Help in Ireland

[Pepper163]

Look for a Sleep Disorders clinic ....a MD can order Gabapentin...my parents are Both Irish...all of us have RLS....ganapentin 3x a day saved my life...

[Hidden]

Hi pepper thanks for sharing this, it's good to know.

It is a good idea to see a sleep specialist if you can, who are, by the way not psychologists. Sleep disorders are quite physical.

The advantages of seeing a sleep specialist is that they can diagnose if you also have PLMD, which 80% of people with RLS also have and to diagnose if you have sleep apnoea. Sleep apnoea is associated with RLS and treating it can relieve RLS.

A primay care doctor however should be capable of diagnosing and treating RLS. Yes they can prescribe gabapentin or pregabalin which are recommended first treatments to be tried for RLS.

These can be effective for RLS and PLMD, but not sleep apnoea.

They're used for epilepsy and nerve pain, in which case they may be prescribed 3 times a day. For RLS they are usually only once a day, (or for gabapentin no more than twice depending on the dose).

Thus, for example if you take 200mg 3 times a day, you could instead take 600mg at bedtime. This means the drug is more effective when you most need it, plus, it avoids daytime drowsiness. In fact, you may even be able to reduce the dose.

However, the doctor should also carry out blood tests for iron deficiency which is the main cause of RLS. Some people find that appropriate and sufficient iron therapy can eliminate the need for medication.

See this link

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

It's also recommended for anyone with RLS to explore if anything is making their RLS worse. I strongly suggest you find out more about this.

[involuntarydancer]

In Ireland GPs can prescribe all of the drugs that are usually used to treat rls except methadone. Therefore if you can find a knowledgeable GP (unlikely) or one who is prepared to read the peer reviewed studies available online and evidence based recommendations for rls treatment (admittedly also rare) or will listen to what you suggest, you can manage without seeing a consultant or attending a sleep clinic.

My GP arranged an iron infusion for me and also prescribes temgesic (an opioid) for my rls. He has also been prepared to consider other off label treatments such as dipyridamole.

I attended a sleep clinic in Dublin with a so-called specialist who ignored what I told her and under whose treatment I experienced the torture of unsupported dopamine agonist withdrawal. After which she proposed to put me straight back on a dopamine agonist. As a purported specialist, she did not even benefit from the usual excuse of ignorance.

My experience is that self-education is the single most important step in obtaining a workable treatment option. Then it is a matter of finding a cooperative, caring GP.

[involuntarydancer]

We Irish members of this forum should take a lead from Joolsg and start campaigning for rls to be included in the curriculum for GP training here in Ireland.

[willie24]

I agree: gabapentin is great, 3 per day.