I’ve wondered before if paracetamol can help RLS? I sometimes think it helps me. I once asked Dr Buchfhurer & he said it has no effect. When I have an attack, which is several times each evening & night it is so uncomfortable, like a pain except of course it is completely different from a pain, so sometimes I try it.my RLS is of 2 types. It is familial but also I have peripheral neuropathy ( not diabetic ) which other family members don’t have & i often wonder if that is why mine is so severe. Maybe it’s the neuropathy element paracetamol helps?
Anyway I tried paracetamol again last night around 2am when it was driving me nuts. I’ve woken up 5 hours later & with no RLS which is most unusual for me. I am taking nothing else.
I have PLMD only. I used Paracetamol, 2 of, before I have gone to bed (perhaps 5-10 minutes before). From my personal experience, I do think it helps, though I was taking Pramipexole. You can feel the difference in my mind that Paracetamol works separately from the drug, and yes I think paracetamol has value. However long term I would think it's not good. Only on the basis that any future benefit for say headaches would be diminished.
Interesting you feel the same. I don’t take very often but am thinking that everything long term seems to have downsides. I don’t think I’d take more than once a day & maybe for particularity bad nights ( though most are sadly ). I think it works as a ‘switch off’ same as puzzles & hot baths though seems to last a bit longer. Would love to hear from others - I think personal experience can be very beneficial for progress & advice. Because I was told paracetamol doesn’t work I didn’t take it but actually I think it does - same as the coffee story discussed on this site maybe? Anything that can give a few hours uninterrupted sleep is a godsend .,,,.. or maybe last night was just unusual! Time will tell!
I'm certain it has some benefits. I'm not in any way medical, I'd say get some medical advice. Doctor preferably, but pharmacist. I feel taking paracetamol is like a "reset", slows you down, releases tension, etc. In retrospect, I think" I wish I had just gone on paracetamol". My wife suffers pain badly, she's on morphine and paracetamol. Paracetamol permanently 4 times a day for the rest of her life. Well, her left leg hasn't dropped off ....yet. In that case, i think they had no alternative but to prescribe.
I too have non diabetic peripheral neuropathy which my neurologist says contributes to the painful RLS... I have found paracetamol eases the pain & makes the RLS bearable.. however co codamol works for both...like you I only take occasionally to avoid tolerance....
I thought it helped in the very early stages – when I only got it a few days (nights) at a time a week or weeks apart and a walk round the bedroom a few times fixed it. Not really anything I'd bother turning to now for RLS, hoping it would have any worthwhile effect.
Similar to you Alison, I have RLS plus peripheral neuropathy and have been demented at times, not helped by the complete lack of grasp our GPs in UK have for this condition. Having tried just about everything going, I came off Ropinirole eventually (my own withdrawal plan) and now my routine is a glass of red wine around 8pm, then 150mg Pregabalin plus 5mg Diazepam at 10pm. Sometimes this results in a 4/5 hour stretch of sleep, unheard of before. Your suggestion of Paracetamol is interesting and one I might try. I'm self-medicating now on a trial and error basis. I know hands will be thrown up in horror but such is the result of lack of confidence in the medical profession. Good luck.
I don’t think anyone yet understands RLS anywhere in the world, even the experts. I was actually a GP & I certainly didn’t/don’t. It is very frustrating & disabling isn’t it. When I was working an expression had developed ‘expert patients’ ( for many conditions ) who were beginning to be listened to but not by all as we all know. I’m hoping it will become the norm & help to solve many problems. We definitely need the scientists & researchers but the paternalistic & those with blinkers on can be counterproductive.
Not disrespectful! I share you’re frustration. The only thing I would say is it’s not their fault as so little is made of this dreadful condition so they don’t really realise what they don’t know - unless they come into the paternalistic & appearing not to listen or care variety ( yes I have met them too ) in which case it is their fault except they are of course always under huge pressure from all directions
Hi Alison, Interesting what you are saying about the paracetamol. I take co-dydramol or co-codamol (which is paracetamol with added codeine). I have been taking the same strength (2 x10/500) for nearly 2 years and sleep really well at night. To prevent constipation from the codeine I also take 1 high strength Senokot. I am also on 0.26 prolonged release Mirapex and 0.5 mg of Clonazepam. I wish I could do without the Mirapex. I tried but I am back on. Take care.
Thanks. I think I understood that considering it is such a frequently taken medicine it is usually very safe in standard doses but you can never be too careful
If you look at medication packets, the number of side effects are listed. I think these companies are fearful of being sued. My own opinion only. But recently I was offered a drug "to be used sparingly". I did, and nothing happened, no cure. It turns out I should have ignored the advice, and been a lot more generous. (It's faded to "nothing" in two days).
If there are any tips for addressing non diabetic peripheral neuropathy that any of you folks can give me, I’d be grateful. I will try paracetamol, although the red wine approach sounds most interesting! Thanks in advance.
Hi, my peripheral neuropathy was the reason I was given Pregabalin in the 1st place & then found it coincidentally helped my pre existing RLS - and then I think worsened it though I will never know that for sure.I wonder if other treatments for the pain of neuropathy might help our RLS too ( Amitryptilline I know makes RLS worse ).
I wonder if the neurologists treat neuropathy associated RLS different from primary RLS ( I have both ) & if they should be distinguishing between the 2. There is this more recent discussion about topiramate.
I would be interested to know how many of us on this site have the neuropathy or double cause versions as a few of you have replied about your neuropathy.
I would hazard a guess that those of us on this site suffer from the more severe versions & I wonder if there are things which we have in common which would be worth looking into - our own subgroups?
Like a lot of conditions one set of symptoms does not necessarily emanate from the same point on a biological pathway
My RLS is worsening of late, probably getting older and tolerance to prescribed medication, and I have found prescribed paracetamol has been one of the causes of these episodes. My GP had hoped it would potentiate the dihydrocodeine and ease pain from arthritis. We are all different and react differently to medicines. I am sensitive to drugs, according to neurologist, but think that is why a lowish dose of a weak opiate has worked for many years.
I tried using paracetamol a few years ago and it definitely helped to reduce my rls, but not to stop it altogether. It was less severe and didn't last as long as usual. I mentioned this to my GP, who said that, although paracetamol is not an opioid, it is related to them and this may be why it helps. (I also tried ibuprofen, which was useless). However, I would not take it long-term. Remember, taking any painkillers too frequently can actually induce migraine headaches.
I too have non diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy which is the cause (whether sole or not I don't know) of my RLS. Paracetamol does not help me at all. I have been taking 300mg of Pregabalin for years and obviously can't increase that, but my Neurologist won't prescribe anything else (except for a DA which I refuse to take). Hence the reason I am typing this at an ungodly hour of the morning. It is not unusual for me to be sitting up in tears at 4am having had no sleep. What a cruel condition this is! I extend my sympathies to my fellow sufferers but, alas, have no magic solutions to offer.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Worries about Gabapentin 
Not sure if I have RLS or neuropathy symptoms? 
Introduction from a newbie
burning legs/feeling extremely cold?
Heartened to know I am not alone in the struggles caused by pramipexole
