Hi!
I'm curious. How many of you RLSers out there drive especially the ones that are taking stronger Opiates and Mirapex which is known to induce sleep w/o any warning whatsoever and can happen while driving. It's happened to me a couple of times. tt was very scary. It was only a few seconds that I nodded off, however, my car was starting to veer towards the ditch. I'm totally thanikful that I was able to get my car under control and nobody got hurt or there was an accident.
My RLS has gotten quite a bit worse since I had hip replacement surgery and
I'm afraid my doctor is going to prescribe an Opoif and consequently, I'll have to give up my driving which will really plunge my depression into the depths of dispair. Having to give up my driving is like having to give up myi-independence. I think I'd rather walk the floors than have to give up my driving. Of course, it really isn't safe to drive with RLS either.
C
RLS and driving
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Polar Bear
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I take requip and have never found it to induce sleep without warning. i also take it with tramadol. Many times I have been tired from lack of sleep but not I believe because of the medication.
If your doctor prescribes an Opiod do you think this could induce sleep without warning. I thought it was just the DAs.
I drive a lot and can understand that you would not wish to cease driving. It is a lifeline, independence. and your own freedom.
If your doctor prescribes an Opiod do you think this could induce sleep without warning. I thought it was just the DAs.
I drive a lot and can understand that you would not wish to cease driving. It is a lifeline, independence. and your own freedom.
Betty
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ViewsAskew
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I don't find that the opioids make me sleepy. They do the opposite for me, actually.
I am not positive of this, but I think that many people adjust to these things when they take them regularly. Neurontin, benzos, Lyrica, opioids...all are known for making some people tired/lethargic/sleepy for the first few days or weeks, but then it goes back to normal. And many don't seem to be affected at all.
All you can do is try. You won't know if you don't. And it can't get better, either.
I am not positive of this, but I think that many people adjust to these things when they take them regularly. Neurontin, benzos, Lyrica, opioids...all are known for making some people tired/lethargic/sleepy for the first few days or weeks, but then it goes back to normal. And many don't seem to be affected at all.
All you can do is try. You won't know if you don't. And it can't get better, either.
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.
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SquirmingSusan
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It's been my experience that the sleepiness from taking opiates goes away within a few days to a week. Of course, if you've only ever taken them after major surgery, you probably didn't make it past that point, and associate them with extreme sleepiness. I started to take Vicodin after having augmentation from Requip, and after a couple days I was wide awake, and it even helped me a bit with being more alert. After a time, I switched to methadone and haven't had any issues from that with being sleepy. The only side effect I have from that is constipation, and it is severe. But I manage it by eating a lot of fiber.
You'll never know unless you try. If you're miserable with the RLS, it's totally worth a try, in my opinion. You might do quite well with them, and get your quality of life back. I've never heard of opiates causing sleep attacks, once you're beyond that adjustment period of a few days.
You only have your misery to lose by trying those medications. If they don't work for you, you can stop taking them and move on to something else. But I understand that they work for upwards of 90 percent of people with RLS, and with minimal side effects.
You'll never know unless you try. If you're miserable with the RLS, it's totally worth a try, in my opinion. You might do quite well with them, and get your quality of life back. I've never heard of opiates causing sleep attacks, once you're beyond that adjustment period of a few days.
You only have your misery to lose by trying those medications. If they don't work for you, you can stop taking them and move on to something else. But I understand that they work for upwards of 90 percent of people with RLS, and with minimal side effects.
Susan
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badnights
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The DA side effect of falling asleep without warning is somewhat rare. I suspect you were falling asleep because you're deathly tired from years of poor sleep.
Most (all???) of us on opioids are driving, as far as I know. I drive while my meds are in full effect. The only med I don't drive on is the zopiclone (sleeping pill), because it DOES make me powerfully sleepy. You can tell if you're excessively tired, and you are your own best judge of that.
