Can some of you tell me please how you're legs are with the meds you are taking. 0r if indeed some of you not taking any meds?
gill (UK)
Your meds
1. I'm not sure if some or all of my medications are working properly
2. I'm not sure if some or all of my RLS medications are interfering with another medication for another illness (or vice/versa)
3. If I could get by WithOut medications ... I'd be on cloud 9
Remember that everyone of us is different when it comes not only to RLS, but if there are other illnesses/life problems that have to be factored into the equation as well.
NEVER ever assume that what works or doesnt work for another person will or wont work for you.
RLS is an individual journey, we just all happen to have the something with the same name on it.
NO-ONE has the EXACT same symptoms;
N0-ONE has the EXACT same timing of symptoms;
N0-ONE has the EXACT same medication dosage even though many people might be on the same medication;
NO-ONE has the EXACT same mix of medications;
NO-ONE takes their medications at the EXACT same time as everyone else.
NO-ONE has the EXACT same mix of RLS ... PLUS the other diseases/ailments each person has.
RLS IS INDIVIDUAL/UNIQUE TO EVERYONE.
Note to Mods: Yes, i'm climbing back into my hole now
2. I'm not sure if some or all of my RLS medications are interfering with another medication for another illness (or vice/versa)
3. If I could get by WithOut medications ... I'd be on cloud 9
Remember that everyone of us is different when it comes not only to RLS, but if there are other illnesses/life problems that have to be factored into the equation as well.
NEVER ever assume that what works or doesnt work for another person will or wont work for you.
RLS is an individual journey, we just all happen to have the something with the same name on it.
NO-ONE has the EXACT same symptoms;
N0-ONE has the EXACT same timing of symptoms;
N0-ONE has the EXACT same medication dosage even though many people might be on the same medication;
NO-ONE has the EXACT same mix of medications;
NO-ONE takes their medications at the EXACT same time as everyone else.
NO-ONE has the EXACT same mix of RLS ... PLUS the other diseases/ailments each person has.
RLS IS INDIVIDUAL/UNIQUE TO EVERYONE.
Note to Mods: Yes, i'm climbing back into my hole now
Nadia
My philosophy is simply this: Life is too short to be diplomatic. Your friends should not care what you do, or say; and for those who are not your friends ... their loss!!!
My philosophy is simply this: Life is too short to be diplomatic. Your friends should not care what you do, or say; and for those who are not your friends ... their loss!!!
Gill,
Here is the link to a U.S. Government website about RLS:
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/rest ... #106073237
At that website, under the section on "Treatment," here is what it says about the four classes of medications used to treat RLS:
.......
"Physicians also may suggest a variety of medications to treat RLS. Generally, physicians choose from dopaminergics, benzodiazepines (central nervous system depressants), opioids, and anticonvulsants.
"Dopaminergic agents, largely used to treat Parkinson's disease, have been shown to reduce RLS symptoms and PLMD and are considered the initial treatment of choice. Good short-term results of treatment with levodopa plus carbidopa have been reported, although most patients eventually will develop augmentation, meaning that symptoms are reduced at night but begin to develop earlier in the day than usual. Dopamine agonists such as pergolide mesylate, pramipexole, and ropinirole hydrochloride may be effective in some patients and are less likely to cause augmentation. In 2005, ropinirole became the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration specifically for the treatment of moderate to severe RLS. The drug was first approved in 1997 for patients with Parkinson’s disease.
"Benzodiazepines (such as clonazepam and diazepam) may be prescribed for patients who have mild or intermittent symptoms. These drugs help patients obtain a more restful sleep but they do not fully alleviate RLS symptoms and can cause daytime sleepiness. Because these depressants also may induce or aggravate sleep apnea in some cases, they should not be used in people with this condition.
"For more severe symptoms, opioids such as codeine, propoxyphene, or oxycodone may be prescribed for their ability to induce relaxation and diminish pain. Side effects include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and the risk of addiction.
"Anticonvulsants such as carbamazepine and gabapentin are also useful for some patients, as they decrease the sensory disturbances (creeping and crawling sensations). Dizziness, fatigue, and sleepiness are among the possible side effects."
.......
Gill, I am in the third category of opioids, and I take a mild version called Tylenol-Codeine #3, three pills a day. I would take something stronger, but I'm only 58 and I don't want to get full-blown addiction until I hopefully make it to 70. Some people here take stuff as strong as Methadone, a drug originally devised to help folks get off Heroin.
Now, as far as you having to be careful of combining what else you take with an RLS medicine, your physician should be familiar with interactions between what you're on now and what he might give you for RLS. And as a matter of fact, he might eliminate one or two that you're on now, becuz some drugs for RLS treat other symptoms, as well.
You can pull up the website I gave you at the top of this email, and write down key points and medicines that the National Institutes of Health talk about, or you can simply print the whole thing out. Also, THIS here RLS website we're on now, it has a similar analysis of RLS and recommended treatments, too, which you can also write down or print out what it says. OR you can give the good doctor the links to both those websites and HE can look them up. I also think the UK has an RLS website, and it might contain some useful information about medications, as well.
I hope all this endless info helps you, AND I hope you will additionally at the very least make a list of the top five or ten symptoms you have, things that bother you the most about RLS... for example, "Can't sleep, legs hurt worse than my arthritis, I feel like I'm going crazy, every time I lay down to relax my legs start spasming up, I cannot just watch TV anymore or take a nap," you know, stuff like that. That way, you won't have to think so much when you go into the doc's office, becuz you'll have it all written down what you want to say.
And I've said this before, but consider asking a friend who knows all about your suffering, to take you to the doc and go in there with you. I had told you before you need some support, someone to help lobby for you on this matter. You are a very polite and quiet person, so you may not impress the doctor well enough with what's bugging you, as good as your friend might, who is more objective.
