Help on my meds.

[Whymelord]

Hello everyone, it's been a while since I wrote to the forum but I do check in everyday to read about the great questions and advice .Anyway I've been ill with heart and bowel problems. My RLS is still as horrendous as ever.In fact I feel I'm at the of my tether as my gps just shrug it off when I ring for help.just out of hospital after getting nine Poylps removed from my bowel.i know I've been told before on this forum re.my meds but please can you tell me which of my meds are driving my RLS crazy every night,just no rest. I take Citalopram, Indapamide, lercanidipine, Bisoprolol, Esomeprazole,Atorvastatin. I'm aware of your information on Pramipexole but I'm on it at present, I will be very grateful for the help as I'm ringing my gp first thing tomorrow.thankyou for reading this.

[SueJohnson]

Atorvastatin, lercanidipine, Bisoprolol, Citalopram, Indapamide.

I gave you safe substitutes for these before but will be glad to give them to you again.

On the Indapamide I didn't but have since found out that you need a potassium sparing diuretic as this one will deplete your potassium which can make your RLS worse. Amiloride is one but there are others.

[Whymelord in reply to SueJohnson]

Thankyou Sue for replying, can you please tell me again re.the other meds.

[SueJohnson in reply to Whymelord]

For atorvastatin: 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.

For lercanidipine which is a calcium channel blocker and Bisoprolol which is a beta blocker: Some medicines that are safe for high blood pressure are propranolol (Inderal, Hemangeol, InnoPran) a beta blocker that may help RLS, Isosorbide Mononitrate (Monoket, Imdur) which is not a beta blocker nor calcium channel blocker. Other possibilities are: Clonidine (Catapres) an Alpha-2-Agonist used to treat high blood pressure which may help RLS and which also treats insomnia, tenex (Guanfacine, Intuniv), prazosin (Minipress) an alpha-adrenergic blocker that is also useful in managing sleep-related problems caused by PTSD and Tadalafil a vasodilator that in one study completely eliminated RLS. Discuss these with your doctor including side effects. And then there is reducing salt by 1 teaspoon a day nih.gov/news-events/nih-res....

Citalopram is a SSRI antidepressant but also lowers high blood pressure. If for high blood pressure see above. If for depression wellbutrin or trazodone .

[Whymelord in reply to SueJohnson]

Thankyou soo much Sue,I will let you know what my gp's response is.

[Joolsg]

I think you're in the UK. If so, tell your GP to look at RLS-UK website. It lists common trigger medications.It also has a Pramipexole withdrawal schedule under 'Useful resources'.

[Whymelord in reply to Joolsg]

Thankyou Joolsg for replying, I will certainly do that,in fact I'm gonna look at it myself so I will be informed when I speak with him/her.i just feel I'm in a hopeless place at this time and soo tired of being shrugged off with their opinions which is blatantly clear they know zero about RLS and just give what the monitor in front of them tells them .

[Joolsg in reply to Whymelord]

Sadly you're right. UK doctors aren't taught RLS at med school or during GP OR neurological training.But they have no excuse for not looking at NICE guidance which talks about augmentation and Impulse Control Disorder and makes it clear that SNRI and SSRI and tricyclical anti depressants all worsen RLS.

I do hope your GP bothers to read RLS-UK website and the NICE cks guidance in detail. There are over 100,000 patients with very severe RLS in theUK and only a handful of doctors who know the basics of treatment.

Criminal and negligent.