I've finally come completely off of ropinirole. Quite the battle. Now I'm on buprenorphine...about .04mg per day. I'm uptitrating gabapentin (currently at 300mg) in the hope of getting off of the bup and only on gabapentin. And now I've got Atrial fib acting up. Wondering if there are any blood thinners that are safe with RLS. I'm considering diltiazem.
As always, thanks so much for all your help.
Chris
Congratulations. Getting through Ropinirole withdrawal is really tough.A few questions. Has the AF been formally diagnosed via ECG etc? Opioids can cause an increase in HR and palpitations which are usually annoying, but harmless.
If the Buprenorphine is completely controlling the RLS, why would you switch to gabapentin?
If it is definitely AF, have your cardiology team suggested ablation or cardioversion to normalise the AF? I know several friends who have cardioversion once a year in a quick, morning procedure at the local hospital. That avoids the need for beta blockers.
Some on here take propranolol and it doesn't seem to worsen their RLS, but, as with many meds, we all react differently.
Thanks Joolsg Yes I have confirmed Afib. I've already had an ablation a few years ago with no issues until I started up-titrating on gabapentin. I started at 100mg 3 weeks ago and have been gradually increasing dose. About a week ago I got to 300mg and was also slowly reducing the Buprenorphine. Suddenly I got Afib. I checked the side effects for gabapentin and sure enough, Afib is one of them.
I'd like to get off of the Buprenorphine due to rather severe constipation and urinary retention, both of which were already being reduced as I reduced my Buprenorphine dose. I'm going to see my cardiologist on Thursday and I'm guessing they'll want me off of the gabapentin. If so, all I've got left might be dipyridamole to take for the RLS.
Unless I can reduce the bup while still keeping the RLS in check...or maybe try methadone.
I hope you can find a med that controls the RLS with tolerable side effects. The constipation on Buprenorphine can be dealt with by taking magnesium citrate at night. The urinary retention is more problematic. It can cause UTIs. There are meds that can help.Methadone may have similar side effects to Buprenorphine, but perhaps worth trying.
It's so annoying to find a solution for RLS that then causes severe side effects.
Since you had AFib before you started the gabapentin, I doubt that it is a problem. If one looked at all the possible side effects of gabapentin one would never take it. And they are just possible and the percentage of them are not listed - ie maybe 1 in 10,000 might get AFib - who knows. I have a very comprehensive list and hadn't come across it.
My Afib was 100% under control for over 2 years, until I started titrating up on the gabapentin. I think it took the 3 weeks that I've been on it for it to reach it's full effect. I'll try to find the reference that indicated a fairly high rate of Afib for those over 65. I'm 74 and apparently it gets worse as one ages. I'll try reducing my dose back down to 200mg and see what happens.
Dipyridamole is safe and can actually help people with RLS. It has helped some people on this forum and another forum I am on and has completely eliminated RLS in some. In the winter 2022 edition of Night Walkers, the publication of RLS.org there is an article by Sergi Ferre about dipyridamole discussing the effectiveness of it in a 2 week double blind placebo controlled study showing it completely ameliorated all symptoms. The study was by Dr. Garcia Borreguero movementdisorders.onlinelib... sciencedirect.com/science/a... movementdisorders.onlinelib...
See healthunlocked.com/rlsuk/po...
One person on the forum said it wasn't safe for AFib, but a study showed that combined with aspirin for people with AFib, it helped prevent a stroke. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/126....
Thanks Sue,When I meet with my cardiologist this Thursday, I'll mention the dipyridamole for sure. Maybe I'll get lucky and get off of the bup and the gabapentin. I read the dipyridamole study...very interesting.
Hi Sue Well after titrating off of the gabapentin over a week or so, the Afib stopped on its own. So I'm feeling better about the Afib being gone but disappointed that I may not be able to take gabapentin as a replacement for buprenorphine. I'll see what the cardiologist says on Friday.
Chris
Same here, came off suddenly as I didn't know about the med or the withdrawal and had 4 nights of hell but last night was better. Got lots of reassurance from the folks on here, hope you feel better soon
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