Restless legs

[Drhook]

Hi all! Restless legs are the bain of my life! Don't think I've had a good sleep for years.my doctor gave me Pramipexole a parkinson drug for the problem. I have fibromyalgia and fatty liver. Does anyone have pain in left side under the rib?

[Hidden]

Welcome to this RLS forum. I hope you find it helpful.

I doubt very much if the pain under your rib on the left side has anything to do with your RLS. If you're concerned about it, I suggest seeing your doctor.

As regards your RLS, I am curious about your current experience of this.

It sounds as if pramipexole isn't working for you.

If you'd tell us what dose you're taking and how long you've been taking it then you could get some more detailed and specific information.

Perhaps you could also say if you're taking any other medication, e.g. for your fibromyalgia.

Some drugs used for fibromyalgia and in fact, in some circumstances, pramipexole itself can make RLS worse.

[Drhook in reply to Hidden]

Hi, Pramipexole 180 mg, escitalpram 20mg Amlodipine 5mg morphine 5mg.lansoprazole 15mg,nortripyline that's the lot been taking most of them for years just on repeat thanks

[Hidden in reply to Drhook]

Escitalopram is an SSRI antidepressant and these are known to make RLS worse.

Nortriptyline is a tricyclic antidepressant and these are known to make RLS worse.

Lansprazole is a proton pump inhibitor antacid and these are known to make RLS worse.

I'm assuming that you are taking 180 micrograms of pramipexole NOT 180 milligrams. That would be 240 times the maximum dose.

If you've been taking pramipexole for some years you may be suffering augmentation. Augmentation in the context of RLS is a significant worsening of RLS caused by long term use of a dopamine agonist, e.g. pramipexole.

I'm not sure what you're taking morphine for. It's not an ideal.opioid for either fibromyalgia or RLS.

It seems then your current situation with your RLS is that you're taking 4 medicines which are making it worse and another which may not be helping much.

It might be a good idea to have a good discussion with your doctor and review all your medicines. It's irresponsible to let you continue on the same repeat prescription for years. There are alternatives to pramipexole, escitalopram and nortriptyline for fibromyalgia and morphine.

Pregabalin or gabapentin may help with both fibro and RLS.

Common opioid painkillers used for RLS are oxycidone, methadone or buprenorphine.

You could also ask your doctor for blood tests for ferritin and haemoglobin. If your ferritin level is below 75ug/L then you benefit from starting an oral iron supplement.

Supplements of magnesium and vitamin B12 may also help. The lansoprazole inhibits the absorption of these

Here's a link to some info on iron therapy for RLS.

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

[Drhook in reply to Hidden]

Just want to thank you for your help I'll go see a doctor ASAP

[Hidden in reply to Drhook]

Here's some information about augmentation from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, (NICE). You may have refer your doctor to it.

cks.nice.org.uk/topics/rest...

[Svengolly]

I had horrific & i mean HORRIFIC RLS for months twice .... both times cured by raising my ferritin levels.

Most rls is caused by low ferritin ... which is cause by not enough iron in diet .

What caused my low iron situation ? ... My misguided Vegetarian diet :((

The 1st time i used supplements & it took me 8 gruesome months to fix it .

The next time i had multiple Iron Infusions and it took less than a month .

I raised my ferritin from 30 to 80 and that did the trick .

I've read some people need to get up as much as 500 or 600 .

------

So no more RLS ... buuuut ...

For decades despite being fit and eating a super "healthy" Vegetarian diet i have had eight severe chronic gut issues , plus some other weird neuro/dopamine issues .

I saw specialists and nutritionists and Function Med. doctors . More fiber less fiber, different fiber .... nada :(((

Then i heard about this insane sounding Carnivore diet doing miracles for the gut , auto-immune diseases , obesity , diabetes , etc .

Six months ago i started eating ONLY Grassfed local raised meat , eggs, and dairy.

Within a month 80% improvement , within 6 months 98% !

Now back to Ferritin ... my level is now 280 !

If you want help finding local Grassfed farms let me know .

[Joolsg in reply to Svengolly]

Sadly raising ferritin won’t help if someone is taking Mirapex & anti depressants. They first have to get off the drugs.

[Joolsg]

Manerva has given you excellent advice. Get off the anti depressants & the PPI , raise your serum ferritin & start on alternative meds suggested by Manerva.

Spend a few hours reading all the latest posts & you’ll see others in exactly your position.

Most doctors & neurologists know nothing about it & prescribe the wrong drugs, overprescribing dopamine agonists & don’t know that most anti depressants & anti histamines cause or worsen the disease.

[Drhook in reply to Joolsg]

Many thanks for your advise, having fibromyalgia the doctors often think it all in the head!!

[FLAME43]

good post, thanks for the share

[Izzybelle22]

Hi there Dr. Hook! Funny you should mention the left side under the rib for I have the exact same thing going on under the rib cage but on my right side ! I don't have fibromyalgia but I do have a compromised liver which does not have anything to do with my RLS. I have had it for over 20 years and have been on ropinirole for as long and despite the facts and the augmentation, ropinirole still works for me to this day and I can't imagine living without it. Best of luck to you and thanks for your post.

[Drhook in reply to Izzybelle22]

Hi I have a fatty liver! I get it often, but like every thing else the doctor just passed it over because of the fibromyalgia!