Tràmadol

[keiralee]

I am taking 3 Tramadol between 6 o'clock and 9 clock and have the RLS back by 11 o'clock. They seemed to work quite well a few months ago but not so good now. I have tried codeine and literally was up all night . Will I have to increase the tramadol. Has my RLS just gotten used to it ?

[Pippins2]

Are you taking them in ones? If so try one at 6 then two together at 8 instead .Might just give it a better umph (for want of a better word) x

[Madlegs1 in reply to Pippins2]

Tramadol isn't known to be liable to augmentation except very rarely. 1%.

Are you taking any other triggering substances- medicines - such as antihistamines , cough syrups etc or foods such as high salt , sulphites (beer) sweeteners and so on?

Worth keeping a food diary for a few weeks to check for correlations.

Certainly in the normal course of events that much tramadol should well control rls.

You could email Dr B at "rlshelp.org" - he deals with a lot of similar situations and is quick to respond.

Good luck.

[keiralee in reply to Pippins2]

That's exactly what I am doing Pippins. 1 at 6 and 2 at 8.

[Joolsg]

Know how you feel Keiralee.

Gabapentin seemed to work quite well for me for months , then not so effective so I added codeine. Codeine 30mg seemed to help for a few weeks when RLS broke through in the small hours, but now I actually think It's making my RLS worse. Tramadol, when I took it for a while after going through ropinirole withdrawal definitely made my RLS worse.

Maybe we're just that minority of people who get augmentation from both tramadol and codeine.

It is so weird that what seems to work well for a lot of people doesn't seem to help everyone.

Jools

[keiralee in reply to Joolsg]

Gabapentin is next on my list. The lyrica I am on is a waste of time. Nearly 3am and still up. Have to be up at 6 in the morning. Quite down actually. .

[Pippins2]

Damn Keiralee I did you a long reply then it failed to send grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Hopefully you are asleep ,I am going to try bed again now so "talk " tomorrow x

[Hidden]

Hi. Our bodies will always need more and more drugs as we develop tolerance - our bodies seek to be in a state of equilibrium and as such work to adapt to the presence of drugs.

A person using an opioid regularly or alcohol for that matter will develop tolerance and a dose of drugs that would be effective for them would kill someone not used to it, (that's why so many OD after prison - their tolerance has gone down and thy didn't take that into consideration when starting again).

Two points - are you taking the Tramadol BEFORE symptoms start? IF you aren't try that I find if my RLS, (or whole body death spasms which I think is a better name ) gets started before I medicate it is very hard to get it under control, (bit like with pain).

Second question - have you tried taking all three at once? Might be worth a try, Also when you go to the Dr to get it increased look for the long lasting preparation - it will give you longer relief and with a long last preparation you don't have as high a risk of developing a habit with them.

Good luck

[Ttwlr]

Our doctors have stopped giving out Tramadol, so I started using the Gentle Iron,as it was mentioned on here, and my RLS is a lot better, I didn't think it would help, it's worth a try for £10 a bottle from holland & barrette.

[Hidden in reply to Ttwlr]

Do you take it at night on an empty stomach? Since taking the iron how many hours of sleep do you get a night?

[Ttwlr in reply to Hidden]

I take em about 5pm with my dinner and I've fad a good 5 hours sleep, only been on them 7 days, my wife did say I been moving legs in my sleep, as long as I'm sleeping I'm happy.

They seem to work for me so I'll stick with them, I'm only taking one, but I read of people Taking more.

[Hidden in reply to Ttwlr]

If you take the iron a couple of hours after dinner (and about an hour before bed) on an empty stomach you might be able to push that up to 8 hours of sleep. Very happy for you. I see no reason to up the dose. However, I would call your RLS doctor with the good news and get his blessing to continue on with the iron. Maybe he'll pass your good fortune on to another patient. And every year you should have your iron stores checked and remind your doctor to do so. So fascinating!!! For some people such as yourself relief is near immediate while for others it may take weeks or months.

Hopefully other people on here will realize that Gentle Iron can in many cases be substituted for drugs like Tramadol. People feel that they have to get their blood tested FIRST and get their doctor's permission which can take months. The iron is about $6 on Amazon and it may work pretty quickly. Two or three nights of 25 mg of iron is a completely harmless experiment unless you have that rare blood disorder known as hemochromatosis. Plus, what people don't realize is that maybe half of that 25 mg tablet gets absorbed into your bloodsteam. Maybe - might be less. So for two nights you're ingesting about the same amount of iron as in a steak and spinach dinner. THEN, if it seems to help after those two nights you MUST call your doctor with the good news and ask for further direction. At that point, your doctor may have you undergo blood tests before he lets you continue. Or he may look at your records and see that your iron stores are in the normal range and tell you to continue with the nightly iron with his blessing. If the iron doesn't work those first few nights then I would stop and still call your doctor and discuss with him about trying to take the iron for a while longer because as I mentioned, in some cases it takes weeks and months to see an improvement.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

I see you are back again. It doesnt take months to get your blood tests done. Or it doesnt here in the UK.

[nightdancer in reply to Hidden]

yes,I see you are baaaack. It does NOT take months to get iron tests done in the US either. Other than that I have nothing to say.

[involuntarydancer]

Yes, it might be worth checking your serum ferritin levels. If they drop that can affect the effectiveness of the meds. I really feel for you. There is only one thing worse than being jerked awake all night with the ... whole body death spasms ... and that is being jerked awake with them all night when you have to be up by a certain time in the morning.

