Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

OK - I'm close to a decision. I checked and Dr B is in town starting on the 12th of September. If I get to CA by the 28-29th, I can sign up for insurance that would start on the 1st of September - no drivers license needed. I can transfer my cell phone bill to CA then, too. When I get my first bills, I can get a driver's license. That will allow me access to medical marijuana. I'll see if I can get an appt on the 12th so that I can get started right away.

Unless anyone knows of any reason that a 3rd infusion would be dangerous, I'll likely go for that first. Then tweak drugs while we wait to see if the infusion works. Hopefully I can come back to Illiniois by late September and finish preparing to move all my stuff. I'd rather just stay in CA, lol, as spending more time in Illinois during the winter is one of the many reasons I am moving!

I just have to hear from my cousin to make sure she's OK with me descending on her for a month to 6 weeks! Since she doesn't cook much and I like to, she's usually quite happy to have me there. I often have dinner ready when she comes home - a luxury a single person rarely gets. But I've never stayed more than 2 weeks at a time...

Ann, if your cousin agrees, is there any reason why you can't transfer the billing address for your cell phone right now? That way you would have the document that you need for CA residency upon arrival. That would speed up getting your driver's license and MMJ access.

Sounds like a good plan.

Steve - that's what I plan to do as long as she's willing. She may be traveling for work - I haven't had a response from her, yet. She's not a big social media or email person, so going a few days without a response it's a big deal...but I am checking my emails just a tad too often, lol. I could text her, but that seems a bit too forward when I'm asking so much from her.

I did find out that she doesn't have to be my landlord and sign a lease, which might make her more inclined. The cell phone and insurance bills in my name at her address are enough to get my DL.

She agreed! She's house sitting a new fury friend (she has another dog) and her niece may be staying part of the time, too, so it will be a full house.

I already made the appt with Dr. B and have emailed him about the situation. I will change my cell phone mailing address very soon and fly out there sometime before the end of the month to get the insurance thing started. It's all coming together. Now, let's just hope it works because it's almost 7 AM and I haven't slept yet tonight, darn it!

Sorry to hear about your night, but the rest of the news is fantastic. I really hope that it all continues to work out smoothly!

Thanks, Steve. Fingers crossed, knock on wood, and all that . I booked flight shortly after I wrote the above. Three days ago flights were cheap. Then all the sudden they were 100% more. This morning, they were absurdly cheap. I found a RT from Chicago to LA for $98 !!!!!!!! I didn't even use miles because it was a waste given how the miles work. I will be there before the end of the month, hopefully with enough time to resolve any issues if there are any.

Wow, a whopping whole 1 hour of sleep last night. I could get more, but to do so I either have to go past the .25 mg pramipexole or the 25 mg of methadone - trying to avoid both. Kratom helps me sleep, but doesn't do nearly enough for the sensations, same with gabapentin.

I realized that stopping the methadone for a month was a game-changer. Because of dependence, I'd been taking a low dose (for me) during the week with a low-ish dose of pramipexole, then only the methadone on the weekends. But, I had the methadone in my system all the time. That half life provides likely the equivalent of another 5 mg. When I stopped it and started using it only on the weekends, I didn't have that build up in my body - so I need more. I also lost the tolerance to the itching that had occurred over time. If I take more than 10 mg, the itching is so intense I wander around with a body brush as well as keep one bedside.

But, my head is clearer not using the methadone daily than it has been for a LONG time. If I had sleep and no more depression, I could actually accomplish something! The tricky thing will be to see if we can cover the majority of symptoms without putting me back into a daily methadone coma along with the evening hyper vigilance.

I am so impressed - you made a decision and really went for it. Go girl !!

Damn, PB, I am so freakin' tired. I'd do just about anything right now if I thought it might help. I look at it as a decision that took years to make, lol, but seems like I did it fast :-0.

That's interesting about the itching. I never had the itching before, but since I stopped the Methadone and then restarted it, I now have it once in awhile. Luckily, it's not every night. I'm also taking a lower dose than before. Only 10 mg for the night. I'm sorry that you aren't sleeping.

I had it in the beginning - terribly. But, I eventually acclimated. Now it's like it was at the beginning. Yeesh, I don't like it.

My not sleeping is just a drop in the bucket of our collective not sleeping, right? Trying to see it as temporary.

I hope that once you get to CA and get your license that you find that the MMJ helps your sleep as much as it does mine. Last week while I was off of it, I was getting about 6 hrs of very broken sleep. I started again two nights ago with half the dose that I was taking and got 8.3 and 7.5 hrs with only one bathroom break.

Steve - that would make me so very happy, to quote Blood Sweat and Tears .

Oh, good luck to you, Ann! I am very proud of you for making this difficult decision. I see so many people who get stuck in difficult situations, but who don't have the--grit, maybe?--to pull themselves out of it. Moving is a very stressful, difficult thing to do, but I can truthfully say that, with all of the moves we've made over the last forty years, they all ended up being for the better.

Here's my tip for cleaning out things, and sorting, and packing--download some good audio books to listen to while you're working. Or find some good podcasts on your phone. Listening to something interesting always makes work go faster for me.

And hooray for you!!!!

Mary

Thanks, Mary. This was, in many ways, easy for me. I've lived in multiple places. But other than a contract job in Canada a few years ago, my husband has never been away from this area. None of his family members have ever moved away - and that includes cousins - they are all here within 25 miles of each other. It's taken me two years to get my MIL to not hate me because I'm breaking up the family and taking her oldest away. I received a hateful email from one of the siblings six or so months ago telling me that I must not be trying very hard to find a doctor here. I've tried to flow with the resistance and hope that eventually it would be better. And, finally, it is.

It's funny you mentioned podcasts. I'm not much of a phone call person and I wouldn't even likely have a cell phone except for pod casts and radio stations that play both music and podcasts .