Article from John-Hopkins regaurding the effects of opiates on RLS

[Stdorn]

No question, I just wanted to post some of an article regaurding the effects of opiates on RLS (the full text can be found on John Hopkins university website.

Dr. Willis (as in Willis-Ekbomb disease / RLS) in his description of this disease in 1685 also reported on the benefits of opiates for treating the symptoms. Thus for over 300 years opiates remained the only truly effective treatment for this disease. This category of medications includes codeine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine, hydromorphone, methadone, buprenorphine and pentazocine.

An estimated 85 percent to 90 percent of patients with RLS will respond very well to opiates. An analysis of drug responses in RLS over a 2 -10 year period showed that 85 percent of RLS patients who started on methadone were still on it compared to less than 20 percent of those started on a dopamine drug. The median starting dose for methadone in this study was 10 mg per day with a range between 2.5 mg and 20 mg per day.

[LotteM]

Thanks for letting us know. So you mean this paper by Silver et al 2011: sciencedirect.com/science/a...?

There is a more recent overview of the use of opioids for RLS, also by Silver er al (2018): mayoclinicproceedings.org/a...

This latter one is about to be updated. We are impatiently awaiting its publication; this time it will also mention buprenorphine.

[Stdorn in reply to LotteM]

Yes I know there's more recent papers on the topic I just found it interesting that there was something on it from that long ago.

[LotteM in reply to Stdorn]

I agree! And it takes awfully long to trickle down to the EU. 🤬

[Pagan707]

Current NHS policy is to take chronic pain sufferers off ALL opiates just paracetamol and ibuprofen for pain. My advice would be to stay well away from any outpatient pain clinics as they are instructed to take you off it. Life would be unbearable without the relief it brings. I kicked up such a stink about them taking away from my quality of life they have left me alone so far. Please take this seriously and google it or go to NHS site if you doubt me.

[Stdorn in reply to Pagan707]

Makes no sense you were put on at by a doctor for a reason. But let's just ignore an entire class of drugs that work perfectly fine.

[Pagan707 in reply to Stdorn]

I think they are over reacting to the opiate crisis in America where heroin is cheaper than opiates prescribed for genuine medical reasons. My wife is an ICU nurse and says it’s probably to save money, a bit cynical but she’s been doing it for thirty years!