Yep, me too! After I bragged about no RLS since being on Lyrica & Tramadol. We had guests for Christmas Eve. Lovely! I decide to have one little 4 oz glass of white wine. It cane back a few hours later. I was up until 5:30, and ya know what, I did see Santa go right by our big living room window.
He waved and said, “Nothing for you my dear, you haven’t learned the most important lesson of RLS even just one glass = no sleep. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night—except you! Ho Ho Ho.
We are so weak aren't we. It takes a couple of prompts before we believe what we are told. I have just finished a glass of prosecco, which I haven't had for years and I just know I will pay. I can resist anything except temptation. 
I hope you will catch up on your sleep very soon and have a great Christmas time.
Neil
Thank you Neil. I’m actually feeling fine today. What gets me is that my body’s response is inconsistent. Once I was in a restaurant and had a 9 oz glass of wine the waiter poured and had no problems. Another time I had a draft beer and also had no problems. Yesterday—bam from a 4 oz glass of white wine. But I was exhausted from preparing dinner for guests. Perhaps that’s the key?
Hi Barbara, pointed observation that sounds familiar to me. For me alcohol doesn’tmake much of a difference to my rls, but being (over)tired certainly does!
alcohol is a trigger for most of us. It blocks the dopamine receptors in our brains. Sad, but true. But, Merry Christmas to you!
Alcohol does not lead to an increase of dopamine throughout the brain; it only causes an increase in dopamine in the area of the reward pathway (Boileau et al 2003).
This reward pathway is comprised primarily of the nucleus accumbens, the VTA (ventral tegmental area), and a part of the prefrontal cortex as shown in Figure 1.
Thanks for posting the link. I'm trying to better understand my diet related triggers at the moment. I know that sugar worsens my RLS so stick to a low sugar diet, which sadly for me includes beer. I'm trying to work out of alchohol itself is a trigger, or just the sugar in some alchohols or mixers, but I'm having trouble establishing a pattern. This article would seem to suggest to me that the alcohol itself is unlikely to be a contributor, is that correct Doc?
This is what I understand from that article Adge.
GABA
Alcohol affects the GABA system in a manner similar to valium leading to
relaxation and drowsiness.
Besides dopamine agonists such as Pramipexole, benzodiazepines such as Valium (diazepam) are used to treat symptoms of RLS.
This suggests to me that if you're getting triggered by drinking beer, that the congeners also present, such as the sugar in your case is the real culprit.
How do spirits affect you in this regard?
I can't work it out re the spirits as I've not experimented enough to be sure. I had severe withdrawal from pramipexole after my GP cut me off 10 x 0.088 tablets per day cold turkey after I had augmentation. Then went onto a mix of tramadol 8 x 50mg tabs per day, and gabapentin 6 x 300mg tabs per day. I've been on that since Aug, along with a low sugar diet and seeing a osteopath to try to relieve lower back/nerve issues. Hard for me to tell what's working and what's not, so I've tried to keep some stability for a while and that has included no alcohol most of the time. I had a few JD and diet cokes over Xmas and had a few really bad nights after, but that could be anything else in the coke! My new GP is really worried about my levels of tramadol as I've been depressed and suicidal recently, and she thinks the tramadol isn't helping at that high dose, and I tend to agree with what I've since read on here. So I'm going to concentrate on reducing the tramadol firstly, then if I get periods of stability I'll try re-introducing white spirits and see what happens.
It sounds like you have a good grasp on the idea that large doses of many drugs are not the way to go. From all the things that you mentioned it sounds as if you have quite severe RLS that must be making your life hell.
As you acknowledge, the problem with all those drugs in your system at once makes it difficult to know wtf is going on. 8 X 50 Tramadol/day is a very high dose. I'd be more concerned about mixing booze with the Tramadol too.
Ideally, you could taper off all drugs and abstain from alcohol and begin again with one drug at a time in low dosage up until you found relief. If you can leave the beer & spirits alone, that would be a big help - unless of course you find that they contribute some form of symptomatic relief.
Thanks,DocUndy. In depth info like this helps me talk with my docs more on their level and I find they pay more attention to my input irina1975 Sad but true. Speaking the doctor's language often gets me further than 'lay person english'. My observation after 40 years as a registered nurse.
Thank you,!I didn’t know the why of it. That’s helpful as a reminder and a good lesson.
That fat bastard called you a Ho?
Happy Boxing Day! To all you subjects of our Queen! Perhaps, the fat bastard actually yelled "Ho Ho", quite different!
He IS usually drunk!
LOL
Hi,
I sympathise, I have not had an alcoholic drink for years now. I take Ropinirole and Tramadol and dare not drink with that combination. I would dearly love to come off Tramadol but even the thought of trying fills me with dread as the legs would start immediately. I manage a nights broken sleep - about 6 hours in total, at the moment but that will probably change before long.
There is no way I can predict when the legs will be bad, so I try to live to a pattern to lessen the chances of a bad spell.
We all live in expectation of a drug being found that will really help, but RLS is not high on the list of diseases deserving research. So I guess we just keep helping each other and if something works for us broadcast it on this forum.
Have a good 2018 everyone and keep going, don't let it beat us.
I agree totally!
when was very young my mama would give my brother and I a sip of whatever the adults were drinking the theory was so we did not acquire a taste for it.I remember very vividly the horrible tight feelings in my legs and shoulder blades Obviously in retrospect RLs which developed when I was 10 and so we labour on.
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