Question...has anyone had trouble with Zoloft or Elavil ?

[PJ]

I am new to this forum but not new to RLS - PLMD. Have dealt with the movement for 15+ years and am currently taking Clonazepam 2.0mg nightly. But, that is not the whole of the issue. I have also had a total thyroidectomy which damaged the parathyroids. So yes, I am a hormonally challenged insomniac. My physician wants to put me on Zoloft (long-term) and Elavil (short-term) for insomnia. I am also taking Ambien 10mg (short-term). I experienced jumpy-legs with the Zoloft during the day and am fearful of starting the Elavil as I had problems with Remeron (legs jumped all night long -- family thought I was having seizures). All the literature says stay away from anti-depressants. Has anybody else experienced problems with Zoloft or Elavil ? And, is there an anti-depressant that does work for short-term depression ? I need your help, thanks.

[becat]

Hi PJ, Welcome.

I too have a long past with medication trials and RLS (lifelong).

My doc and I have out right admitted I'm a lab rat and we've tried some anti-depressant meds as well. BTW, I'm no doctor.

Here's my issue with them, but this does not mean that it might not work for you. Everyone is different you know.

Any use over 2 weeks may cause you to have to cold turkey it or level off a medication like these. So your having to take some long enough to get into your system and that puts you into a time line of having to take time to come off as well. With many of these meds one can not and should not do a cold turkey jump off of them. Too dangerous really.

Yes, I have heard that they do work for some, but the majority of the community's thinking is that these meds are harmful for RLS. However, I know that my doctor has had luck with some people using these meds.....Just not with me. My experience in last summer to last fall, down right frightening. I will never go that way again.

Yes, you can read it for yourself here, just plug the drug names into our search engine. I highly recommend looking at Jumpyowl's replies in 2004.

I am just like you and many here, my body simply has forgotten or given up on sleep. I can just fall alseep like a normal (ha) human any longer.
It's a scary thought and way to live. I understand completely.
the good thing is that your here now. Your understood without even knowing each other, our bond is unseen like our RLS.

I'm so sorry you had a need to find us, but glad your here now.
Read everything, we learn best from each other.
Post as you like, we all post at will around here.
Glad to have you.
Lynne

[turtlezen]

Hi P.J.

It seems every doctor has something different to suggest and many of them do contradict each other.
I had been on elavil for over 10 years (100mg at bedtime for chronic pain). Really don't think it helped much, to be honest. However when I went to see a sleep specialist who diagnosed my RLS and PLMD he recommended strongly that I discontinue the Elavil as it is known to aggravate RLS. Don't know what would be a better choice but thought I'd give you what info I did have.
Hang in there. There is help, and there is an answer...just don't give up looking for it.
Glad you're here.
Val

[ViewsAskew]

As Lynne and Val said, Elavil worsens most people's RLS. A lot of docs are not aware of this, however. Most of the drugs in this class (tryciclics) make RLS worse. Most antidepressants worsen RLS for most people, and that includes Zoloft. The strange thing, however, is that there are few absolutes regarding RLS. A few people here and there can take one or another of these with no problems. So, you might get lucky and have Elavil work. It's really a crap shoot.

There is a great list of meds to avoid in the Pharma "sticky" post. I highly recommend reading the "sticky" posts in ALL sections of the board. They have some great info and great links. . .including info you can prints and take to your doc, like the Mayo Clinic Algorithm that helps you and your doc know what meds to try if and when you decide you need meds.

Welcome. . .hope you find what you need here.

[PJ]

Thank you all so much for your input. It was my decision not to take either the Zoloft or Elavil but did temporarily add the Ambien to my normal regimen of Clonazepam for sleep. And I am happy to say I am sleeping....not quite normal (but who is to say what is normal) but getting closer to the normal for me. Needless to say my doctors are still pushing me to take an antidepressant as they insist I have an underlying depressive disorder. What is strange and mind-boggling to me is that I am ONLY depressed when I have not been sleeping well for 3-4 weeks and these episodes ALWAYS occur when it has been proven with laboratory analysis that I am hyperthyroid. But I am not a physician !!! I am my own best advocate though and refuse to have labels attached to me that are inaccurate. This Foundation has given me a wealth of information which I share with my doctors and I believe slowly but surely it may educate them and that part of my purpose is to be the guinea pig. If my experience and fight has been able bring someone else relief sooner then I have done what I set out to do. Even doctors need education......there are too few who specialize in this area and we that experience the symptoms are global, yet isolated. Thank you, thank you, thank you for compiling this wealth of information. It has been my floatation device in a sea of uncertainty.

