Hello friends,
I am an RLS and PLMD sufferer and currently take 1200 mg of Gabapentin to sleep. Since the onset of my symptoms a year ago, I now deal with panic attacks, anxiety and a bit of depression. I’ve read this is very common for people that deal with RLS. I also know that a lot of anti anxiety/anti depression medication can make RLS worse. I’m wondering if anyone on here has any suggestions for medication or natural remedies that would not make my RLS worse? Thanks in advance!
Hi Jimbo
I am given to understand that Wellbutrin (not available in the UK) and Trazodone do not generally worsen RLS. Mirtazapine (Remeron) will worsen RLS for a small minority but not everyone.
I hope that helps.
Hi Jimbo.
I appreciate the difficulty you have with anxiety, I tend to suffer from generalised anxiety I spend more of my time than I'd like to with a feeling of impending doom hanging over me.
There's reasons for that!
Unfortunately, mental health services, presuming you're in the UK are dire. Additionally there's still much stigma attached to mental health problems and I think society has lost something.
People seem to know lots of words these days and can talk particularly about relationships and emotions and seem to think they're experts in it. However, it appears to me that it's just stuff they're repeating with no understanding or pragmatic skill at supporting each other.
It's probably due to generations of us becoming increasingly dependent on the NHS rather than taking a more active part in managing our own health.
So when it comes to mental health problems, apparently you may feel largely on your own.
I don't suppose you wanted that, it's easier to be told there is this ideal medicine for your anxiety. Realistically, there isn't.
Doh! Especially if you have RLS. The best antidepressant for someone with RLS is apparently Bupropion. If your in the US you may be able to get it as Wellbutrin, but here it's prescription is very testricted. It's excellent for RLS, but I really don't know how good it is for anxiety.
In any event, ideally, the best thing for anxiety is not medicines at all. The majority are for short term use only.
It's far better to find non pharmacological measures for dealing with anxiety ranging from simple "relieving" techniques to more involved "preventative" strategies.
It depends how much effort you wish to put into it, techniques such as relaxation exercises, yoga, breath meditation etc can help. More effort is required to make alterations to your life style, or reappraisal your whole attitude towards yourself and the universe.
As regards the latter you may find mindfulness, (the western version of Zen bhuddism) is now increasingly popular. There are courses in this or self help books, web sites etc. It does require some self discipline.
If you have RLS there's a whole range.of medications out there which aren't go to be any real help long term and are just waiting to make your RLS worse.
Manerva, thank you so much for your response! I will definitely continue my efforts to battle the anxiety without any medication. I am in the US so I will keep the Wellbutrin suggestion in my back pocket in case I need some help. I really appreciate your response, and for the time you take to write responses to so many people. I read all of your responses and you are so much help to so many people. Thank you!
Hello Jimbo. Your symptoms seem to have arrived quite suddenly - do you have a reason for that?
For those of us with familial RLS, the symptoms come on, very slowly, over many years, usually starting in youth. A sudden appearance can be something else.
Your anxiety and depression could definitely be caused by the gabapentin, does that make sense to you? If so, then you need to try a lower dose or different meds.
Have you had your ferritin levels checked? That is the first thing to see to. RLS is all about the inability to use iron in the brain.
I would not attempt a new drug for anxiety and depression until you see to the things I mention above.
Hi Parminter. I really appreciate your response. I believe the onset of the RLS has been gradual, but my wife also has PLMD and RLS and I just assumed it was her shaking the bed for years. 8 months ago is when I became self aware that I was also twitching. I wish I could go back to just assuming it was her waking me up. But here we are.
I actually just had my ferritin checked and am seeing my neurologist on Thursday to review the results. It sounds like it was at a 99 which from my understanding is low for someone with RLS.
I think you are right about not introducing an anti anxiety medication right now. I’m trying guided meditations and some herbal supplements. Hopefully I can find some relief that way. Thanks again!
A ferritin level of 99 is considered pretty good for RLS. But it is always something of a thumbsuck because it is onlyan indication - they cannot open your brain to look!
For a man, a level of 400 is still 'normal'.
And ferritin levels change throughout the day, so the most accurate measure is a fasting test as early in the day as possible.
Good luck with the meds - have you read the list of side-effects?
Is there any chance the gabapentin is contributing to your problems with anxiety? I found I developed unwelcome negative feelings when I was taking this drug.
More generally, I have found that keeping a gratitude journal (takes about 4 minutes each evening), has been out of proportion helpful with mental health issues. Meditation also helps, as does a series of gentle yoga stretches (this also helps a little with rls symptoms).
Thank you so much for your response! I do believe the Gabapentin is contributing to the anxiety and feeling sad. But unfortunately it’s the only thing I have found to work thus far and would really like to avoid dopamine antagonists. Have you found something else that has worked well for you without the negative side effects?
I love the idea of keeping a gratitude journal, meditation and stretching. I’m going to try all of them. Again, thank you very much for taking the time to respond.
I find kratom very effective with minimal side effects but it is not legal in all locations.
It seems like I post this link every few days. It's a Chronic Fatigue Syndrome forum, and has many pages to the responses. This is the major information... forums.phoenixrising.me/thr...
Thank you so much for posting this. I’ll spend some time reading through here. I really appreciate it.
Rls advice please :) 
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