Buprenorphine

[Flora-Rose]

Can my GP prescribe Buprenorphine for my RLS? She is willing but says she cannot prescribe within the Birmingham and Solihull Health Authority.

[puzzler1]

Hi, good question. My wife is prescribed Temgesic for RLS which is a sub-lingual form of buprenorphine but it's prescribed by her Consultant in 'Healthcare for Older People' at the RD&E hospital in Exeter. It's a controlled drug, but for the life of me I can't understand why, because it's pretty innocuous compared to side effects with other readily available drugs.

I suggest you get referred to a hospital department that might be able to help. But don't be put off, there's lots of users now in the UK who are finding success with it, although that said, not in all cases.

Hope you have success.

[Madlegs1]

Most countries opioids have to be prescribed by a consultant.

In Ireland the GP can prescribe ,as long as the consultant has authorised it.

Not sure for other jurisdictions.

[Renaul]

My GP prescribed sublingual Temgesic on my request with no difficulty. I live in Greater Manchester

[Flora-Rose in reply to Renaul]

Thank you. That’s very useful. Presume it was prescribed for RLS?

[Joolsg]

My GP prescribed it in London for my RLS. But I did forward an email from my RLS neurologist saying he had 'no objection'.I hate the postcode lottery.

Start slow if it is prescribed. Ask for pills not the patch as we need it at night, not evenly over the day.

Start at 0.2mg and if it works great, otherwise increase to 0.4mg.

Nausea is a common side effect so have quells ready.

Good luck.

[bedith6]

I was referred to a neurologist at the Barberry centre in Birmingham. He has prescribed Temgesic which is buprenorphine for my severe RLS. His name is Dr. Bagary so perhaps your GP will refer you to him. Good Luck

[Flora-Rose in reply to bedith6]

That’s fabulous info. Will definitely follow up😀

[rls-insomniac]

My consultant wrote a letter to my GP saying that I could start on buprenorphine to control my RLS. This was 18 months ago and my GP has prescribed it ever since with no problems. As it's a controlled drug I have to request the prescription each month.

[SueJohnson]

Have you had your ferritin checked?

[Flora-Rose in reply to SueJohnson]

Not for a while. It has always been fine - as in normal. I’ve never been offered infusions.

[SueJohnson]

Do you know your ferritin number? What is normal for others is not normal for those with RLS.

[Hidden]

There are a few things to know before settling on a treatment I believe. If you are prone to RLS you can’t be on certain antidepressants (like most) or melatonin or HRT. I believe these will provoke the worst symptoms of RLS. Certain antacids and antihistamines can also worsen symptoms.

As a one time thing you should try taking 25 to 50mg of ferrous bisglycinate (iron) on an empty stomach about an hour before bed. By the time you lay down your RLS should pretty much be gone for the night. Must be repeated every night if you want relief every night. I also highly recommend seeing what happens to your RLS if you stop eating after the evening meal - an early and average size evening meal. Numerous people on here have found relief doing one or both of these. AND, I don’t care how high or how low your ferritin is. If it’s gonna work for you your ferritin is irrelevant.

If the iron doesn’t provide immediate relief then you can decide if you want to continue taking it anyways in hopes that a higher ferritin number will lessen RLS.

[Fleur29 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for all that. I had no idea any of those (antihistamines) were factors.

[Hidden in reply to Fleur29]

Mostly Benedryl. The others (Claritin) do not aggravate symptoms. Even with Benedryl, if you take it during the day it shouldn’t affect night time RLS.

[Paganpatrick]

Hi, It’s my experience that the hospital consultant has to initially prescribe Buprenorphine patches then the GP takes over repeat prescriptions.