New medication for my rls

[Sweetdancer]

Hi has anyone been put on clonazapan My neurologist suggested it and take me off rotigine patch and ropinirole.

[Joolsg]

Clonazepam is one of the Drugs used for RLS but not the best.

Has your doctor discussed a safe withdrawal plan for the rotigitone and ropinirole? How much of each are you taking?

Pregabalin or Gabapentin would be better than clonazepam if your RLS is severe.

[ToughnightsRX in reply to Joolsg]

Yeah isn't clonazapam a benzo? Like taking Xanax. Nasty withdrawals and you will build a tolerance fast. My mom got xanax for restless arms and knees and had to be hospitalized during withdrawal. I have found that vistaril or hydroxazine is working wonders it's said antihistamines are a huge no no but as someone pretty well known on this page said these newer strains like cetrine and another one works really well I mean for me it has been a life saver as gabapentin stopped working slowly and made me feel like a zombie the vistaril I take is 25mg 4 times a day and at first you kinda feel sleepy so maybe just at nighttime for you... But the little sedated feeling you do get also is very welcoming along with the relief you get in as little as like 10 min from hydroxazine and with it not being any form of narcotic it's easy to obtain I truly hope u find something that works for u as everyone here is diff and I haven't seen people on here talk about any works for all method but I can say the rest eating well strategy does work because I went 8 months with no rls spells in Jail of all places where it would seem like a rls nightmare wellllll. Sorry that was long winded but I would stay away from the benzos. As with alchol the withdrawals can actually cause you to seize

[Hidden]

Clonazepam is a benzodiazepine and although it may help a little with the insomnia caused by RLS (and dopamine agonists), it is not in itself of any great help with RLS symptoms.

As Jools highlights, you need an "escape" plan to withdraw from the ropinirole and rotigotine.

Do NOT stop taking these suddently. Doctors commonly underestimate the consequences of the withdrawal effects

I suspect if your doctor doesn't know that gabapentin or pregabalin are a better solution for RLS, then I suspect they don't appreciate the withdrawal effects either.

[pattyjubin]

Do yourself a favor and try apple cider vinegar ( only the kind with mothers). 2 tablespoon with a teaspoon of warm honey and 1 cup of water in the morning and eve. I suffered for many years and took every drug they had The vinegar is a miracle. I can sit, read a book, watch a move and do whatever I missed for the last 40 years.

[intermk]

I agree with Manerva. And I will add that I was on Clonazepam for almost 15 years. Alone it has no effect on RLS symptoms but as Manerva states, it helps a bit with insomnia. I was also on Gabapentin at one point along with the Clonazepam and even though we worked it up to maximum dose, I never got any benefit. So they tried Pregabalin and that did help me somewhat for about 8 months only. My doc took me off Clonazepam during that time and didn't tell me there would be withdrawal symptoms. There were and I was absolutely miserable for 6-7 weeks. And during that time the Pregabalin wasn't helping at all with RLS. Again, if stopping Clonazepam, wean off it slowly to avoid most of the misery of withdrawal. And I should add that I don't think benzo's are a good way to go, especially not for long term use. Clonazepam has a half life of 40 hours. I was always sedated during the days and couldn't drive or work. I was always falling asleep during the days because it didn't help much with sleep at night. My RLS involves my legs and arms and also results in (not causal), blepharospasms and bruxism. The former bothers other people also when they see you in that mode. The latter caused me to break several teeth while grinding them under the severe pain of RLS. Taking Clonazepam completely stopped the blepharospasms and the bruxism. So it did have value to me. However, I still encourage people to avoid benzodiazapines.

[Vichic]

I have been on & off Clonazapam several times over the years, with varied results. As a sleeping pill for me they work well for a night or two. Night 3 I would need to take a bigger dose. So only used intermittently. At one stage my GP suggested I take it every night for a month & stop, Endep. The Clonazapam sort of worked, I hadn’t been getting a ny sleep at all so even a few hours was great. The worst part tho was at the end of that month when I had to stop taking it. The amount of time it took to get out of my system was almost double the time I was taking it. It was a nightmare, definitely would not recommend taking it like that. What I’ve found the most effective use of Clonazapam is when I haven’t slept much for 2-3 weeks I take one Clonazapam on top of the Opiates I now take for my RLS, which are doing a good job.....and I’m out flat for about 8 hours. Although this is advised against strongly by my Doctors.

[Hidden in reply to Vichic]

Which opiates do you take Vichic? And what strength?

[Vichic in reply to Hidden]

I take OxyContin 20mg

[Maureen133]

I had clonazepam years ago.It wasn't helpful.I'm sticking to the Ropinirole

[Mopsy1950]

Hi I have been on clonazapam with others pills for about 20 yrs now ,unlike most other tabs the body doesn’t seem to get used to them and have to keep taking more ,or having to change to another tab ,I take half 1 at moment I can take a full 1 when needed ,but I also take 1 pramapexal ,and 1 tramadol and this combination has worked well ,touch wood ,hope this helps

[Hidden]

I build a tolerance to clonazepam very quickly. As in a matter of days. And it causes rebound insomnia for me. Sometimes I take it in addition to my usual meds (pregabalin) but I wouldn't rely on it. We all differ but I believe there are better options out there.

[northof50]

Hi, I am not on clonazepam but am on Temazepam, somewhat similar.I tried asking my dr. if I can switch to clonazepam but so far no.So I have just increased my temazepam to 45mg at night, usually the max dose is 30mg, but anyhow I finally got my sleep back, and rls has really lessened! But my dr. wont be happy!!