Antidepressants

[Mum007]

I have been diagnosed with chronic fatigue/fibromyalgia. Can someone recommend an antidepressant that won’t affect my restless legs but will help with the chronic fatigue/pain and could you say whether this is a sedating antidepressant or an energizing antidepressant. They want to put me on amitriptyline but I know not to take it. I am in the uk.

[Madlegs1]

From Dr Google. Some RLS site.

The SSRIs sertraline (Zoloft) and citalopram (Celexa) may be a good start and are less activating, or stimulating, than fluoxetine (

Good luck.

I tried a search on HU ,but it was pretty useless.

Loads of info on Google.

Just type in " safe antidepressants for RLS"

[Mum007 in reply to Madlegs1]

Thanks

[Amrob]

Hi Mum007, are you on any RLS meds?The reason I ask is because Lyrica is used for both fibromyalgia and RLS.

[Mum007 in reply to Amrob]

No I’m not. I’m afraid of using lyrica as I’ve heard so many horror stories of people being really tired on it and with chronic fatigue I don’t want to feel any more tired.

[Amrob in reply to Mum007]

Interestingly I have developed chronic fatigue type symptoms (but not chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)) very slowly over the past 2 or 3 years. I have been on Lyrica for approx 7 years. When doing some research, I read that Lyrica is also used to treat CFS.

I wouldn't recommend Lyrica lightly but it does help my periodic limb movement disorder considerably. I'd prefer any of the side effects to the debilitating tiredness that I experience when not on it.

[Hidden]

I don't beilieve that there are any antidepressants that are both safe for RLS and helpful for fibromyalgia.

I beileve as Amrob suggests that the alpha 2 ligands either gabapentin or pregabalin can be useful for fibromylagia.

As these are also treatments for RLS they won't make your RLS worse.

Amitriptyline is used not so much for its antidepressant qualities but for its nerve painkilling qualities.

Personally, I've never actually found amitriptyline to be useful for anything at all.

[Mum007 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your reply Manerva. As I posted to Amrob I am not on any medication except taking iron and magnesium but am afraid of using lyrica as I already feel exhausted and the reviews are that it makes you very tired, amongst the many other side effects. I have also recently started getting the same feelings of restless legs in my arms and legs during the day but without the urge to move. Not sure if this is a nerve related problem now as I have moderate spinal stenosis or anxiety or agitation but I suppose these are now all side effects of chronic fatigue that I will have to learn to live with. It seems that most things that help fatigue and pain also make restless legs much worse apart from alpha 2 ligands which come with their own problems!

[Hidden in reply to Mum007]

Sorry I missed your reply to Amrob.

Yes, drowsiness is one of the effects of gabapentin. I did experience it myself when I first took it, but it wore off after a few weeks.

I am still taking gabapentin and I'm currently experiencing severe fatigue, but this is for other reasons and I'm sure the gabapentin is making no difference.

Just a thought!

[Munroist in reply to Mum007]

Hi, I took pregabalin (lyrica) for a year for neuropathic pain and as a side benefit its anti anxiety effects and found it allowed me to move on from a difficult place where I was very worried about the pain and sensations and negative about the future. It did have a very slight dulling effect mentally but really not that noticeable, a bit like how you feel after your first drink but I didn’t find it made me sleepy in the day. I came off it as I don’t like taking any drugs if I can avoid it and I felt I had moved on with my understanding and acceptance of the pain, which had also moderated. I was glad I did come off it ( slowly!) as I felt a bit sharper but if my RLS got a lot worse I wouldn’t be too worried about going back on it again if it was the only option. I have a slight concern that my RLS was worse when I came off it, but I was also doing a lot more exercise at that point which is the main thing which exacerbates my RLS so I can’t be certain.

[Mum007 in reply to Munroist]

Hi. Thanks for that. Can you tell me how much you took and when.

[Munroist in reply to Mum007]

Hi, I started at 150mg a day which was 2 x 75mg tablets, one at 8am and the other at 8pm. I did that for a couple of weeks while I monitored any side effects, and then doubled the daily dose to 300mg, which was 150mg taken at 8am and 8pm. I was told that pregabalin built up its effects over days so the frequency and timing were not too critical as you were effectively topping up rather than the effectiveness wearing off completely before the next dose. That is also how it seemed to me, the effects kicked in steadily after increasing the dose which makes it a good idea to ramp up slowly. However there were times when I though I noticed a bit of a dip after 12 hours so the above regime worked pretty well. When I came off the pregabalin I took quite a lot longer, over three months, dropping one tablet a day at a time and staying at a reduced dose for several weeks if I was doing something more like to generate neural pain or sensations. After I came off the pregabalin (after a year of taking it) I did feel that my head was a bit clearer and realised it had had a slight dulling effect, but while I was taking it it wasn’t really noticeable.

[Joolsg]

drugscience.org.uk/project-...

Amitriptyline made my RLS 1000%worse.

Most anti depressants given for pain relief worsen RLS.

Medical cannabis would help pain, sleep and RLS.

Oil with 20% THC works out at about £1.50 a day as it's subsidised but not available free on NHS.

Link above. Incredible reports about effectiveness for chronic pain.

[marsha2306]

No to Cymbalta, Amitriptyline and Celexa.I was on Celexa for many years and when I started having RLS I had to get off. It was so much better after I stopped. I’ve also tried using amitriptyline and Cymbalta for other non related nerve pain and my RLS increased so much. I’ve been taking Wellbutrin for many years with no problem. I also heard trazadone but I’ve never tried it.

[Eryl]

One thing that could be causing all three conditions is chronic inflammation due to diet. There is plenty of information about an anti inflammatory diet on the internet, but it is basically an LCHF diet plus avoiding refined cooking oils and saturated fats, which means cutting out all added sugar and processed foods as those these days invariably contain refined palm oil. Also some doctors recomend limiting fruit consumption, especially the over sweet modern varieties like seedless grapes. Also, especially over winter take Vit D3 supplements which support the immune system and reduce inflammation and Vit B complex as it's nicknamed 'the happy vitamin'.