I have had a complete hip replacement operation on 1st July. Since the my RLS has gone mad my foot twisting like a crazy windmill. I was given a ferritin infusion but it is still mad. I see Oxycodone may be causing this is there any alternative?
I am on 5mg prolonged release twice a day and supplemented wit Oxycodone solution every 4 hrs
It is normal to have increased RLS after surgery. Luckily it will eventually go back to what it was before. I would increase your oxycodone. You can go up to 30 mg daily.
thank you I will try increasing the Oxycodone.
It’s just both feet and ankles are going mad.
You may have been given an anti-nausea drug prior to or during the op most of which, with the exception of ondansetron (Zofran), exacerbate RLS. This *should* be temporary.
thank you I am sure I was given an anti nausea drug but I don’t know what. The RLS has been almost non stop day and night which is why I thought it was Oxycodone set it off. Normally I use a sandbag at night on my ankle which usually calms it but I was told not to as it could affect the hip joint.
That's certainly true but I wonder how long that would affect someone after surgery since it has been 9 days.
Yes, warnings about "the days following surgery" are necessarily vague in that the length of effects will vary by individual.
But if the issue continues I'd have to wonder whether Bluegerand could be amongst the 20-50% of older patients who have post-operative neuroinflammation for some time after surgery. This may be longer lasting than post-anti-nausea or -anaesthetic effects, but in most cases will still improve in time but can take weeks instead of days
That is very interesting, Chris! Thank you for sharing that with us. I wonder if maybe that could be contributing to my issues, as well, since I am 3 weeks' postop and still have quite a bit of inflammation which causes pain. I started taking an NSAID (meloxicam) a week ago to help with the swelling, but I guess it's going to take time since I still have the swelling in my leg that was operated on. Also, I saw my surgeon about 2 weeks ago, and he said the inflammation takes a long time to go down and, hence, so will the pain. It's a test of patience, I'm afraid. Ugh!!
A minority continue to suffer inflammation at 6 weeks, and for an unfortunate even smaller minority it goes on longer. I saw a press story last year reporting a study and saying how important it was to develop new treatments for post operative inflammation. Unfortunately I only saw the press report, not the study they were reporting on 😐
Very interesting!
I am still suffering badly from RLS Syndrome after my operation in the middle of January It is particularly bad tonight and I haven't slept at all My Doctor says take my Ferrous Sulphate with Pure Orange on an empty stomach with no food or not much drinks four hours before taking and four hours after I am taking my Ferrous Sulphate at 5:00 am He says he doesn't know anything about RLS and he can't answer my question about my RLS getting much worse when it is very humid and hot I am given no answers from my Doctor on how to try and live a relatively normal life I was born in 1946 and I am very active and dextrous for my age Thank you William Henry 
You should take your iron at night since it is taken up by the brain from the blood at higher rates at night. You don't need to leave 4 hours before and after. Instead take it at least 1 hour before a meal or coffee or tea and at least 2 hours after a meal or coffee or tea since iron is absorbed better on an empty stomach and the tannins in coffee and tea limit absorption. Be sure to take magnesium at least 3 hours apart from the iron. Did you ever have your ferritin tested? You may not even need to take iron, or if it is really low, you may need an iron infusion.
Are you taking any other medicines or any OTC supplements? Many can make RLS worse?
Oxycodone will not cause RLS, except when you withdraw from it.
so in a sense, it Creates the same problems as withdrawals from pramipexole too.. you need to stay on it to keep the rls at bay.
Yes, indeed.
However, it will not cause augmentation. So you could stay on it for life--- at the low dose recommended for RLS. Less than 30 mg per day.
I have been on 25mg for about 7 years without any major problems.
ok good to know. Although, I do know some people need to keep upping the dose of certain opiods, as i hear people talk about it on this chat..
They start out on 10mg , then go to 15 etc…
Obviously everyone is different. Just clarifying in some ways it’s similar as it keeps a person on meds as opposed to helping them get off at some point.
Ten years of 20-30 mags oh Oxy .Never needed to up dose.
You are correct, oxycodone will not cause RLS, but if you are taking buprenorphine for RLS, the buprenorphine will interfere with opioids and prevent the opioid from controlling pain and will also allow RLS symptoms to break through. I was told it's like an antagonist or something like that. And just to prove it to myself, I actually tried taking both the buprenorphine and the pain med and I got no relief from the pain and my RLS started acting up. Once I stopped taking the pain med, my RLS symptoms went away.
Correct
But why would anyone take Buprenorphin when they are on oxycodone?
I see Buprenorphin touted a lot on this site, and there seem to be problems with its various forms, but taking a med with Naloxone seems contradictory unless one is trying to get off the opioid.
It shouldn't really be used as a pain reliever. IMHO.🤕
my mother had rls worsening after hip replacement too, but we discovered she was anemic, not too much, but still, because there is always blood loss during this surgery. She was taking oral iron for a couple of months and it started to calm down in about a month after she started iron. I think your ferritin infusion should kick in soon ❤️
Inflammation can cause RLS for me. It has overridden even oxycodone. You have just had surgery, which raises inflammation. Until it settles RL will be worse, but in time it will settle. I recently had a bad Crohns disease flare up. This too raises inflammation levels. Oxycodone seemed ineffective. I'm slowly getting back to my pre-flare up RL.. It's very frustrating I know. I hope it improves soon for you.
Thank you for your encouraging words. I do hope your condition improves soon as well
I recently had a total knee replacement on June 13th, and my RLS was controlled perfectly with the buprenorphine I take. Unfortunately, after the surgery I was given strong pain med/opioid to help with the pain. The only problem with that is it made my RLS act up. So I had to make a choice, either stop taking the pain med so that my RLS wouldn't act up or continue taking the pain med which would control the pain, but my RLS would act up. I decided that I would prefer to be in pain than have my RLS act up. I know this isn't an ideal answer to your question, but it sounds like your situation is very similar to mine, and you may just need to make a choice of which condition you want to deal with the most. I know, it sucks. I'm in a lot of pain, especially when I do physical therapy and my PT exercises, but at least my RLS is under control. 🙃
Thanks it does seem like a no win situation. Good luck with your treatment
Thank you, and same to you!! I wish you much luck and a swift recovery!!
I had a knee replacement in March. As to be expected my R LS got much worse as soon as I was home and came off the hospital drugs .
My neurologist prescribed me oxycodone.
This gradually made my RLS even worse.
Apparently for a few people, myself included, oxycodone instead of easing.RLS actually makes it worse
I had to withdraw from the oxycodone slowly using Codeine and 4mg Neupro patches.Not a happy combination but at least it eased the withdrawl
Good luck
when I had my port put in for Chemo, my RLS acted up really bad. When I went in to have it removed 7/8 months later, I spoke with anesthesiologist about what happened. He had me take off the nausea patch and said he would check meds before surgery. I had no problems at all after surgery that time.
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