[ChristineRichards]

Thing is did you have the RLS before Tramadol?. I didn't and Tramadol has other side effects, itching can be unbearable as well. I dont understand why Doctors would give Tramadol for RLS when it can cause it. I was on 8 a day and still I couldn't sleep because 8 hrs through the night was impossible. I would advise any one to try something else. Short term they are wonderful, but I was on them for many years and after 2 months now getting off them, I now sleep 2-4 hrs a day, the RLS is also in my body. I have many falls walking because I fall asleep. Its been 4 days since my last Tram, I am just desperate, I will get better, but I wont hold my breath. Doctors put me on 5 mgs of morphine tablet, I have many illnesses that need pain killer, this is the only option for me, and another slippery slope for me. I really feel for you and beg you dont take more, you will end up needing more and more, and the RLS will just get worse. Do yourself a huge favour, get off them, dont do it as quick as me, otherwise you might get worse. if its a huge struggle like it was for me, (know I was on 8 a day) it means you are hooked, if its easy to stop taking, lucky you, count your blessing and dont take them again. I got desperate I drank half a bottle of aftershock, just to try and get some sleep, I choose not to drink, dont want to damage kidneys, but I have a consumption of a horse, and still didn't sleep. all that did was made me feel sorry for myself, and want to jump off a cliff lol. Please dont listen to Doctors, if Trams cause RLS why take them to help. ridiculous. all its doing is feeding a habit, which gets worse and worse. Take care. Heat always on legs, never get cold, try keeping legs up, dont over do it walking, deep heat, medical socks, always wear warm socks, if you can. lots of pillows, especially under legs. Hot baths. massage, vibrators, I am buying a vibrator plate to stand on, my hand vibrator definitely helps my legs, it hurts because I also have Adema but it eases the tension, for a small break. A friend Chris

[nightdancer in reply to ChristineRichards]

Your experience is rare, Christine. Tramadol is one of the most widely used non dopamine meds for RLS. Sounds like you had an allergy, with the itching, that is common to people who are sensitive to this class of meds. It is definitely not on the Drugs to Avoid list. You said they worked fine, then you said you cut down and your RLS is bothering you more? Your body has become used to the tramadol, not saying addicted, but dependent on it, to stop the RLS. Then when you lessen it, your RLS is going to shows up more and more until your body gets used to less tramadol. I myself just got back on tramadol 2 weeks ago, and I do take slow release morphine too. I also have other things going besides RLS, as do most of us. So what works for one person, is not always the next person's answer. I am sorry you are having a hard time. I know many people who are helped a lot with Tramadol , which is a synthetic opiate.

[ChristineRichards in reply to nightdancer]

Well thats strange, because on the side effects sheet in my Tramadol it says you might suffer irritable leg syndrome, I am off Tramadol now, the doctor put me on morphine tablets, and after upping the dose to 20 a day I finally got some sleep, the restless syndrome hasnt gone since I stopped the tramadols, soon as the 12 hrs are up on the Morphine, I end up with the syndrome back. It all started before I went to hospital with sickness, chest infection, not keeping tablets down, before in the nights I couldnt sleep because the syndrome kicked in after 4 hrs in the night, if I took two Trams it would go, but I was only allowed 8 a day, and this worried me so much as I knew I would get used to that dose, I decided before I went in to give them up, its one of the hardest things I have done, its taken months of no sleep, depression and accidents due to falling asleep while I was sitting walking, it was a nightmare. Thank heavens I am off it, allergy or no, I would hate any one to have to go through it, even the Doctor was shocked when I told him I was off them. He said I should have done it slowly, but I couldnt put up with longer IRS, so I thought the sooner the better, but I still have it at the minute, the electric shocks and not able to stay still, no controle over my body, I am glad I did it the hard way, at least I am on Morphine, dread to think what this will do to me, but I have to sleep, what ever it costs, the discomfort was so bad I was slapping my body hard causing bruising, it seemed to help. I just pray no one else goes through this. Tks Chris

[Hidden in reply to ChristineRichards]

I have just looked at the side effects it states in my leaflet and mine hasnt got irritable leg syndrome. it does say restlessness, sleep disorders, sleep disturbances. It also says what effects you would go through by going cold turkey, so i am not surprised you suffered so badly just stopping them and still suffering, 4 days off of them by going cold turkey, sounds like you are still having withdrawals from them.

We cant tell people NOT to take a

med because of some ones bad experience. Everyone is different and reacts differently. I cant take codeine, or even co-codamol, both make me ill, but i wouldnt tell someone else not to take them.

[ChristineRichards in reply to Hidden]

I wouldnt either, tell some one not to take them, I have just said what happened to me, and how I feel, short term they were wonderful for me, but personally I wouldn't recommend them long term, my opinion, after years of side effects. Dont want to upset any one. If someone is fine on them good for them.

[keiralee]

My ferritin levels are fine, recently checked. I have had led for about 30 years and I am taking Tramadol because I came off Mirapexin after augmenting on it. Thank you for replying.

[keiralee in reply to keiralee]

Sorry - silly phone RLS not led 😅

[Hidden in reply to keiralee]

You can have fine Ferritin levels and still have problems with poor Iron in the brain where it is needed to transport dopamine. Well worth speaking to your GP about it as I like others here have been taking Gentle Iron with positive results, (its not cured me but eased things a bit).

[nightdancer in reply to keiralee]

I just got my Tramadol back, and have been able to take less morphine, because if that one reason.