How is PD connected to Restless Leg Syndrome?

[kaypeeoh]

Or is it? I had a mild degree of RLS for several years. It wasn't enough of a problem to warrant medical help. Over the past few months the restless leg has gotten worse. Coincidentally two years I was diagnosed with PD. I was on Sinemet for over a year. Stopped it and switched to amantadine 100mg and ropinirole 0.5mg every evening. Along with melatonin and a statin. I stopped the amantadine but now find I really need the ropinirole. I never had PD signs like bradykinesia. I've had resting arm tremor for over three years unchanged by meds, Are these the same condition or independent syndromes? Amantadine and ropinirole are both dopamine agonists. Ropinirole is treatment for RLS that my wife took for several years before it quit working for her.

[park_bear]

I know of someone who successfully treated their restless legs syndrome with Mucuna. So RLS is responsive to dopaminergic medication. Therefore, in my opinion it is related to Parkinson's.

[Pa-zzi69]

A member of my family who has been diagnosed with Parkinson's claims that Gabapentin is "mostly addressing" his restless last leg syndrome.

[Grumpy77]

Hello kaypeeoh

Are you saying that all your PD medications including ropinirole did NOT help to reduce your hand tremor?

[kaypeeoh in reply to Grumpy77]

Yes, the hand tremor is unchanged by various medications: Propranolol, Sinemet, Amantadine and ropinirole. It's a resting tremor, meaning I can control my hand when using it for serious things like surgery--I've been a veterinarian for 40 years--but when I'm sitting idle the tremor is constant.

[MarionP in reply to kaypeeoh]

gabapentin works in the GABA sphere, which of course as a vet you'd know from using it as an animal pain med...so its kind of in the benzo world of mechanisms. Considered it as maybe something different outside what you've tried? I have no other reason for saying so except that.

Or counter-intuitively, a bit of caffiene, or some tea for the theobromine? (If you try black tea, just be sure to brew it lightly, there is a chance for some arsenic if you brew too fully, and since you're neurologically involved already...I think I saw a study that said the arsenic is only when you used infusion teaball, not filtering the tiny bits of tea...and if the infusion was over 4 minutes. Don't know what bagged tea would do, but I get Lipton Organic which they always have in health sections of the grocer, hoping that might make a difference but it won't if they grow it in the same soil that was used to grow cotton or tobacco, which is the source of the arsenic to kill bugs...and I try not to steep over 4 minutes in any case, time in infusion was the key factor in the study, 4 min was the break point, past that and the arsenic goes up, but is tame up to that point. Don't know if water temp is related, but if you have one of those temp things or an electric kettle, go for 190 with black tea, not the full boil.) Anyway, just spitballing on the tea idea.

[Grumpy77 in reply to kaypeeoh]

PD is a horrible disease, but it's good that it's not affecting your job, not be many PwP can say that

[Zella23]

Restless legs weren’t one of my husbands symptoms until he had been on Madopar for 4 years, then started to increase restless legs and toe curling and more dyskinesia. Added in Rasigiline in December this increased dyskinesia and restless legs, so added in Amantadine and this has really helped with both these issues.

I think the PD and Madopar brought on restless legs or maybe the medication and it has improved since Amantadine.

Neuro suggested spacing out of Madopar, it has helped with symptoms and sometimes only takes 3 x 25/100 per day.

Seems a juggling act with meds to see which helps, but restless legs were never apparent before taking PD meds.

[gwendolinej]

There are some studies that link PD and restless legs. I saw one that said that there are more people with PD that have restless legs than the general population.

My husband had restless legs years before getting PD.

THE Neupro patch is given for restless legs as well as for PD. My husband was put on the Neupro patch for PD. It was a game changer for his Parkinsons and the bonus was getting rid of his restless legs.

[rhyspeace12]

What my PD husband had most of his life that we thought was restless leg syndrome, was actually REM sleep disorder.

[ScribblerCLT]

RLS and PD are common co-morbid illnesses, trickier to treat than standalone. I take Sinemet for PD, did great on Pramipexole for RLS until augmentation at above 0.125 mg, awful reaction to 200mg Gabapentin for RLS, and now stick as much as possible with diet, exercise , Sinemet and magnesium chloride gel.

[katherinecompton22]

My restless legs (actually foot, usually) only occurs in the afternoon or evening and only when I've underdosed with Rytary during the day. If I chew 1/2 of a 25/100 Sinemet tablet, it goes away within 15-20 minutes.

[kaypeeoh]

I took a percoset and had no restless leg signs yesterday. But the tradeoff was teeth-gritting constipation this morning so it's not an answer for me.