[SquirmingSusan]

PJ, just keep advocating for yourself. It sounds like you're doing a good job and the doctors are not.

The one antidepressant that doesn't aggravate RLS is Welbutrin. I tried to get my doctor to change me from Lexapro to Welbutrin but she said I wasn't depressed, just hypothyroid. Then she said, "here's a prescription for Ativan, don't try to kill yourself with them, it won't work." OK, she's fired. I mail ordered some Welbutrin and feel much, much better.

Some people feel terrible on Welbutrin, so who knows how it would affect you. It does work directly on the dopamine system, so it can, in and of itself, help with RLS. I know it helps my circadian rhythm be more normal. But it can make me hyper. But the new, extended release, 24 hour version, at the lowest dose they make is just perfect. I have energy during the day, and I can sleep at night (with enough RLS meds!)

Good luck with it all.

Susan

[PJ]

Thanks Susan for your support. I have not tried Wellbutrin, but lucky for me that when I am not hyperthyroid I am not depressed. With a couple of good nights sleep I feel refreshed and the depression entirely disappears. I believe my doctors are mistaking my anger and frustration at them for the underlying symptoms of clinical depression. Easier for them to comprehend. Clonazepam has worked very well for 6 years at a maintenance dose of 2 mg....but they consistently make attempts and suggestions to change the med. I did not take the Elavil as I felt it would cause more problems for my legs....took the Zoloft for two days and my legs started jumping during the daytime. Stopped taking it and copied some information about the WARNING meds from this website and gave to the docs....they did not have a clue. Sometimes I believe they think I am a hypochondriac or simply insane, when all I want is to be free of physicians and medicines. Sorry for rambling, it just gets so darn lonely when no one listens or understands. I am greatful for the support from here, otherwise they may have convinced me I was nuts.

[SquirmingSusan]

No problem, PJ. The docs probably just want you off the clonazepam because it's a (gasp!) controlled substance. Oh, and don't get me started on how I think the doctors like to avoid prescribing older, cheaper meds that really work, when they can prescribe new drugs and get perks from the pharmaceutical companies. Oh, yeah, and benzos like clonazepam can cause some physical dependency issues in many people. But my philosophy is that if that becomes an issue, deal with it then. Meanwhile, enjoy the relief it gives you. The benzos also have some very positive side effects like they relax the heart muscles and lower blood pressure. Many people safely take them their whole lives.

OK, I'm done with my rambling rant. Good luck with it all. I know what you mean about wanting to be done with meds and doctors! I was disappointed that pot doesn't work for the creepy crawlies for me. But the hydrocodone does, and the benzos help me sleep. Ah, blessed sleep. I feel so great in the daytime lately because I can sleep!

Susan

[PJ]

Yes, controlled substance (gasp)....like I want to be a drug addict with all my other issues. I am trying to live the best life I can. And I am in the medical field, so am perfectly aware there are kick-backs for their prescribing the new and improved drugs. I have adopted a philosophy handed down by my wise mother....if a drug has not been on the market for 30+ years....and all the bugs worked out of it, then don't prescribe it to me. I have become a fighter...even tho I prefer being a pacifist. What I have learned from the medical profession is that too little time is spent with each patient for a physician to really delve into your background...you have to do your own research and present documentation and be logical and sometimes demanding. I know my doctors are frustrated.....but they are not living in this body, I am and I know I am better educated on the subject of ME than they are....and I will continue to fight, because this can be hereditary. My mother has it, my son has it and eventually I might have grandchildren that have it.............I am doing this for us all !!!!

[ctravel12]

Hi PJ I can certainly relate to the control substance. Two years ago, I was on clonazapem and took myself off it and I felt it is a control substance and that is not good for me. Well I took Requip, what a mistake that was.

When I found a neurologist who actually knows about rls asked why I stopped clonazapem and I told him why. He said if it is working why stop it. So he weaned me off of requip and am back with clonazapem and also taking mirapex and doing much better.

You have to do which is good for you and only you know how your body reacts. Definitely continue to fight and let them know you are the one in charge. In one of Lynne's post, she mentions that you are paying them and let them work for you