Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

Wednesday 26 June 2024

Welcome today to

Kumarmuthiah who has been diagnoised with RLS over the last 2 months and has been having disturbed sleep over the last 3 months.
His impact zone is only the feet (not entire leg) and the hand (again not the entire hand, only the fingers). Feet are impacted more than the fingers in hand. Medication is Sifrol 0.75mg per day and Rivtoril 0.5 Mg (half tablet) every day.

You have been quite recently diagnosed. Have you had your Ferritin Serum checked, this has to be specifically requestedd as it is not a part of a normal blood panel. This is important as a level of 20+ may be consideered as 'normal' but us RLS sufferers fare better if our level is up around 100. It is important to know your level as this can influence what treatment is best for you. Sifrol at 0.75mg is quite high and you want to minimise your dosage to try and avoid Augmentation which is when the drug ceases to be of benefit and actually causes your RLS symptoms to worsen. It can be difficult to wean off this drug and it must be weaned off with the support of your doctor and not stopped cold turkey. If you have any any questions just make a post, and ask. We will do our best to help.

Wednesday 26 June 2024

Welcome today to

Suedoug whose Severe refractory RLS caused Suedoug to sell her business and retire early, totally rules her life. She wants to learn as much as she can about RLS, causes, treatments etc, and find support from a group of peers.

You are very welcome here although we are sorry that you need us. What a devastating effect RLS has had on your business life. We will all agree that RLS can rule our lives. However achieving some control can make such a difference and that's is what we try to help you with. You will find a lot of information across the Forums, probably starting with the Just Joined. If you have any questions just make a post and ask. You can also start your own thread if you wish. We are here to try and help.

Wednesday, June 26

Welcome to

kumarmuthiah, who has been diagnosed with RLS over the last 2 months and have been having disturbed sleep over the last 3 months.
His impact zone is only the feet (not entire leg) and the hand (again not the entire hand, only the fingers). Feet are impacted more than the fingers and hand. He has been taking medication (a) Sifrol 0.75mg per day and Rivtoril 0.5 Mg (half tablet) every day.

That is a large dose of Sifrol, especially starting out. The normal maximum recommended dose for RLS is 0.5mg and the starting dose is usually 0.125mg. But we are all different and we do what it takes. If you have any questions, feel free to post a message and we will try to help.

Friday 28 June 2024

Welcome today to

STANLEY whose RLS has plagued him for years. In 2005 he was prescribed requip which worked beautifully until it didn’t, eventually making the symptoms worse. Eventually, STANLEY used tamazapam 60mg for years but they too stopped working for both sleep and my quietening his legs. He is currently using gabapentin 3x300mg daily. They’ve helped but at this point his sleep pattern is so out of sync he is averaging 3-4 hrs night.

Lack of sleep is usually what drives an RLS sufferer to seek help. When the requip started to make your symptoms worse you would (probably) have been suffering augmentation. Following augmentation it is unlikely that gabapentin on its own would be sufficient to give adequate relief. Has your doctor checked your Ferritin Serum level which you would want to be up around 100 and not just the considered normal, normal can be anything from 20+. Make sure you know your number. Also this test has to be specifically requested, it is not part of a normal blood panel. Raising your FS is sometimes sufficient to help symptoms. It may be that you need to supplement your gabapentin with another medication. If you have any questions please make a post and also give details of previous medications and what has or has not helped. We are here to try and help you.