Restless legs

[jiniejinx27]

Been awake for 3 days with rls and cramps i take 4mg ropinerol 900mg gabapentine 3times a day nephopam 90mg 3 times a day along with paracetamol i have fell asleep standing up had 2 black eyes bruised forehead also a diabetic with peripheral neuropathy don't see consultant till July any ideas that will help thanks

[Hidden]

Hi jiniejinx, the 4mgs ropinerole is probably why you are not sleeping look at the pinned post on Learn more about and discuss Augmentation, see if that refers to you.

[MattK3]

You need to take pauses from medication, if priorities are more basic (sleep) and they don't help with that. I find melatonin is extremely effective at making one sleep when one needs to (1 hour before) and relatively natural-feeling. Obviously it will probably make it harder to get out of bed later (let alone with sleep deprivation), but if you do, you will still feel better due to deeper sleep.

You could also try to see a more general consultant if a specialist is hard to meet.

[involuntarydancer in reply to MattK3]

I have seen a number of posts by people who found melatonin made their rls worse. It doesn't do that for everyone but worth being aware of.

[Jelbea]

Hi Janie. So sorry to hear of all your bothers. Certainly Elisse2 is giving you the best advice re your ropinerol. I see MattK3 has suggested melatonin and I know this helps some. Some time ago my GP started me on it and it did not help me sleep at all. In fact the very lowest dose had my heart racing at 120 per minute - normal pulse for me 65. Doctor

thought I was going into heart failure even though I had nothing wrong with my heart previously. Stopped Melatonin and pulse reverted to normal in a few days. Hope you get things sorted from the augmentation point of view. Take care

[Joolsg]

Elisse is right to point you to the post on Augmentation.

Gabapentin won’t help your RLS if you’re augmenting on Ropinirole and you are on too high a dose of Gabapentin as well. 900 mg is the max dose for RLS but only when you’re through withdrawal from Ropinirole.

Do read all you can about Augmentation and withdrawal and go back to your GP to formulate a plan to get off Ropinirole.

[involuntarydancer]

I would agree with the others, it sounds like the ropinerole may be causing your problems. Discontinuing is hard and should be done gradually. Do not on any account discontinue it cold turkey. If possible a temporary prescription for an opioid should be obtained from your GP. This may also help to get symptoms under control so that you can get some sleep. It is also important to get your serum ferritin checked to make sure your iron levels are not too low. Make sure to get the actual figure - not just that you are 'normal' and if it is below 100 start a supplement.