Do you have to pass a medical to keep your drivers license? If so, that's worrisome because some doctors just don't get it. What they should understand is this: if the opioids make you sleepy, you don't drive AFTER you've taken them, just like you don't drive after drinking alcohol. And if the opioids don't make you sleepy, you can drive after taking them.
1. Take the opioids if your doctor suggests them. You need them, and they will probably make you a safer driver.
2. Worry about how to fight for your right to drive IF and only if there is a problem. There might not be.
You can always add it to your list of things to ask the doctor about.
Beth
Most (all???) of us on opioids are driving, as far as I know. I drive while my meds are in full effect. The only med I don't drive on is the zopiclone (sleeping pill), because it DOES make me powerfully sleepy. You can tell if you're excessively tired, and you are your own best judge of that.
Do you have to pass a medical to keep your drivers license? If so, that's worrisome because some doctors just don't get it. What they should understand is this: if the opioids make you sleepy, you don't drive AFTER you've taken them, just like you don't drive after drinking alcohol. And if the opioids don't make you sleepy, you can drive after taking them.
1. Take the opioids if your doctor suggests them. You need them, and they will probably make you a safer driver.
2. Worry about how to fight for your right to drive IF and only if there is a problem. There might not be.
You can always add it to your list of things to ask the doctor about.
Beth
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
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driving
Hi Carol: Just saw this.
I've been taking clonazepam (which I can't seem to get off of, even though I'm trying) and 20 mg. Methadone at night, for quite a while now. I'm not sure why it never happened before, but this past summer I started falling asleep as I was driving -- usually on the highway, but also in town sometimes. I think it's a combo of those powerful drugs and, as someone suggested, so many years of being sleep deprived.
I had to stop driving on the highway. Then one day my grandson was in the car and I was driving around Denver and felt it coming on. These scenarios are horrific. None of us wants to stop driving. What I do now is bike if I possibly can (have never gone to sleep on my bike!), or walk, or just drive very short distances. What I'm hoping is that I will get off the clonazepam and the Methadone and that this will not be a problem anymore. But: please be so careful!! You know what you're dealing with. And there aren't laws against it, but we have to monitor ourselves.
I've been taking clonazepam (which I can't seem to get off of, even though I'm trying) and 20 mg. Methadone at night, for quite a while now. I'm not sure why it never happened before, but this past summer I started falling asleep as I was driving -- usually on the highway, but also in town sometimes. I think it's a combo of those powerful drugs and, as someone suggested, so many years of being sleep deprived.
I had to stop driving on the highway. Then one day my grandson was in the car and I was driving around Denver and felt it coming on. These scenarios are horrific. None of us wants to stop driving. What I do now is bike if I possibly can (have never gone to sleep on my bike!), or walk, or just drive very short distances. What I'm hoping is that I will get off the clonazepam and the Methadone and that this will not be a problem anymore. But: please be so careful!! You know what you're dealing with. And there aren't laws against it, but we have to monitor ourselves.
I agree with the other posters, opiates will not cause you to fall asleep at the wheel, but of course the Mirapex CAN with some people and is clearly listed as a possible side effect. But it could very well be that combining the two pushed the Mirapex over the edge on that issue, if you were taking both when you when you fell asleep.
Others are more familiar with switching off Mirapex to just an opiate, and also how long Mirapex stays in the body, but you could go off it and just take an opiate. For me, opiates are ALL I take for RLS and it is controlled very well that way. So, perhaps you could talk to your prescribing doc for Mirapex and let him explain how to go off it for a while, and then you can pick up with an opiate for your hip surgery problems, and yet you won't lose the control over RLS, except perhaps for some temporary few days of withdrawal, even tho the opiate should cover that.
My advice in general, tho, is you should NOT drive until you get this sorted out. I know, I know, you must have your car. But there are other ways, as I have had to get around somehow when car was in the shop: I did take the bus to work and sometimes got a ride with a coworker, I also called cabs a LOT, and once in a while I'd get a neighbor to take me if I had to get somewhere quick. You could do that for a couple weeks, easy, and if absolutely necessary, you can take a little time off work, and if you have children to take places, other mothers or relatives or a good friend can take over that job for you.
