Insomnia

[Vichic]

:yawn: 4.30 am & im the only person browsing on here. I feel cheated if everyone is sleeping except m4.30 am & im the only person browsing on here. I feel cheated if everyone is sleeping except me. I never get to sleep before the sun comes up. Chronic Insomnia for 50 years, not actually caused by RLS but certainly exaserbated by it. Aren’t I the lucky one....double whammy.e. I never get to sleep before the sun comes up. Chronic Insomnia for 50 years, not actually caused by RLS but certainly exaserbated by it. Aren’t I the lucky one....double whammy. I find the 2 conditions impact greatly on each other. The less sleep I’ve had = more likely to have RLS. Then for me there’s a definite connection to Anxiety which zbecomes worse & just makes everything more difficult. It all. Seems to build. Up like a Volcano which leaves me emotionally & physically drained. Do many other members have this complication.?:yawn: :yawn:

[Rustsmith]

Vichic, research that was completed a couple of years ago found that the insomnia is simply a different side of RLS. So, your insomnia may simply be due to RLS and not two different conditions. That is part of the reason why the RLS treatment guidelines were recently modified so that the first line treatment is now treatment for low iron (when present), followed by meds such as gabapentin or Lyrica (because the can help you fall asleep) and only when those fail should a doctor think about using the dopamine agonists that used to be handed out so freely.

So, you asked if others have this complication -- the answer is that almost all of us do.

[ViewsAskew]

Prior to medication, insomnia was my constant companion - even as a child. Now, thankfully, after lots of trial and error, I have medications that help a lot.

Tell us more about how you are managing your symptoms and if you are taking anything - prescription or otherwise.

[Polar Bear]

Trust me, you are not the only one up and about during the night. At 4.30am I was also awake and had been for several hours though not on the discussion board.
Of course as I am in the UK, my 4.30 is not your 4.30.
Most nights I see the sun come up and hear the dawn chorus.

[badnights]

Yup, the movement symptoms get worse the less sleep I\ve had, and the anxiety rises along with it. As Steve mentioned the insomnia is a part of the disease, though it is not currently listed as a diagnostic feature. We have too much glutamate in our brains. Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter, which activates our brains even though we're tired and want to sleep. It\'s part of the disease somehow, but most doctors don't know that yet.

Are you taking medication for the WED/RLS? Most of us find that opioids have an alerting effect on us, opposite to what the general population might experience. Also the dopamine agonists can potentially cause insomnia. (Odd, isn't it, that the medications we take to help us sleep can cause insomnia??)

[debbluebird]

I am finding that hemp oil is helping with my insomnia. It makes me very sleepy. As long as my legs are quiet, then off to sleep I go. I just have to remember to take it if I've been awake more than an hour. Sorry to say, it doesn't seem to help with my legs.

[ViewsAskew]

I am finding that hemp oil is helping with my insomnia. It makes me very sleepy. As long as my legs are quiet, then off to sleep I go. I just have to remember to take it if I've been awake more than an hour. Sorry to say, it doesn't seem to help with my legs.

That is great, Deb!

[Frunobulax]

:yawn: 4.30 am & im the only person browsing on here.

Chances are 4:30 am for you is something like 1:30pm for me, give or take a few hours

[QyX]

Carbamazepine helped me a few years with my insomnia. Unfortunately I could already tell after a few months that I was developing a tolerance and after 3 1/2 years Carbamazepine was not effective anymore. I feel like the insomnia associated with RLS is the hardest problem to solve.

Cannabis might be a solution for many patients when other anticonvulsants like Lyrica and Gabapentin are not effective.

[debbluebird]

I'm not buying hemp oil anymore. Just too expensive for me. It didn't always help anyway.
I find that I sometimes can sleep from about 10 pm to around 2am. Then I'm awake until sometime in the morning. 5, 6, 7 or 8am. Then so usually can sleep a few more hours. Sometimes I don't sleep in the evening and I'm awake until 2am or so, then I can sleep. On those nights my legs are usually the ones to keep me from sleeping. Tonight it's insomnia. I slept 10pm to 2 am. It's now going on 4am. Waiting to get sleepy.
Besides my legs keeping me from sleeping I feel that the meds have me so messed up, giving me insomnia. I feel tired, just not enough to sleep.

[debbluebird]

The last few nights it has not been insomnia. It's RLS and my leg spasms. I was only able to sleep 30 min earlier tonight. Legs are keeping me from sleeping. I probably need to wean off methadone, but I have nothing to replace it, even temporary.

[Polar Bear]

Why do you need to wean off your methadone?

[debbluebird]

It's no longer working. I can't increase the dose because of my heart. I'm lucky my Doctors agree to let me take methadone in the first place.

[Polar Bear]

deb.... I understand now.

[QyX]

It's no longer working. I can't increase the dose because of my heart. I'm lucky my Doctors agree to let me take methadone in the first place.

Other opioids like Oxycodone or Morphine don't increase the Qt-interval.

Methadone can indeed be very problematic regarding the cardiovascular system which is why I don't understand why so many physicians in the U.S. prefer using Methadone as first line opioid for RLS when many other alternatives are available.