Hi Madlegs1, I forgot what I was going to ask you. This not sleeping bull messes with my memory. I will get back at you if I remember. You are awesome Madlegs1, you help so many people and I Thank you from the bottom of my heart. May God bless you and kept you safe.
Did you mean Amlodipine - if so not OK . It is a calcium channel blocker and they make RLS worse.
Bupropion - OK
Hydralazine - can't find anything
Famotidine - interferes with absorption of iron - several people of the forum have said it makes RLS worse. Safe ones are Kytril (Sustol, Granisetron, Sancuso), Anzemet (Dolasetron), and Zofran (ondansetron) .
Quetiapine - makes RLS worse - for insomnia I would suggest ativan or ambien.
A safe blood thinner is dipyridamole but you need to ask your doctor if that is appropriate for you.
OMG SueThis is the first time that I have read Levothyroxin makes RLS worse.I started taking Levo' when My thyroid stopped working 33 years ago.
My RLS has been with me ever since. ( I did have it to a smaller degree before that). I am going to research now. Do you have any evidence of studies regatding Levo' and RLS? I would be greatfull if you could pass them on. I am shocked.
hi all, a couple of comments. Not all antinausea meds are equal, their use depends on the reason for the nausea which has many causes. Famotidine works to reduce acid in the stomach.
Levothyroxine I don’t understand though I would never discount a personal experience. It is a direct substitute for the thyroxine the body no longer produces. Obviously there is no way it can be stopped, otherwise the body stops functioning.
Calcium channel blockers don’t all make RLS worse eg Amlodipine. I take Diltiazem ( different type ) & tried without it & it made no difference.
A good idea to ask for a general medical review of all prescribed meds. Some of them look like much more likely culprits than others eg quetiapine
Natural Desicated Thyroid. (Pigs thyroid glands). It's what people took for underactive thyroid glands before Levo etc was invented. Pigs glands sare pretty much bio-identical to humans.
Many people prefer to use that instead of Levothyroxin. I think the change to synthetic Levo' was swopped by the medical model around the 1970s.
Its generally as far as I know only available privately now.
I agree! This forum is a lifesaver and the people you listed are highly informed and helpful!
I can only share my experience with Levothyroxin and Losartan (blood pressure med).
I take levothyroxin first thing in the morning and thankfully don’t experience any restless legs. However….timing is everything! I took my levothyroxin before bed one time because I had heard it was more effective when taken at that time. HUGE mistake! My legs were terrible and I was up all night. Learn from me…only take it in the morning. For those of us with hypothyroidism and RLS we don’t have many options.
I also take my blood pressure medicine (Losartan) in the morning. Same reason….no problem if taken in the morning but up all night if taken in the evening.
Hi SalemLake, I’m no longer taking the berberine. I’m still on the Gabapentin and iron. My experience is that any strong trigger like levothyroxin or Losartan in the evening are not relieved with the Gabapentin or iron.
Holy you know what. Do you have any idea how many people who are predisposed to RLS, but otherwise asymptomatic, take certain medications (in some cases simply at the wrong time) and then go on to be prescribed DAs or opiates? Then you know the rest. They down-regulate their receptors and have to struggle to get back to baseline. Do you feel the berberine helped to up-regulate your receptors or simply time?
Sadly yes! I will always wish I had never taken ropinerole! At this point it’s hard for me to say with absolute certainty that the berberine helped to up-regulate my receptors but I have felt improvement over time. I am definitely glad I tried the berberine.
Is Losartan the same as Amlodipine? If so, I just started taking Amlodipine and RLS through the roof. Can't even sit. Almost have to run in place all night. So I get on stationary bike. It is so hard to keep sane from not sleeping. I think I already have brain damage because I forget everything and do the same thing over again. I have a jewelry home business that I am screwing up. I did inventory, forgot I started it and started again, go figure.
I take Amlodipine 5mg in the evening, with no bad effects.Mind you, I'm also on 25mg of opioids, so that might wash over any rls effect of the Amlopidine.?
Amlodipine & losartan are completely different. Amlodipine is a calcium channel blocker, Losartan is an ACE inhibitor. Both reduce BP ( amongst other separate actions ) but both do it by a completely different method & can be prescribed in combination
I would advise you now ask for a full medical medication review to see if your drug regime can be altered but all the alternatives suggested might not work for you as will depend on the reason you have the condition you are on it for.
I mentioned the calcium antagonist Diltiazem doesn’t appear to affect my RLS but there are people who can’t take it due to other underlying conditions - it slows heart rate for a start.
It will be a bit of a painstaking process coming up with a new regime & making sure that the new treatments in combination don’t interact with each other
Hi sorry I'm replying a bit late. I was on quetipine and had horrendous rls. My Dr changed me from normal quetipine to the slow release quetipine and also gave me 80mg of propananol to take at night with the quetipine. I also take 1000 of magnesium supplements. My rls only occasionally flares up now. I also find cooling my legs helps when it does 😀👍
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