Let us know what happens. Be careful! GG
Others are more familiar with switching off Mirapex to just an opiate, and also how long Mirapex stays in the body, but you could go off it and just take an opiate. For me, opiates are ALL I take for RLS and it is controlled very well that way. So, perhaps you could talk to your prescribing doc for Mirapex and let him explain how to go off it for a while, and then you can pick up with an opiate for your hip surgery problems, and yet you won't lose the control over RLS, except perhaps for some temporary few days of withdrawal, even tho the opiate should cover that.
My advice in general, tho, is you should NOT drive until you get this sorted out. I know, I know, you must have your car. But there are other ways, as I have had to get around somehow when car was in the shop: I did take the bus to work and sometimes got a ride with a coworker, I also called cabs a LOT, and once in a while I'd get a neighbor to take me if I had to get somewhere quick. You could do that for a couple weeks, easy, and if absolutely necessary, you can take a little time off work, and if you have children to take places, other mothers or relatives or a good friend can take over that job for you.
Let us know what happens. Be careful! GG
"It's not how old you are; it's how awful you feel."
sleep
As in every aspect of this strange disorder, we're all different. I started on Methadone to get off Mirapex, and that worked. But I'm still stuck with clonazepam, although I think I'm to the point where I can more easily get off it.
You should know that clonazepam has a very long "half-life," meaning it will stay with you for a long time. I don't know about Mirapex. But as we mix these potent drugs, it's probably good to keep a journal or have someone watch us sometimes. During my worst time, I would fall asleep talking to someone. I don't do that now and I don't know why.
You should know that clonazepam has a very long "half-life," meaning it will stay with you for a long time. I don't know about Mirapex. But as we mix these potent drugs, it's probably good to keep a journal or have someone watch us sometimes. During my worst time, I would fall asleep talking to someone. I don't do that now and I don't know why.
I am on Ropinirole (Requip) and the contra indications do warn that it can cause sudden somnolence (sleepiness), and it does. |It has happened to me four times now, 3 of them while I was out walking, and I had to literally stop at a bus stop or somewhere that I could actually sit or lean against something, till it passed (about 30 minutes) and once while I was driving. That was so scary and so dangerous. And I couldn't stop as nowhere convenient at time, I literally had to just fight the feeling, but it was very powerful. Thankfully it hasn't happened again while I was driving. The times when it happened while walking I was literally falling asleep on my feet, and jolted myself awake enough to realise I was actually walking into the road! The thing is, when I stopped at the bus stop to recover, the RLS wouldn't let me sit still anyway. So I was literally falling asleep in the street but also having an attack of RLS/WED. No answer to that one....I am desperately trying to cut down/cut out completely the Ropinirole as a few of the lovely people on this site will know from the numerous posts I leave on this site. Hoping that accomplishing that will give me some of my long lost energy back and also give backthe long lost sister/partner/daughter/mother to the people that I love.
Methadone is particularly nasty when it comes to driving. There are some days where I am physically fighting to stay awake at the wheel, on the way to work, on the way home, etc..
In general I almost always take a nap in the middle of the day as well. Methadone is the only medication this has really happened with, although I've had it happen before starting methadone too, but I think it was just because I was tired.
Generally I will not drive for a 5 - 6 hour period during the day, unless it is around town.. I even went so far as to get concessions from my merchandising job that I can either work for a couple hours in the morning straight after my other job (since I don't need my methadone until I start sitting around), or I will go out later in the afternoon after I've taken my meds.
In general I almost always take a nap in the middle of the day as well. Methadone is the only medication this has really happened with, although I've had it happen before starting methadone too, but I think it was just because I was tired.
Generally I will not drive for a 5 - 6 hour period during the day, unless it is around town.. I even went so far as to get concessions from my merchandising job that I can either work for a couple hours in the morning straight after my other job (since I don't need my methadone until I start sitting around), or I will go out later in the afternoon after I've taken my meds.