us to have these discussions.

Have a good day.

[quote="ctravel

I know alot of people have to go through a cocktail of meds to see what works for them and sometimes that can be pure h***. I know I have been there and do not want to go there again.

ctravel
Yeah i agree, i went through wanting to die because of no sleep and life wasn't worth living and thus the diagnosis of depression.

THEN i finally found the right medicine and WALA no depression. Kinda makes the medical world fools at times.
What i was suffering from was lack of sleep like jet lag years and years.

I am so blessed i can't even describe how that makes me feel.

And still this past 1+ year with terrible daily stress with my husband having kidney cancer,we just finished his 3rd surgery and once again waiting for the wound to heal from the inside out..

ANd daughter with that tumor behund her eye,

The stress had no affect on my sleep, suprise to me!

hugs everyone!

I would love love love if there were no longer a need for this or any other board because everyone was sleeping!

Oh Brenda please keep us posted on how your husband is doing. I did not know that your daughter has a tumor behind her eye.

What you are going through. I say prayers everynight for all of the rls family and will say extra ones for your hubby and daughter.

I am so glad that you are doing fine yourself with your rls now hoping that everything else goes well with your family.

Please keep us posted. Like I have said before, we are one huge family and I do care what happens to everyone.

Hang in there Brenda. God is on your side and will help you through this.

ctravel wrote:How long have you been on mirapex and what mgs are you taking? Reason for these questions is that you mention that you have rls during the early afternoon hours. You may be augmenting (having rls anytime of the day or night.) There is a sticky post on augmenting. I believe that it is in the forum New to RLS, but not sure.

Hi Charlene,

Yes, you were one of the first to welcome me. If I could get the *%&# Emoticons to work on this old Mac, I would put a happy face here.

I have probably been on Mirapex for about 2-3 years. I recently saw the doctor, and he doesn't want to give up yet on the Mirapex. I'm taking anywhere from .50 to .75 mgs. I refuse to switch to the Requip for a few weeks anymore because it gives me nausea.

I have had the twitching in the afternoon even before I started Mirapex or even went to a doctor at all, for that matter. Not to say I'm not augmenting, but I just don't know anymore.

I started journaling my symptoms yesterday. I didn't want to before b/c I think about my legs all the time anyway, but I need something to take to the doctor. I know some people think I need to switch doctors, but I don't want to yet. I feel comfortable with him. I can tell him when I think nothing's working. It's just too bad I just can't hack into his computer system and write myself a prescrip for every single drug that may remotely work.

Ugh. Not in a happy mood today. Put an irritated Emoticon here.

Rachel

Hi Rachel Thanks for your nice post. When you go into typing a post does your emoticons show up to the left of it? It does on mine; however I do not have a Mac computer

The mgs on the mirapex is not high. You said that the requip made you nauseated. When I was taking it, it made me nauseated too. Then one of the members, Corrie, suggest that I split the dosage. I used to take 1 mg so I would take. .5mg around 6 pm my time and then .5m about 1-2 hrs before retiring and that definitely took the nausea away. I had to stop requip as it did not agree with me.

I agree with not changing dr as if you like him and he is willing to work with you that is the most important thing. Love your comment in hacking into his computer. What we would like to do when we are miserable. Believe me I have been down that road.

I sure hope that you are able to find some relief real soon and be back smiling like this

ctravel wrote:
I sure hope that you are able to find some relief real soon and be back smiling like this

Okay, Charlene,

I'm going to try to Emoticons. Here is goes!!!



Rachel

IT WORKED! IT WORKED!

Here all this time I thought when you hit the button, the yellow thing would actually come up on your screen while typing like that.

Charlene,
you have done your good deed for the day! Here in Ohio it is around 5:30 a.m. (half an hour late off my get ready for work schedule) ,but I don't know where you are!

DOESN'T MATTER! You have given me hope that I can use the *&^%
Emoticons.

Whoopee!

Rachel

thanks my friends,family.

Besides my dh and dd we took my troubled nephew in in December, it was horrible. Anyway he ended up leaving abruptly and now is in foster care.

This was the same time my dear brother, my only real support, my go to person was instantly killed in a motorcycle accident.

Yes it's been a horrible year.

Even more horrible for my husband. He's been extremely moody,angry and i don't know how to handle this..

I say enough already.

brenda