Escape from Augmentation

[davchar23]

I have continued to make progress on my path to getting my dopamine receptors back to somewhere near normal. I last used a DA patch in September. I am using buprenorphine patches and pregabalin as RLS blockers to assist in the process.

There is some improvement (perhaps 60%) in my sleep regime and in the ability to sit reasonably comfortably in front of TV in the late evening. Naturally I am very pleased with this and am grateful to many on this site for their help and support

I have a GP appointment tomorrow to review the buprenorphine scenario and I will be reporting that a 10mg weekly patch is not sufficient and have have gone to 20mg(ie 2x10 patches). The situation seems to deteriorate after showering even though the patch insructions say this is not a problem?

Pregabalin affects my balance and I am trying, very slowly, to reduce the use. I now take 125mg once a day in the early evening. I also take iron bisglycinate with orange juice (0.48mg) every evening at 8pm. I have with my doctor's support temporarily stopped atorvastatin and permanently stopped omeprazole.

I intend to ask the GP to change me onto buprenorphine tablets instead of patches. Has anyone gone through a similar scenario and found as the month go by that they can reduce the buprenorphine or any other RLS barriers. I realise that the escape from augmentation time frame varies from person to person but I understand, from Joolsg and Sue J, that several have taken 6-7 months and even then will always need a small dose of opioid to sleep reasonably well?

Any comments appreciated

Davchar