Had bad restless legs for few months now as have A/f so taking Amiodarone and Bisoprolol and 5mg Zoplicone to help me sleep. Have tried Ropinirole 0.25mg and Pramipexole 0.088mg and finally Gabapentin 100mg for my restless legs which all seem to work to a degree if helped by Restless leg calming cream. Have been for couple of pints with friends after taking Gabapentin last night and felt awful today. Can anyone advise what to take that will not give me bad sleepy and sickly side effects ? Any advice is very welcome thank you
Mike
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Mike-tyson
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I'm not clear if you're taking the ropinirole, pramipexole and gabapentin all at the same time or you have only taken one at a time and different times.
Even if you aren't taking them all at the same time they can all make you sleepy seperately. It's a common side effect. Quite often this side effect happens when you first start taking these and then it can get better after a time. If you haven't taken any of them for more than a few weeks then the side effects haven't had a chance to fade.
Gabapentin can cause dizziness and hence might make you feel sickly, but this can fade with time too.
The best practice, to be honest, with any of these is to take them 2 - 3 hours before bed, get ready for bed in those hours then go to bed. That means the drowsiness should be at its peak as you go to bed.
You've taken a low dose of all three. The dose of gabapentin, especially if you're taking only that and nothing else isn't enough to help your RLS.
To be direct, the problem you're having may not be so much the medication but the couple of pints. Alcohol does not mix with these medications and additionally alcohol can make RLS worse.
It may be a hard choice but perhaps you haver to choose between a life without alcohol or a life with RLS.
Totally agree with Manerva, but I would just add that a usual working dose of gabapentin is at least 900mg for example and it can take a few weeks at this dose to be fully effective. Also, it might take your body quite some time to get used to it and then you might not feel so bad from the side affects . Not sure about the other two, but it might be 1mg for ropinirole.
Again, like Manerva said, they don't generally mix well alcohol. I have been on gabapentin for a few years now and I'm able to have a couple of beers or a glass of wine now and then if my legs are generally ok, but I usually avoid alcohol.
How's your serum ferritin, do you take an iron supplement?
I have had blood tests at my doctors and was told all is ok. Going to drop back to 0.25 Roprinerol as 0.5 per day has made me feel rough and tired. Cut quite a big lawn this morning was so tired after doing it had to lie down for couple of hrs. Think everyone reacts differently to these medication. So have to experiment a bit to see what suits you?
Did they share the actual figures with you as a lot of doctors don't realise that what is an ok result for normal (i.e non RLS suffering) people isn't necessarily an ok result for RLS sufferers. We should be aiming for a serum ferritin level of at least 100. A significant number of sufferers gain some level of relief by getting their level up to this amount.
Watch out for Amiodarone, my old man had AF and was put on Amiodarone. He almost died as a result and is still recovering many months later. It basically caused his thyroid to go toxic which pushed his HR up to 150 all through the day and night for several months. He also started falling over whilst out and we're very lucky he didn't break anything.
The doctors were prescribing him all sorts of drugs (including the ones you mentioned) for his AF untill he'd rattle if you shook him..... Amiodarone turned out to be one of the worst for side effects. From being youthful and going for pints with his mates one minute the next minute he was almost dead. He ended up going downhill incredibly quickly once he was on the concoction of meds (massive loss of weight / extream fatigue / damage to his heart valve/ falling over / other much worse side effects) He was put on steroids to calm the thyroid down which funnily enough brought his HR down to a stable 70 for the few weeks...it was almost as if he didn't have AF. The docs have now taken him off most of the drugs.....he's gaining weight again and getting his energy back..... slowly.
He still has AF and funaly enough still has RLS.
I also have RLS and find carbs and sugar including those found in beer (London pride being my poison) seem to cause it. I've gone Keto and now don't have RLS.
I have Ropinirole 25mg and still had issues. I didn't realize that it was also the foods I was eating and drinking that was the main cause of my RLS. Once I switched to decaf drinks (coffee, tea, soft drinks), ate only sugar-free foods and drinks, and no salt foods, I feel so much better and no longer dread trying to lay down for a nap or sitting in a chair and going to bed at night. I hope this helps.
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