Nervous legs

[Jamieleigh17]

What tablets are they for nervous legs.ive got it really bad.im on cobeldopa

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Hello.

If you're taking careldopa regularly every day, then I suggest you re-consult the doctor who prescribed this and get it changed. It's possibly one of the worst things you should take regularly. The sooner you change it the better.

If you do have RLS then there are medications that cab be used - tablets, but depending on the severity of your RLS it's better to try other treatments first as the drugs used for RLS are all quite potent, dependency producing and have side effects.

If you do have RLS it's significant to know if it's "primary" or secondary.

Secondary RLS is where the symptoms are related to some other underlying cause and if that's so, then if the underlying cause can be treated, this will also treat the RLS.

Examples of this are secondary RLS due to anaemia, thyroid problems or diabetes.

Primary RLS is inherited and there may be a family history of it.

With this form of RLS, sufferers have lower levels of iron in the brain than people who don't have RLS. There is no practical direct test for this but blood iron tests can be used. These are tests for serum iron, transferrin, ferritin and haemoglobin.

If haemoglobin is low then this is iron deficiency anaemia.

If it's normal then there can still be brain iron deficiency. For somebody to have the same level of iron in the brain as a non-RLS person, ferritin has to be about 200ug/L.

Doctors usually say if ferritin is anything above 15ug/L then it's "normal" and therefore OK.

This isn't OK for somebody with RLS. If it's less than 75ug/L then it can be increased by taking an oral iron supplement.

50% of people with RLS benefit from raising tnheri ferritin to at least 100ug/L.

Here's a link to some information about this.

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

Iron is a treatment for RLS, it's not a cure. Brain iron levels have to be maintained to keep the condition under control.

Iron therapy can take mlonths to work.

There are also some other deficiencies which add to RLS, these are magnesium, vitamin B12 and D. Correcting these deficiencies can help RLS.

The next important consideration for managing RLS is to identify any aggravating factors or triggers, i.e. anytbing that's making the symptoms worse. Avoiding these triggers can reduce symptoms, sometimes significantly.

There is quite a list of prescription and non-prescription medicines which if you take any either regularly or occasionally, then they can make RLS worse. If so you can discuss with your doctor stopping these ar finding an alternative. The list includes anything from antidepressants to antacids to cough medicine.

What you eat or drink can affect RLS. Alcohol makes RKS worse and caffeinbg taken during the day can worsen sy,mptoms latyer, STranghley however, some peoiple find that when they are suffering symptoms, caffeine can relieve them.

Added sugar and refined carbohydrates in food, anything with a higjh Glycaemic Index can make RLS worse.,. Some people find a low carbohydrate diet helps.

Any food which casues subclinical inflammation can make RLS worse. You coudl be gluten or lactose intolerant without knowing it, a low oxalate diet may help, an anti-inflammatory diet might help. Taking an anti-oxidant e.g. celery juice might help.

These remedies involve a change in life style, e.g. if a low carbohydrate diet works for you, you have to maintain the diet indefinitely.

Improvement will be gradual and slow.

Medication fior RLS should really be a last resort, but if you see a doctor, it might be the first thing they suggest. Howver if your symptoms are daily, severe and prevent you doing things or cause insomnia then you may have to consider a medication. - not all are tablets.

"First line" medications are the ones that are generally tried first. If these fail then RLS is called refarctory and other medicines are then considered.

Meds klike careldopa used to be prescribed for regular RLS, this is no longer the case because of the complications they cause. In addition, once a complication has occurred which could be quite quickly, then careldopa has to be withdrawn and this can be extremely difficult or even impossible.

The two classes of medicines used for RLS now are either dopamine agonists (DAs) or gabapentinoids, (gabas).

DAs are similar to careldopa, but works differently These meds are still quite popular because they are very effective, at least at first. They are now becoming less popular becasue they cause the same complications as careldopa, only not quite so quickly.

In addition, the more recent gabas, although not quite so effective intially, don't cause the same complications as the DAs. Many people taking DAs after a while suffer major complications, and have to struggle through withdrawal and many find a gaba a good substitute. It's better to try a gaba FIRST.

Here's a link to the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines for the management of RLS.. You may not have heard of NICE but your doctor will have heard of NICE, so when you discuss iron tests and changing medication you can refer your doctor to these guidelines.

cks.nice.org.uk/restless-le...

You will see the guidelines make no mention whatsoever of a careldopa based drug. The main drugs are DAs (not recommended) and gabas

The guidelines also identify the complications of using a DA, i.e. augmentation and Impulse Control Disorder. These do not apply to the gabas but they do apply to careldopa, buit even more so.

Unfortunately, if you've started taking careldopa then you will have to wean off it slowly, stopping it suddenly can be dangerous.

To reiterate, the problem with careldopa is that it can very quickly cause augmentation. Augmentation is a severe complication that can make your life an absolute misery. These drugs are now largely reserved for parkinsons' disease. They are not appropriate for RLS.