Good morning,
I have recently started on 5mg tablets of Oxycodone for my RLS
I’m now up to 10mg 1 hour before bed they are helping but not enough yet so I’m going to increase to 15mg this week.
I was hoping for some advice on timing of taking them before bed and any other tips for this medication people have for me please.
On the tablet box I noticed they are Immediate-release , does this sound correct or should I be taking prolonged release Oxycodone?
Thank you
Take it about 30 minutes before bedtime as it starts working 10 to 30 minutes. However oxycodone only lasts 4 to 6 hours so you may wake up and need a second dose.
Thank you Sue,
Do you know if Immediate-release ,or prolonged release Oxycodone makes a difference with rls?
Thanks
Yes they can make a difference. Unfortunately the prolonged release despite it's claim doesn't last any longer. If you want one that lasts through the night, ask for buprenorphine.
Oxycodone needs to be taken at an even rate throughout the 24 hrs.Otherwise you will get mini withdrawals.
You need to avoid triggers as well. Otherwise it is pointless to expect relief from any medication.
A friend of mine likes his glass of wine at night. Terrible groaning all night. Choices, choices.😢
Oxycodone extended release should last 9 to 10 hrs, or more for some people.
The gap can be filled with an instant release one.
It is important to keep the overall 24 hr dose aslow as possible.
Good luck.
I’ve been one 5 mg of Oxycodone per every 6 hours, which includes a 2 am dose. I’m also prescribed 20 mg of Baclofen PRN, which I take a pm dose around 9 pm, and another 20 mg dose around 2 am. The Baclofen is to address my very severe case of PLMD. I’ve also found taking 400 mg of Magnesium Glycinate at 8:30 pm helps. If I get a flare up I rub magnesium oil on my calves, along with long compression socks, after walking around for a few minutes. I hope someone finds this helpful.
I take oxycodone 15mg, one 5mg every half hour starting at 8:30pm. I have no mini withdrawal issues and it lasts all night. The biggest challenge is filling the prescription here in the U.S. as the government is curtailing supply to rein in abuse. Tried doing 10mg to increase prescription supply but that dose only works until about 3am.
It's still early days for you as you only stopped high dose Ropinirole 2 months ago.Oxycodone only lasts around 4 hours so you will wake with RLS shortly after.
You could try taking 5mg an hour before bed and then 5mg when you wake, but it will take time to kick in.
Sadly, Oxycontin, which is supposed to last longer, doesn't! It works for some people, but others find it also only lasts 4 to 6 hours. This was confirmed in the Netflix documentary about the Oxycontin scandal in the USA.
RLS responds better to opioids with a long half life. In the USA, methadone and Buprenorphine are used by the top experts.
I was on 25mg Oxycontin with 150mg pregabalin for 5 years and still had very severe RLS. I now take 0.4mg Buprenorphine and have zero RLS and sleep 8 hour's a night.
You could add in 100 mg pregabalin to see if that helps. Experts say 2 meds at lower doses are often better than one med at higher doses.
If that doesn't help, you can ask your GP for Buprenorphine and if it's red listed in your area, ask for a referral to a sleep clinic or neurologist who will prescribe it.
Going backwards, have you had full panel fasting blood tests to establish your serum ferritin? Raising serum ferritin above 100, preferably 200 should be first line treatment for RLS but UK doctors are unaware of this.
You may be a super responder and an iron infusion might resolve your RLS.
I'd be careful commenting on the Netflix movie. I've read recent comments that it is not entirely true, and drama added for impact. There are many scandals involving different medications. Big Pharma , the religious right, politicians etc, all have their hands in that pie. There are big payoffs in the pharmaceutical companies, politicians etc. This scare is enough to make physicians prescribe no narcotics, to patients when the need is really called for. If a trip to the ER, for someone needing narcotics, it is labeled in their chart "narcotic seeker",and that stays with the patient the rest of their life.
As you know, I'm not anti opioid at all. I take Buprenorphine and it has been miraculous.Oxycontin does not for 12 hours though. There are so many on here who find it lasts 4 or 5 hours at most. That's why I often suggest taking a smaller dose every 4 to 6 hours throughout the day to avoid mini opioid withdrawals.
I'm aware of the impact of Oxycontin on prescribing as well, particularly in the USA.
We all have to be wary of the clamp down on opioids. They are the only meds that work for many of us after years on dopamine agonists.
Joolsg, I was more commenting on the Netflix movie reference. Some people take these as true, when there is probably another chain of thought completely different. For instance, my daughter worked for the CDC for 2 or3 summers. One summer she went to visit a friend in Washington DC. She was approached by a man who asked her if she needed a job(obviously he had seen her carrying documents for the CDC.)She did go to work for that company that summer. Better money, etc. Her job was go through any literature that pertained to Agent Orange. She found out she was working for a think tank that wanted any support that showed that Agent Orange never happened or was not as bad as most people think. She hated that job, but had signed up for it, so she stuck it out. An example of people well organized to prove that certain things are false. I guess my thought is, don't believe everything you are told and presented as a documentary. I realize you are not are not anti opioid . I hope people are seeing, reading things portrayed as fact, as numbers can manipulated in many different ways. I myself believe in better living through chemistry.
Best Regards, Flint Hills
Hi
Thanks for the information,
I’m in the uk under a sleep clinic’s super vision who have checked my ferritin levels etc several times
Thanks
Some sleep clinics are better than others. Dr Thomas at Gwent Sleep Clinic won't prescribe meds until serum ferritin is raised and he routinely gives infusions.If you have had blood tests, check the actual numbers. Serum iron should be above 60 and serum ferritin above 100, preferably 200.
Hi
Thank you for your reply my Ferritin level is 100.2 so classed as ok by my Dr but I’m going to look into it a bit more
Hi, I've been on various opioids for a number of years now and used them in various incarnations.The ones you are taking have a half life of about 4 hours, the slow release ones are a better option as obviously it stays in your system longer (12 hours) but I found it started wearing off after about 6 hours.
In my opinion the transdermal patch is the best way to go, the ones I use last for 3 days so you don't get those peaks and troughs and have a sustained level in your bloodstream at all times.
Hope this helps in some way.
Good luck and let us know how you get on.
Alyson xxxx
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