Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

Hi Friends,
I have RLS since 2021. I was on gabapentin for nearly 3 years and was able to get off it through some alternative treatments.
I am a very anxious and fearful person. I have had several traumas and have been diagnosed with Complex PTSD.
When I tried antidepressants and anti anxiety medications, my RLS became really bad and unmanageable. Right now I am not on any psychotropic drugs for that reason. If anxiety hits, I take gabapentin and it works.
Recently I heard about ketamine infusion therapy as a way to deal with complex PTSD and that 6 infusions taken over 3-5 weeks really helps improve the neural pathways to help reduce anxiety and negative feelings towards past traumas.

Does anyone have any experience with ketamine assisted psychotherapy? What were the side effects? Does it impact RLS like other anti depressants?
Any ideas/suggestions/thoughts on what to expect when one does this? What to keep in mind?

Tima, i just returned home after a pre-ketamine therapy session. I will be getting my first ketamine infusion to treat classic PTSD on Friday morning.

I have also been getting daily TMS treatments to treat anxiety for the last 2.5 weeks and the treatments have been helping with both my anxiety and my depression but have not done anything for my PTSD.

Ketamine treatments for PTSD are not covered by insurance, so it is an out-of-pocket expense. TMS treatments are covered but the insurance companies will insist that you have failed treatment by two anti-depressants before they will cover the cost.

As for me, I wish that gabapentin help with my anxiety but unfortunately it does not help. I take Klonopin for a sleep disorder and it is supposed to treat anxiety, but in my case it appears to be making it worse, which occurs in about 5% of those of take it.

As for treating PTSD, you should also look into EMDR treatments. They are simple and effective for many. The limitation is that they must be administered by a therapist that is licensed to provide EMDR and they are very limited in number.

Does anyone have any experience with ke ... pressants?

Tima, I had my first ketamine infusion on Friday afternoon and meet with my therapist tomorrow.

I did not experience any side effects during the infusion beyond the dissociative mental experience that is part of the process. The primary side effects that I experienced after the infusion were dizziness and mild nausea. The nausea was most likely due to the dizziness. I also experienced a mild headache for the rest of that day and through the next, but nothing that an NSAID pill wouldn't fix.

The other thing that I experienced was being very tired. I returned home at noon and immediately went to bed and slept until 2 or 3PM. I did not experience any RLS. In fact, there have been suggestions that ketamine may help with RLS since it primary works on the GABA receptors in the brain, which are a part of the glutamate processing system. So the answer to if ketamine impacts RLS like other antidepressants, the answer is a clear no and that it may help a bit if insomnia is a major part of your own RLS. I felt more rested when I woke up the next day than I have in a very long time.

I have three more ketamine sessions in my treatment series. I am sort of looking forward to the actual treatment experiences to see how the next sessions compare to the first one. My experience was positive. However, I am sort of dreading being dizzy and unstable for the rest of the day and the nausea that goes along with that. I know that people use ketamine recreationaly to experience the "trip", but I cannot understand why if they have the same after effects that I did.

Steve, I'm following this post. I'm so glad the ketamine didn't affect your RLS. Keep us informed how the remaining treatments go. I wish you well