naproxen NSAIDS and restless legs

[thorp]

Naproxen and restless legs

I am a serious restless legs and PLMD patient as diagnosed by the Sleep Clinic at Royal Brompton Hospital in London

I take 250 mg Pregabalin and 0.5mg Clonazepan every night

On a rare good night I wake up once and walk for half an hour and then back to bed. Most nights I wakeup two or even three times and each time have to walk 30 minutes before being able to go back to bed

I have a bad knee so this makes all this walking painful

My GP prescribed 500 g Naproxen twice a day for the knee

I started taking this yesterday

Last night both my restless legs and my PLMD were much worse

Of course i dont know whether this was correlational or causal

Have any other readers of this excellent blog taken Naproxen and if so, did they notice any difference with their restless legs afterwards

Or have any readers used any other NSAIDS and with what results?

I would be very grateful for any information

thank you

[SueJohnson]

I used to take naproxsen and didn't notice any difference, but everyone is different. Try stopping it to see if it was the naproxsen although the half life is 12 to 17 hours so it will take awhile to be completely out of your system. Nevertheless, if your symptoms aren't better within a couple days you will know it wasn't the naproxsen.

[Lola43]

Hello thorp, when I had a short course of naproxen I found it was the PPI that made my rls a whole lot worse and they do to this day if I ever have to take a PPI. They always prescribe a PPI to protect the stomach with the NSAIDs. Have you been prescribed this alongside?

[rlsagain in reply to Lola43]

That’s my experience too. I had to take lansaprazole (a PPI) alongside Naproxen and eventually realised, through this forum, that was one of the reasons my RLS had become so much worse, together with augmentation from pramipexole. I no longer take any of these drugs and now put up with chronic back pain (for which naproxen was prescribed) as the lesser evil to RLS. My RLS hasn’t gone away, but is lessened.

[Tabookitty5 in reply to rlsagain]

Have you tried magnesium at night for RLS relief? It’s a magical cure for RLS and also muscle cramps or spasms. All of which I get from so many different things…

I use a liquid supplement as well as a pill (not all at the same time). I split up doses through the day to the 100% RDA and sometimes still need the liquid magnesium for immediate relief during bad cramping. Use with care to avoid causing more problems.

[thorp in reply to Lola43]

Many thanks lola43

thanks for the suggestion

I have been taking 20 mg famotidine for GERD for months with no difficulties. so I think in my case it is more likely to be the naproxen

Or maybe the combination?

[Moonwalker1967]

Same here, unfortunately!

[CsiguZ]

Hi thorp, I have RLS and PLMD and had knee pain since childhood which was getting worse   in the last years. A year ago I found some research from Leonard B Weinstock that a GI issue called Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) might be a cause of RLS. As I always had GI issues, I though I gave it a try and asked for a lactulose (not lactose) breath test to check if I have SIBO and I was diagnosed positive. Than I done a microbiom analysis and turned out I have bacterial dysbiosisas well, means high amount of bad bacteria live in my intestines. I started a Low FODMAP diet recommended for SIBO and IBS and also took (herbal) antibiotics and probiotics to cure SIBO and gut dysbiosis. Unfortunately there were no improvement of my RLS and PLMD symptoms due to the treatment, on the other hand all my knee pain has gone. SIBO could lead to several autoimmune diseases, like rheumatoid arthitis, so I believe healing my SIBO cured my arthitis. Maybe your knee pain has the same reason, so I recommend you to diagnose for SIBO.

[Bieler]

Tramadol is the answer. Search this forum for several conversations about it.

[WideBody]

I take ibuprofen FOR my RLS. It definitely helps me sleep through the night.

[Randfan]

Hello Thorp, Aleve-Naproxen has been my go to nsaid for years. I have aggressive RLS with it being in legs, hands, elbows and spine. I take ropinrole and gabapentin and have for over seven years. I take them at 7:30 pm at night and try to be very disciplined on time and dosage, 2mg of ropinrole and 300 mg of gabapentin. If I am late in taking my prescriptions, I boost the gabapentin. For the most part this regimen works well with the ropinrole making me sleepy by 9pm.

I have not experienced any worsening of my RLS due to taking Aleve, although when I take it, it is always in the morning.

Best of luck to you.

[thorp in reply to Randfan]

Thank you Randfan for your reply

I think I am allergic to Sodium /salt .

According to the US RSL Foundation then salt is one of the triggers for much RLS.

And sodium/salt is in my naproxen

I am also allergic to Sodium Laurly Sulphate and Sodium Nitrate ,.So this would make sense

Also I probably made the mistake anyway of taking naproxen one hour before bed. I note you take it in the mornings

[Bganim1947]

Hi Thorp,

I’m so sorry for you difficulty with RLS, NSAIDs and PLMD. I had a my own problems with RLS and insufficient medications. I was on Ropinerol for several years when I experienced a severe case of augmentation. I had to very slowly wean off it with the help of the great folks on this forum. I eventually got off that and Gabapentin, since that medication wasn’t helping me either. My primary care doctor admitted she knew nothing about treating RLS, but she tried me on Pregabalin, saying she knew it was used for RLS treatment. She prescribed one 300 mg capsule per day. That sent me through the roof—too much all at once. Are you taking that Pregabalin all at once, or dividing it up into two or three doses? If you are taking it in one does, it could be why it’s not giving you enough relief—it’s not be evenly distributed in your body over time.

I set up a consultation with a pharmacist in my local pharmacy, and she said the the half life of Pregabalin is 6 to 7 hours. So, she said it’s best to ask your physician for a new script for 100 mg of Pregabalin 3 times a day spaced out as close to 7 hours as possible. So I take my 100 mg doses at 8 AM, 3PM and the night time dose at 10 PM. She also recommended I talk with a sleep disorders doctor about adding Tramadol, a a mild opioid, that rarely causes addiction, unless you’ve had trouble with addiction in the past. The reason for adding Tramadol with Pregabalin is that I found my RLS was triggered by knee and ankle inflammation and swelling caused by advanced arthritis with bone-on-bone pain in both knees. I was in my late 60s at the time. I recently had a knee replacement. I saw an RLS specialist who agreed with my pharmacist’s dosage recommendations concerning Pregabalin, and added to that 100 mgs of Tramadol 3x/day taken at the same time as the Pregabalin. This combo worked really well and is still working 5 years later. I found I was also low on iron, so she added an over the counter (Nature’s Bounty) supplement called Gentle Iron or Iron Bisglycinate 28 mg capsules every other day at10 PM with my evening meds, plus a 500 mg vitamin C with it it. The vitamin C pill enables the iron to cross the blood-brain barrier—don’t ask me how or why. Be sure to only take iron every other day— too much iron isn’t good either. You should get you doc to do blood panel for your Iron levels to determine how much you need, if any.

As mentioned, I t’s been five years and I’m still doing well. I do occasionally get symptoms at night when I’ve overworked my legs or I get stressed about something. For that I discovered Magnalife’s PM Restful Leg cream. It’s for RLS among other types of leg irritations. I just apply it and magically Somehow my RLS disappears. It’s contains all homeopathic remedies. Let it dry—about 10 to 15 minutes—before going back to bed or you’ll just rub it off. That’s it.

I hope this was helpful to you. Let me know. Best wishes. Bganim

[thorp in reply to Bganim1947]

Dear Bganim1947

Many thanks for your most interesting reply

I will certainly try what you suggest

A t the moment i take my 250 pregabalin all at once one hour before bed

I will start spreading it out more