Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

I had a pacemaker put in yesterday, and was told I could not eat or drink anything from midnight before the surgery. I usually manage RLS symptoms by drinking a small cup of orange juice with kratom in it. But this would not work, and even though I make up capsules they tend to upset my stomach. I asked the nurse who called me if I could take some opiod that I had (My PC gives me a bottle of it every year, and I save it for plane rides, and long car rides, and late night shows that my grandson is in). The nurse said no.

I knew that a night, and then a day on a hosp. table would be torture without something to manage the RLS. I have a couple bottles of Ripinirole, since I had a PC at one point who kept prescribing it. I needed two .25 pills to get me through the night, and then I used one in the morning to get me through the surgery. All of this worked fine. And now my plan is to taper off of it. Last night I just used two .25 pills, and my plan is to just use one tomorrow night. Then I'll start cutting them to take less than a pill.

So here is my question: Can a DA be used short term like that, without any danger? I've never heard of it, but I was desperate. Thanks ahead of time.

If your concern about using ropinerole is due to augmentation, using it for a day or two before surgery will probably not cause a problem. Even those who augment on DAs quickly can often use them for a day or two without re-triggering augmentation.

It would have been better to have discussed this with your surgeon and anesthesiologist before the surgery to have avoided any discomfort or even squirming around on the table while they were working on you.

For future reference, the Foundation has two documents that are available to members. One describes the steps that a patient needs to take before surgery and the second is a document that you hand out to everyone that cares for you on the morning of the surgery (especially the anesthesiologist) so that they avoid doing anything to trigger your RLS during the surgery and later, during your recovery.

Thanks, Steve. This all makes sense.

I was worried about talking to them because when I had a colonoscopy a few years ago I told them I used kratom, and was told I couldn't use it for a week before the surgery. At that point I really didn't have anything else, and they were not giving me anything. I thought they would give me an opiod at least during the surgery but they didn't, and when I woke up the RLS was very bad. But also, my blood pressure was very high and they wouldn't let me leave until it went down. So I was trapped on the bed there for another hour or so. Pure torture. I was very afraid of something like that happening again, or, since they said it would be only a local anesthetic, I would be laying awake on the table while they operated, with my legs going crazy. But the ropinirole seemed to hold.

I now make sure that kratom is listed as a medication--none of the docs know what it is--so they didn't worry about it. I was just told not to take vitamin E and my blood pressure med. Easy. But I couldn't take anything after the midnight before the surgery so that's when I decided to use the repinirole.

Next time I will certainly print out your suggestions. Thanks again for your answer.