Saw my neurologist Friday 4-11

ctravel12 · Post by **ctravel12** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 5:24 pm

I seen my neurologist last Friday (4-11) as I was having symptoms early on in the evening like one night 5 mins. before I took my meds, second night 5 mins. after I took my meds and then the third night about 45 min after I took my meds. I take the lowest dosage of Mirapex which is .125mg.

I told him that I also was getting some symptoms in my right arm and the symptoms was always in the left leg. I told him that I take 1/2 of the .125 mg of mirapex around 4pm to stop any onset of rls. He asked me if I was getting the symptoms in my arm afte 4 pm and told him no as it was usually around noon.

He wants me to take 1/4 of the pill at 12 noon, 1/4 of the pill at 3pm, 1/2 of the pill at 8 pm and the other half at 9 pm. It still the same dosage of .125mg so it is just being increased by 1/2 mg. Well I will start today as I forgot yesterday and started to getting some symptoms later on in the afternoon. Right now they are not bad and the arm seems fine now.

He also asked when was the last time I had my ferritin level checked and I believe it was sometime last Oct. Right now it is 50 and he wants me to have another b/w for my ferriting level when we come back from our trip which will be in two weeks I asked him what it should be and he said it should be 100-150. Until I return he has me taken iron pills. When I went to the pharmacist I told her that I need to take the lowest dosage otherwise I get very constipated (sorry for being so graphic)

We also talked about my sleep which is a story in it self. It has been horrible as I do go to sleep right away as I take my mirapex and clonazapem and within an hour I feel like a drunken sailor. It is staying asleep that I cannot do. I l sleep for about 2-3 hrs and may go back to sleep but the other night I woke up at 3:00 am and was still awake at 5:45 am and finally dozed off until 6:30 am.

So he suggested taken Ambien CR. Well I have not taken the med yet as I read too much of what it can do. He gave me samples ( 7 pills) I asked him why not just Ambien and he said it does not work that well.

I am going to try just what I am doing now and hope that when I am on our trip I will do better. I will not take the ambien cr with me. I will just hope for the best.

Thanks for listening to me.

Hos · Post by **Hos** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 6:12 pm

Sorry to hear all that for you. So, he suggests you take both the clonazapem and the Ambien CR? You'll really feel out of it if you take both. Maybe a drug holiday for the clonazapem and test out the Ambien CR?

It's a tough time for you to have such troubles before your big vacation, hopefully you and your dr will be able to tweak it quick to get you some relief.

ctravel12 · Post by **ctravel12** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 6:22 pm

Hos thanks for your concern. I am not going to take the Ambien CR right now. I do not feel comfortable about it and will continue to take the clonazapem right now. If I do decide to take the Ambien Cr will not do it on the trip and will just have to decide what to do later on. Thanks again.

Aiken · Post by **Aiken** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 8:59 pm

Just FYI, my doctor concurs with yours about ferritin levels. If memory serves, he likes to see 70+ for a normal person, and preferably over 100 for an RLS patient.

Every time I neglect my iron, my RLS gets a lot worse, so it can definitely make a difference for some of us...

Neco · Post by **Neco** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 9:13 pm

Ambien CR will probably be better than trying Ambien..

Hell, Ambien does nothing to me anymore.. Even Lunesta still makes it hard to get to sleep, or even drowsey.. I end up walking around feeling drunk/drugged or something and not sleeping..

At least with Ambien you won't get that awful metal taste in your mouth, like with Lunesta... ugh!

Post by **Polar Bear** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 5:42 pm

Charlene, I have been using ordinary Ambien for about 4 months and it has make a big difference to me because it is short acting and I don't have a hangover feeling next day when going to work.

I take 5mg when lying down to sleep. Generally I will wake up after about 3 hours, but if I don't get over to sleep again naturally I can take another, as long as it is not after 4 am. Sometimes I use only the one pill, sometimes I take the second pill, and have no side effects that I am aware of.

This is only my experience of ordinary Ambien.

Betty

blryan · Post by **blryan** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 10:36 pm

Charlene,
I have used Ambien CR and it works well for me with no side effects. I only take it occasionally. I do the same thing you do - wake up at 3am and then can't get back to sleep til 6. Then I have to get up for work!

Now my insurance is balking about paying for it. They want me to try regular Ambien first because it comes in a generic. Don't think it will work, I have no trouble getting to sleep - just staying asleep. We'll see what the neuro says in June at my next appointment.

Barb

eliza · Post by **eliza** » Tue Apr 15, 2008 3:11 am

Hi Charlene,

I take the generic Ambien too and it's been a God-send. I don't like the CR because it lasts into the next day for me. I also tried a tiny bit of clonazepam once and it nearly put me into a coma.

I go to sleep exhausted every night, but then wake up, so I don't take anything then (well maybe some methadone if my RLS is acting up). Since the ambien only lasts 3 hours or so, I can take it when I wake up and not worry about morning grogginess. The result is I take it on an as-needed basis. Sometimes I take none, some nights I take it as much as 3 times a night.

I've learned to not mess with my sleep. If I lay awake for more than a few minutes I get up and take some. Then I go right to sleep and it seems like a very natural sleep to me - I don't feel drugged. I always just take what I need, usually about 1/8 of a 10 mg pill.

I suggest you try a tiny piece and see how it does for you. For me it sure was a whole lot better than the clonazepam.

A word of caution. When I asked my pharmacist about drug interactions with my prescriptions he said never to take Ambien and triazolem at the same time; that they acted on the same systems. They're both benzodiazepines (hypnotics and sedatives) according to Dr. Buchfuhrer's book (pg 69). I see clonazepam is in the same list, so you might not want to mix the two. Maybe someone with more medical knowledge would comment on that.

Take care Charlene, and have an awesome trip!!!

Eliza :- )

Post by **Polar Bear** » Tue Apr 15, 2008 6:36 am

Perhaps someone can clarify, but I thought Ambien was NOT a benzo, I thought it just acted on some of the same receptors. This was why my neuro preferred it to diazepam as a sleep aid.

Betty

Aiken · Post by **Aiken** » Tue Apr 15, 2008 7:08 am

It's similar to a benzo, but it's much more selective in action. It's considered a hypnotic sedative. It definitely has some effects that are not like benzos, e.g. traveler's amnesia.

I have to agree that I wouldn't want to take a benzo and a similar hypnotic sedative together. I'd want some significant reassurances from my doctor about the safety of that.