Downsizing my Pramipexole doses and Weighing My Options

[jk3842]

I am 74 and GA in the US & had fought the fight with RLS for almost 65 yrs. iIthink I have taken the all different meds medically offered in US that I can tolerate. I can not use the patch because of skin allergies. Maybe two years ago I started Pramipexole in the following doses (.125 MG @5:30 PM X .125@ 7:30 PM X .125@9:00PM & .25 @ 10:30 PM) and 3 months back started having the augmentation. Doc cut back all my .125 doses by 1/2 to .0625 and added 1 Lortab 5-325 MG tab @ 9:30 PM. Obviously the Lortab ( HyDROcodone) is a controlled substance in US but this is a light dose. I also added in a 300 MG tab of Gabapentin at 10:30 PM (bedtime). This combination of timing & doses of Meds seems to work the best I have had in a while. The timing of doses and the sleepiness feeling & along with the yawning I get from the Pramipexole is a real pain but better than the RLS. Plus, sooner or later I assume that I will have augmentation from the Prami.

Also; sometimes even with all these meds I can not sleep because some faint RLS but enough to keep me awake.

Has anyone tried the Marijuana? Is there another method of ingesting the Marijuana rather than smoking it?

My family is adamantly opposed to the idea but the do not have to deal with the RLS the effects of the meds. I do.

Thanks,

jk3842

[nightdancer]

Regarding medical marijuana in the States, yes, you can bake it into food, like brownies. There are also "vaporizers" that you can get, so you are not inhaling smoke. However, for pain those are 2 good methods. But, smoking, unless there is some reason why you cannot do it, is faster, you can control the dose better, and it is more cost effective to smoke it rather than eating it. hard to control the dosing and also not as effective for RLS. Having said that, I live in medical MJ state, where it is legal. not so in the UK, FYI. As I understand it, it is quite illegal in the UK, (disclaimer)

[nightdancer]

Oh, and as for your family, educate them and I have to say that it is much safer than some of the meds we ingest for sure. Dopamine can really mess with your brain. I know someone using medical MJ for seizures and they were having several a day, and are now down to 2 a month on average, and also have been able to get off the anti seizure meds that were making his life hell. Also, I know many RLSer's using medical MJ and are quite happy, getting more sleep, etc.

[Windwalker]

JK 3842I went thru all the prerequisites for buying Marijuana in AZ, got the card and went to the store run or regulated by the state. I choose to eat it in a Brownie. A regular Brownie cost 15 dollars U.S. and I was instructed to cut it into 8 squares/

It wasn't much help for me. I have a severe case of RLS and sleep very little. My legs, hands and all the long bones have an ache that is maddening along with involuntary movements so severe sometimes that I spill my food or drink. Here in AZ and in IL where I am also based, doctors are so damed afraid that we will become addicted to something that rather than deal with the state or Medical Society's, they pretend concern but ask for a prescription for something you've read about and they back pedal but never write the scrip.

I am 78 and at my wits end. I tried Methadone but the doc wouldn't prescribe more than 5mg and for a guy my size that is about like an asperin. I know why many RLS sufferers go to the street and become heroin addicts. Then you can go to a Methadone clinic an get a proper dose, to calm you down. I didn't do that but I know someone who didl

[MATTIELUKE]

Hi all,

I live in the state of Washington where medical and recreational marijuana is now legal. There are many misconceptions about marijuana. I have been taking CBD capsules for my RLS. CBD is an extract from the marijuana plant The best way I can explain it is CBD does not have the THC component. THC is the substance which gets one high. CBD is not detected in the blood stream as THC is. One cannot become addicted to CBD nor develope a psychological dependence. CBD is currently is being used for cancer patients, severe seziure disorders, nuerological disorders. I have exhaused all other alternatives. I have experienced augmentation and withdrawal from the narcotics and Mirapex (which ultimatley made my symptoms worse). At the most I sleep maybe 1 to 2 hours a night, when I don't use the CBD capsules. I also "supplement with a CO 2 vaporizer. I am 64 years old and have had RLS since my thirties. I had several surgeries recently back to back which sent my RLS into high action. Plus I was experiencing augumentation from the Mirapex. In short, CBD has saved my saniety. The down side is it is expensive and legal everywhere. I am hoping down the road the cost will be more reasonable. I cannot afford to take the medication on a daliey basis because of the cost.

I Hear about people using marijuana without the CBD component. Does not work unless there is a high CBD concentration. At least for me. I know we all are different in our responses to medications, however this has worked for me.

We do need to educate others in regards to the benefits of medical majiuana.

Best to everyone!

Mattie