Driving........

[Gmc54]

My husband was diagnosed with sleep apnoea last year. (Bear with me, this relevant to rls) It is taken very seriously by doctors and the general medical profession as it causes tiredness. He has to comply with everything his consultant says, or he loses his driving license. he wears a mask at night, and his sleep patterns are automatically sent to the hospital digitally. His consultant speaks to him every 6 months to discuss his compliance.

He recently had to renew his driving license, and the dvla had been informed of his condition by the consultant, apparently it is the law that they have to do this. Hubby had to fill in a form - several pages long and send to the dvla. They then get in touch with his GP and his consultant to see if he is safe to drive. We are still awaiting to see if he will retain his license.

The point I make is if they take sleep apnoea so seriously re driving, why not rls!!

If they took the lack of sleep we suffer more seriously we would get much better treatment, and not be fobbed off.

I no longer drive, I know I'm not safe because of lack of sleep, I can afford to do this, I am retired, but there must be thousands of rls sufferers still driving because they can't afford to take time off work.

[Joolsg]

Absolutely agree. I stopped driving for exactly this reason.

It makes no sense whatsoever.

[Bruxelles]

I went to my Dr Thursday and the only thing he could suggest was upping the dose of Ropinerole. This after I had explained to him that the Neurologist had doubled the dose as I had no improvement BUT when doubling the dose I started getting RLS in the daytime, evening and at night instead of just at night plus it affected my mood. The Neurologist suggested going back to initial dose. So I have stopped it altogether - no point poisoning myself for nothing. My G P then went into long explanation about how you have to get dose right and suggested I tried a larger dose which I refused.

It’s so frustrating and I’m so very tired

[Ciduoc in reply to Bruxelles]

I also had increased Ropinerole and subsequently had rls in the daytime, earlier and earlier. This is a classic sign of augmentation. I had to get off of it and went on Gabapentin. The last thing you want to do is increase the Ropinerole!

[Bruxelles in reply to Ciduoc]

Thanks for this. I cut down from 2 tab 0.18mg to 1 tab and then stopped. I wasn'y on It for long - perhaps 6 Maybe 9 months. I asked Neurologist for Gabzpentin after but hr didn't Give It to me - He is at retiring âgé and obviously not interested. My GP wouldn'y Give me Gabapentin As He said Neurologist knew better. How ever, I've given Up In Neurologist, think he's a waste of time. Incidentally, I Had the best night's sleep I've Had for about 3 yrs last night - with a sleeping tablet but none the less - slept almost 8 hrs non stop! Normally if I take a sleeping tab It only keeps me asleep 4 hrs max! Can't explain or understand It! How do You get on with Gabapentin?

[Ciduoc in reply to Bruxelles]

If you can sleep through the night without anything, then you may not need any medicine. My sister got off Ropinerole only to find out she no longer had rls.I got ahold of a neurologist at a sleep center and she prescribed Gabapentin. Sleep specialist are more informed. My husband also got Gabapentin from a neurologist from a sleep center. It seems strange that you are having trouble getting Gabapentin since it is a common medicine for rls.

[DicCarlson in reply to Bruxelles]

I do hope you're not stopping cold turkey! You need to feather it down VERY slowly. Look for previous posts by searching in the search box "withdrawal Ropinerole"

[Bruxelles in reply to DicCarlson]

Thanks for reply. No I cut down from 2 tabs to 1 tab for a while then stopped. Had only been on it 6 Maybe 9 months.

[Stdorn]

I stopped driving 2 years ago after severe insomnia from rls made it to where I was having a close call or a minor fender-bender every time I went anywhere.

[Stdorn]

I was also diagnosed with sleep apnea. It is my understanding this pretty much only occurs in people who are overweight. With the conditions that have been put on your husband it may be easier to lose weight than have to deal with sending in breathing results and filling out extra paperwork just to keep your license. I went on a diet started walking and lost a hundred pounds because of my sleep apnea. I didn't want to have to wear a mask. After getting down to my target weight I asked my doctor if they would to test me again because I was curious if I'd still have sleep apnea and they said there was no point in even testing me I had lost enough weight that I would no longer have sleep apnea.

[AmyMac5 in reply to Stdorn]

While being overweight is one condition that can cause or worsen sleep apnea, it is by no means the only one and there are a number of other underlying causes. My husband (who was not overweight) had it and was completely unaware until I made him see the GP about the fact he stopped breathing while he slept, which a sleep study confirmed.

[LotteM in reply to AmyMac5]

I agree with AmyMac. Don't assume that overweight is the reason for apnea, or think you can't have it because you are not overweight. I have (mild) sleep apnea and I am by no means overweight.

[Gmc54 in reply to Stdorn]

No, he is normal weight. His consultant remarked on it when he went for his first appointment, so unfortunately he is one of the few who can't help himself by losing weight.

[Gmc54 in reply to Stdorn]

Maybe you could test yourself using an app called 'Snorelab'. That is how my husband first found he had the condition after years of me telling him how much he snored. it records your snoring, and after listening to it he eventually believed me! Of course there was silence from my side of the bed! 😇😇lol!

[DicCarlson]

I'm reading a great book "Breath" by James Nestor - fascinating, with a direct connection to sleep apnea and perhaps RLS. It does give a fascinating history on breathing interventions with exercises and techniques.