GG
Here is the link to a U.S. Government website about RLS:
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/rest ... #106073237
At that website, under the section on "Treatment," here is what it says about the four classes of medications used to treat RLS:
.......
"Physicians also may suggest a variety of medications to treat RLS. Generally, physicians choose from dopaminergics, benzodiazepines (central nervous system depressants), opioids, and anticonvulsants.
"Dopaminergic agents, largely used to treat Parkinson's disease, have been shown to reduce RLS symptoms and PLMD and are considered the initial treatment of choice. Good short-term results of treatment with levodopa plus carbidopa have been reported, although most patients eventually will develop augmentation, meaning that symptoms are reduced at night but begin to develop earlier in the day than usual. Dopamine agonists such as pergolide mesylate, pramipexole, and ropinirole hydrochloride may be effective in some patients and are less likely to cause augmentation. In 2005, ropinirole became the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration specifically for the treatment of moderate to severe RLS. The drug was first approved in 1997 for patients with Parkinson’s disease.
"Benzodiazepines (such as clonazepam and diazepam) may be prescribed for patients who have mild or intermittent symptoms. These drugs help patients obtain a more restful sleep but they do not fully alleviate RLS symptoms and can cause daytime sleepiness. Because these depressants also may induce or aggravate sleep apnea in some cases, they should not be used in people with this condition.
"For more severe symptoms, opioids such as codeine, propoxyphene, or oxycodone may be prescribed for their ability to induce relaxation and diminish pain. Side effects include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and the risk of addiction.
"Anticonvulsants such as carbamazepine and gabapentin are also useful for some patients, as they decrease the sensory disturbances (creeping and crawling sensations). Dizziness, fatigue, and sleepiness are among the possible side effects."
.......
Gill, I am in the third category of opioids, and I take a mild version called Tylenol-Codeine #3, three pills a day. I would take something stronger, but I'm only 58 and I don't want to get full-blown addiction until I hopefully make it to 70. Some people here take stuff as strong as Methadone, a drug originally devised to help folks get off Heroin.
Now, as far as you having to be careful of combining what else you take with an RLS medicine, your physician should be familiar with interactions between what you're on now and what he might give you for RLS. And as a matter of fact, he might eliminate one or two that you're on now, becuz some drugs for RLS treat other symptoms, as well.
You can pull up the website I gave you at the top of this email, and write down key points and medicines that the National Institutes of Health talk about, or you can simply print the whole thing out. Also, THIS here RLS website we're on now, it has a similar analysis of RLS and recommended treatments, too, which you can also write down or print out what it says. OR you can give the good doctor the links to both those websites and HE can look them up. I also think the UK has an RLS website, and it might contain some useful information about medications, as well.
I hope all this endless info helps you, AND I hope you will additionally at the very least make a list of the top five or ten symptoms you have, things that bother you the most about RLS... for example, "Can't sleep, legs hurt worse than my arthritis, I feel like I'm going crazy, every time I lay down to relax my legs start spasming up, I cannot just watch TV anymore or take a nap," you know, stuff like that. That way, you won't have to think so much when you go into the doc's office, becuz you'll have it all written down what you want to say.
And I've said this before, but consider asking a friend who knows all about your suffering, to take you to the doc and go in there with you. I had told you before you need some support, someone to help lobby for you on this matter. You are a very polite and quiet person, so you may not impress the doctor well enough with what's bugging you, as good as your friend might, who is more objective.
GG
"It's not how old you are; it's how awful you feel."
-
ViewsAskew
- Moderator
- Posts: 16580
- Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 6:37 am
- Location: Los Angeles
Gil, here's the best you can do:
1. Print out the Algorithm. Click HEREto get to it.
2. Give the doctor the algorithm and explain it is what the Mayo Clinic recommends doctors use to treat RLS and decide what medications to use.
3. Take someone with you that can talk for you and explain how difficult it is for you.
4. Be nice, but firm. You need help.
1. Print out the Algorithm. Click HEREto get to it.
2. Give the doctor the algorithm and explain it is what the Mayo Clinic recommends doctors use to treat RLS and decide what medications to use.
3. Take someone with you that can talk for you and explain how difficult it is for you.
4. Be nice, but firm. You need help.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest
Managing Your RLS
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.
Managing Your RLS
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.
Actually, Methadone was first synthesized in Germany in 1937, as a result of research looking for a drug that was easier and safer to use during surgery, that was less addictive than Morphine. It was patented as Methadone/Dolophine in 1941, and Eli Lilly brought it to the US in 1947 as an analgesic.
That's the official story anyway. There is tons of mythology surrounding methadone that has contributed to its bad reputation. Some people say the Germans developed it so their opiate addict leaders wouldn't have to go through withdrawal after their supply was cut off. There is also the claim that the original name of Methadone was Dolophine "in honor of Adolf Hitler".... right.. Dolophine was just a trade name, like Tylenol, Bayer, etc..
Don't mean to derail the thread, but I hate seeing Methadone misinformation! (I know that wasn't your aim).
Gil, I've given you all the advice I am capable of in the past. But I will continue to hope you get the proper help and treatment you need.
That's the official story anyway. There is tons of mythology surrounding methadone that has contributed to its bad reputation. Some people say the Germans developed it so their opiate addict leaders wouldn't have to go through withdrawal after their supply was cut off. There is also the claim that the original name of Methadone was Dolophine "in honor of Adolf Hitler".... right.. Dolophine was just a trade name, like Tylenol, Bayer, etc..
Don't mean to derail the thread, but I hate seeing Methadone misinformation! (I know that wasn't your aim).
Gil, I've given you all the advice I am capable of in the past. But I will continue to hope you get the proper help and treatment you need.