Started on depixol 40mg depot inj fortnightly and now have severe RLS

[Magpie2016]

Hi everyone

I'm new here, hope everyone is doing OK.

I have just been started on Depixol depot inj 40mg fortnightly. Previously I was on clopixol and previous to that was on depixol bylut don't remember the dose.

While I was on clopixol I didn't have and RLS symptoms but the first time and now again I'm on depixpol and both times have RLS .

I have tried procicladine ant side effect tab and lorazepam. But nothing help.

But if I take clonzipam it helps. But the I cannot focus on my tasks and my speech goes all slurred.

I'm on this meds due to schizophrenia.

My care coordinator is not doing any thing to help and my consultant is on leave so I can't get any other meds to help.

Can someone please help me cause I have haven't had a decent night sleep on over 7 weeks only 2 hrs first then I wake up and have to walk in circles for 2 hours then I go to Bed and have barly 3 5 hrs sleep. Now I am really struggling

Please help me if possible

Thank you so much 🙏

[Hidden]

Oh dear, I am sorry to hear of your dilemma.

Depixol is one of the older antipsychotics and it can produce parkinsonic and RLS like symptoms. I didn't know it was still used.

Procyclidine used to be what was supposed to control these side effects so sorry it hasn't been effective.

Depixol lowers dopamine levels and is contraindicated for anybody with Parkinson's disease, so really should be for RLS.

I'm afraid I can't think of any feasible solution. You can't take a dopamine agonist for your RLS it will counteract the depixol. I'm not sure that a gabapentinoid will help.

My best suggestion is to have a word with your mental health doctor to see if there is a more modern antipsychotic that is less dopamine depleting.

[Magpie2016 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you so much for your reply. I will do that and ask if I can be put on a different inj.

But I have just taken mirtazapine for depression and my RLS has stopped completely. Whereas my legs were going so fast. Now I'm sitting here stoll. But I don't really want to take this cause it make eat more. Which is why I stopped it myself before.

[Hidden in reply to Magpie2016]

I had a course of mirtazepine once and it made my RLS worse.

Just about all antidepressants make RLS worse. But see how you go on with it.

[Magpie2016 in reply to Hidden]

Hi Manerva

Thank yiu for your reply.

I sleep all night through after taking mirtazepine and I am still a little tired this morning I think that's cause its a sedative and I didn't sleep I was sedated. Which is not helpful.

Thank you 😊

[Hidden in reply to Magpie2016]

If it's a sedtaive you want, something like zopiclone may be better if you can have it. It's not an antidipressant (like mirtazepine) and unlike clonazepam, it is short acting so should help you sleep, but not be drowsy next day.

However, if you're OK with the mirtazepine then no problem.

[Woolfy1]

Hi

I'm really sorry to hear about your problems. There are loads of newer antipsychotics. You also dont need to be taking it as an injection if you willing to take antipsychotic meds for your schizophrenia. Ariprprizole, amisulpiride,clozaril, resperidole? All tablets not injection .

Itll probably take some time to change over as you need to speak to your psychiatrist. Speak to your care coordinator asap and explain how debilitating your side effects are. I am a mental health nurse too and sadly did not really understand how awful akethasia, or restless legs, are until mine got worse over the years!

We all know on this site, how our problems can be minimised by others.

I hope you get some relief soon. Keep going and I'm sure you will get a better medication regime with less side effects.

Best of luck

Keep us posted

[Magpie2016 in reply to Woolfy1]

Thank you for your kind message Woolfy1.

I took the mirtazapine last night and i had a really goods night's sleep. But I'm worried that it makes you put on weight cause you eat a lot.

They put on both the depixol and mirtazapine while in hospital in Feb this year and I couldn't stop eating. I have put on almost a stone in a space of about just over a week. I am also supposed to take clonazepam as PRN i will try this tonight as an alternative and see if that would my RLS.

But thank you to you Woolfy1, your reply is greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks 😊

[Hidden]

Dear Magpie, I am so sorry to hear about your troubles. I was a GP and also have a close family member who has schizophrenia so I understand a great deal about this and all the dilemmas.But honestly we are not the right people to advise though I completely understand your distress and why you asked.

It is very likely you do not have the ‘standard’ restless leg syndrome & the treatment of your schizophrenia is a highly specialised field which is not even run by GP’s.

All the personal nuances & all your past stories and events are known only to you and your drs & if you followed the advice of anyone on this site it may make you very unwell indeed, mentally or otherwise.Please never stop a treatment on the advice of anyone except your specialists. If one is on holiday there will be others standing in.

There may be very special personal reasons why you are being given injectable treatment.

Weight gain can be the least of your worries and I would never stop ( or restart ) any treatment without your specialists advice.

I also appeal to others on this site not to give advice in this situation as we know nothing about very important personal circumstances. We can send much sympathy & feel empathy but we are not appropriate specialists for this.

Please contact your specialists again & explain to them your intense suffering

[Magpie2016 in reply to Hidden]

Hi Alison

Thank you so much for your advice. I was in A&E last night due to an overdose and I saw the home treatment , they said they will push for a medication review with 10 to 14 days to happen. I hope that this will help.

I'm really suffering here with my mental health and my RLS. It's been roughly 2 months that I haven't had a full night's sleep . The best I've had is a continues sleep of about 4 hrs which has only been about 4 or 5 nights. All the other times I've been getting about 2 and half hrs to about 3 hrs sleep a night.

But thank you I will discuss with the home treatment team further when they come to visit me this evening.

Thank you Alison 😊

[Hidden in reply to Magpie2016]

Dear Magpie, it sounds awful and very distressing and I am pleased to hear that a review of treatment is planned for you soon.I would appeal to you and anyone else in such distress that an overdose is never the answer. There are always people out there to approach & who care, including all us on this site who will sympathise so much with your dreadful sounding sleep problem.

Hang on in there and it will be solved