please advise

[tiffanie125d]

I need help for my husband. I’ve been here before. He started taking methadone and it seems the combination of that and the horizant is causing side effects such as panic attacks, feels like he can’t breathe when he lays down and can’t sleep. Sue - please advise. 🙏

[SueJohnson]

Unfortunately both Horizant and methadone can cause panic attacks so combining the two is a problem. He should slowly wean off the Horizant as he doesn't need it with the methadone. He should discuss this with his doctor and see if there is something he can take to help with the panic attacks.

[tiffanie125d in reply to SueJohnson]

So he was taking 2 - 600 mg of Horizant. He has dropped one this week and it has caused his RL to increase. He is hardly sleeping. He is taking 5 mg of meth a day but we need to drop the other horizant first before doing anything else. He is hardly sleeping. We didn’t think it would cause this much effect. I want to give you a heads of with his other meds also. I will soon. This has just been so hard ☹️

[SueJohnson in reply to tiffanie125d]

He can get Horizant in 300 mg doses and that might make it easier to wean off of.

[tiffanie125d in reply to SueJohnson]

Sue Johnson…I don’t know where I can post my hubbys meds so you can let me know what might be increasing his RL.

[SueJohnson in reply to tiffanie125d]

Just reply here.

[tiffanie125d in reply to SueJohnson]

Diltiazem ER 300 mg

Methadone 5 mg

Telmisartin 80 mg

Hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg

Nexium 40mg - every other day

Atorvastatin 40mg

Metformin hcl. 500mg

Eliquis 5mg - 2x day.

Magnesium Glycinate

Vit D

He withdrew off 1200. Mg Horizant over two weeks due to anxiety, panic attacks , and insomnia. He is still experiencing these side effects

Please advise. I tried chat but couldn’t find you

[SueJohnson in reply to tiffanie125d]

Diltiazem may or may not make RLS worse.

All statins make RLS worse. Nexlizet (Nustendi) is a cholesterol lowering drug that is not a statin, but I don’t know if it exacerbates RLS symptoms. Ezetimibe (Zetia) reduces cholesterol although it doesn't reduce cholesterol as fast as the statins, but according to Chris Columbus it didn't trigger his RLS. And then there are Triglide (Fenofibrate, Fibricor, Lipantil, Lipofen, Supralip) and Bezafibrate (Bezalip) which are not statins which seem safe. You might want to discuss these with your doctor. A more difficult way to reduce cholesterol is to go vegan. My husband lowered his cholesterol from 221 to 131 this way.

Hydrochlorothiazide is a diuretic and diuretics generally make RLS worse although one person on the forum said it didn't.

Nexium is a proton pump inhibitor and RLS-UK says most PPIs make RLS worse. Gaviscon Advance is safe for RLS.

Metformin treats diabetes and may make RLS worse. I'm not familiar with drugs for diabetes so can't give you a safe substitute and it is obviously important your husband treats it.

I can't find anything that says Eliquis is not OK but a couple people on the forum said it made their RLS worse.

[SueJohnson in reply to tiffanie125d]

If you don't want to post them here you can always message me by using the chat function at the top.

[violetta254]

Five mg of methadone is probably not enough. I need 10 to have any effect. Five is at the bottom end of the scale of effective doses and very few people take that little. Please don't worry too much about getting addicted. It rarely happens when taking opioids for RLS. Have your gp up you to 10 and you will probably be able to get off the Horizant. I have no panic attacks on methadone and did on Horizant.

[Lolly53 in reply to violetta254]

I agree with Violetta. 5 mg of Methadone is the lowest dose and increasing to 7.5 or 10 mg is still considered very low doses. I take 7.5 most nights and 10 if on a car trip. No problems at all. I had panic attacks on Horizant also.

[tiffanie125d in reply to Lolly53]

Side effects from taking 10 mg?

[violetta254 in reply to tiffanie125d]

Some sleepiness during the day, I fall asleep for naps very quickly and sometimes when I don't want to, like watching TV or sitting around conversing with people. I can't drive for more than about a half hour without getting sleepy and handing off the wheel to my husband, especially on boring roads. Initially a little constipated but not anymore.

[tiffanie125d in reply to Lolly53]

side effects from takin 10?

[Lolly53 in reply to tiffanie125d]

I have no side effects from taking 10.

[tiffanie125d in reply to Lolly53]

My husband is taking 5 mg of meth and can’t sleep at nights. Is this usual? He is weaning himself off of Horizant so not sure what is causing the panic attacks and insomnia

[TheDoDahMan]

Reinforcing violetta's comment about 5 mg just being too little to have effect. Ten mg has worked for me for over 5 years, whereas 5 mg is never enough.

[tiffanie125d in reply to TheDoDahMan]

Side effects when taking 10?

[TheDoDahMan]

Some sleepiness during the day, but not enough to keep me from driving or getting daily chores and tasks done. I can't emphasize enough how much this low-dose (10mg/day) methadone has affected my life for the better.