Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

I have been off ropinirole for 35 days now!! And for the past 3 weeks I have been taking 20 mg.oxycodone. I was hoping to have some kind of normal life by now. But now feel the need to nap 2 and sometimes 3 times a day. I think I am getting 6 hours of sleep a night. However, my Fitbit registers only 1 hour of sleep without any REM or deep sleep. (Previous to going off the ropinirole it was registering 6 hours of sleep including REM and deep sleep)

My questions are:
Is it normal to feel tired/sleepy when taking oxycodone daily?
Does oxycodone cause poor quality sleep?
Is there a better opioid (I have refractory RLS) - for less daytime sleepiness and more quality sleep?

Thank you for any advice!

Most opioids will make you sleepy to start with. They can also cause alerting. Perhaps taking it a bit earlier may help.

I use Cocodamol at the daily max dose, also pregabalin which is for neuropathy but has the benefit of helping rls, and have no issues. However I've been on them for so long I can't recall anything about sleepiness.
Well done on getting off the ropinerole.

Lisamason5O wrote: Wed Sep 18, 2024 3:54 pm I have been off ropinirole for 35 days now!! And for the past 3 weeks I have been taking 20 mg.oxycodone. I was hoping to have some kind of normal life by now. But now feel the need to nap 2 and sometimes 3 times a day. I think I am getting 6 hours of sleep a night. However, my Fitbit registers only 1 hour of sleep without any REM or deep sleep. (Previous to going off the ropinirole it was registering 6 hours of sleep including REM and deep sleep)

My questions are:
Is it normal to feel tired/sleepy when taking oxycodone daily?
Does oxycodone cause poor quality sleep?
Is there a better opioid (I have refractory RLS) - for less daytime sleepiness and more quality sleep?

Thank you for any advice!

Congrats on the 35 days!

Do you have any symptoms on the oxy? You may be overmedicated - sometimes what we need those first 15 days or so is higher than what we need after that initial storm is over when stopping a DA. I find I do best when I have about 90-95% coverage. If I have 100% coverage, I am too sleepy during the day. I don't like having symptoms when sleeping (I wish I only had them prior to bed or during the afternoon, for example), but I keep my dose lower and I feel better.

BUT - to be completely honest, since my symptoms became strong enough that I needed medication, regardless of what I've taken, I've never been "normal." I think some people are, but many of us do not.

If it were me and I was new to opioids, I'd definitely ask for buprenorphine instead of methadone or oxy. It's much easier to get from the pharmacies and many people do very well on it.

Another option might be to reduce the oxy a bit and add gabapentin as it can help sleep architecture as well as help with symptoms. Doesn't always work and it can create daytime sleepiness initially, but after a couple weeks, that usually goes away.

Thank you so much for that insight. This disease is tough to deal with!

Lisamason5O wrote: Mon Sep 23, 2024 1:41 pm Thank you so much for that insight. This disease is tough to deal with!

A lot tougher than I initially thought when I was ok on 300 mg of Gabapentin. I too am on 20 mg of oxy daily plus 3,000 mg gabapentin. I also take take naps (1 a day) but usually an hour before my next dose of oxy. I get alerting after every dose which I like because I can get things done. I do find I can now (months into oxy treatment) power through the urge to sleep which disappears in 15 minutes or so. My 20 mg oxy dosage is about to increase to 30-40 mg so I have no idea what that's going to do to my napping behavior. Best of luck. Cheers.

I also try to power through the daytime sleepiness. I would say about 50% successful. I am grateful I am retired and can nap if needed. Why are you increasing your medication? (If I may ask?)

Best of luck to you also!

Lisamason5O wrote: Sun Sep 29, 2024 8:59 pm I also try to power through the daytime sleepiness. I would say about 50% successful. I am grateful I am retired and can nap if needed. Why are you increasing your medication? (If I may ask?)

Best of luck to you also!

No problem. The 20mg a day of oxy gradually became insufficient. I was experiencing symptoms a couple of hours before my next 5mm of oxy so my doctor increased the dose to 40mg a day. Funny thing is he was going to increase to 30 but found out oxy didn't come in 7.5mg tablets. I thought 40 would be too much so I dialed that back to 30-35mg. After a couple of week, I think 30 is about right. I find I am more sleepy now with this increased dosage. I too am retired so it's not a big deal to simply take a nap. But generally I'm kinda tired and that's bothering me some because I have painting to get to. I'm thankful however to not having symptoms like I was having.