SHARING A SUCCESSFUL EXPERIENCE

[Arjiji]

I was going to answer Shumbah, but then I thought that the answer could be interesting for all RLS sufferers.

Hello Shumbah and other sufferers:

I´m RLS since 30 years ago , I have never taken buprenorphine or any other opioid. I used Dopamine Agonists (in pills and patches) for years, but when the dreaded "augmentation" arrived, I began to reduce the doses of DA by myself and to replace those drugs with trazodone and clonazepan, aerobic sports, stretching, relaxation and relaxing herbs, until after six months I got over the detox. I still had leg problems but got some sleep almost every night.

Then I did a Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) therapy, 20 sessions, and after three months my legs bothered me only a little, although I still couldn't sleep without pills. In the year 2021 I have followed an Auriculopuncture therapy, for 15 sessions and currently I am without symptoms in my legs (maybe a little one night once a week), but I still struggle to sleep without pills even though the dose I take is very low.

I think I do not suffer from physical dependence on drugs, but I do suffer from PSYCHOLOGICAL DEPENDENCE, since sometimes I try to sleep without pills and then I feel anxiety before going to bed, anticipatory anxiety or memory of how bad I had it when I could not sleep at all at night .

Now is the time to put myself in the hands of a psychologist colleague and do a little therapy to help me overcome that psychological dependence and then I think I will have REACHED THE GOAL.

MY ADVICE: As Manerva said, we must seek a holistic approach to our disease, and not be left alone in the hands of doctors and their medicines. You have to complement the treatment with everything that serves each one, you have to try (not everything works for everyone), from heavy blankets to Chinese herbs, Cannabis, Kratom, acupuncture, Electrotherapy, TMS, etc. etc.

Encouragement colleagues who suffer from RLS, I encourage you not to be subject to the medications, they are necessary, but at the moment they do not cure and almost all have a negative effect after a while, take the minimum possible dose and add the effect of other therapies with fewer side effects.

Greetings to all and Happy New Year 2022 and with better health.

[Moonwalker1967]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience!

[Hidden]

I couldn't agree more. My husband calls it a "mind f---." One or two sleepless nights and then it seems some people develop PTSD - post traumatic sleep disorder. You can will yourself to do just about anything, but sleep. Let me make you more anxious :).

It would be virtually impossible for my husband to have this particular disorder. His mind just isn't wired that way. It's wired more like a caveman's. Food-good-eat, bed-good-sleep, TV-good-watch sports.

I have no answers, just sympathizing.

[Cowbsky]

Hi, Arjiji,

- nice to hear this; good path! RLS since 7 years old (now 69); and UARS ( since 17teen, some remaining drawbacks on this domain, these days);

_ Luck us! Likewise, I also have been able to manage, since some 1.7 years, my both conditions (say, at more or less 90% solution) with a BilevelCPAP (for the UARS issues; lots of information to count on, in details),

_and for the RLS at night: (a) accupunture without needles (known as EFT); (b) rigorous sleep hygiene; (c) avoiding caffeine and alchools; and, of course, (d) Clonazepam 0.4 mg, bed time; can manage whihout it, however, things drop to some 80% solution (huge difference in life quality), no addiction, etc, stop when I want, yet it takes some 15 days of worse nights, each experiment of stopping.

all the best and luck

[Guitarpickin]

Happy new year, Arjiji! Thank you for sharing your experience. It’s great you have found a combination of things that work for you. Hopefully the psychological dependence (from the memory of how terrible consecutive sleepless nights can be) can be resolved with the therapy you seek. Please keep us posted. The reminder to do everything we can for ourselves in an effort to keep the medication at a minimum, is a welcome one. The trial and error period isn’t fun, but it’s definitely worth it in the long run. You sound very close to reaching your goal, and I hope it happens early in 2022! Best of luck-and congratulations on all you have already achieved!