zopiclone ???

[romansgirl]

my doctor prescribed me zopiclone for 18 months, although initially it worked as in getting me to sleep , i soon be came dependant on them and eventually had to increase the dose i was taking, ive not taken any for nearly a year as they just stopped working, my rls is very bad atm and im really struggling not to go bk on them, are there any other forms of medication i can take in stead ..thankyou in advance

[Hidden]

yes there is, most of the meds we can take are Dopamine meds, there Ropinerole (requip), and the Neupro 24 hour patch, also there is Mirapexin, im taking mirapexin at the moment, and its working not to bad, Zopiclone is addictive isnt it??, and its a sleeping med i believe. I sure some of the other members will see your post and come to advise you also.

jean

[romansgirl in reply to Hidden]

thank you, yes its a sleep med, well a hypnotic , and yes i believe its addictive, i will write the medicaton you have sugeested down and take it to my doctor, although they are very reluctant to even acknowledge rls as a serious complaint, and are unwilling to prescribe for it .

[romansgirl]

thankyou

[Hidden]

thats one of the main problems we have in getting treatment, lots of doctors, dont seeRLS as a medical condition, i think if they had it for a few days, things would be a whole lot easier for us.

jean

[Hidden]

romansgirl, you need to print out some info about RLS if you can and take it to your doctor to show how serious this condition is, your doctor needs to see how this affects you if you dont take medication to help get the relief you need to sleep. Plus the list of medications that can be used for RLS..

I hope you get the meds you need from your doctor.

[drew410]

mirapexin works for me

[Rish]

Hi, I found zopiclone did not work for me, I then tried ropinerole that only worked for 6 months then I was put on mirapexin it helps but I am at the limit of 6 tablets a day.

I suppose your body gets use to the drug and then slowly stops working

[Hidden in reply to Rish]

When you have to keep upping the dose of the Dopamine meds. and your symptoms get worse each time before you up the dose its called augmentation, when the medication starts to work against you and makes the RLS become worse... If that is happening, its time to try another med... Some people alternate between Requip and Mirapexin, They use one for a few months then change to the other one, then go back to the original one, usually starting back on a lower dose to start with... Of course it all depends on if that would work for you, as we know all these meds for RLS work differently for most of us.

[BobM]

Mirapexin & Gabapentin work for me, most of the time.

[BobM]

Can anyone educate me please? What does PLMS mean?

Kindest

Bob

[Hidden in reply to BobM]

Not sure about PLMS but PLMD is Pulmonary Limb Movement Disorder, which is very common alongside RLS, but they can also occur separately.

[Hidden]

hello Romansgirl, I have been suffering RLS for 3 years now, and I have literally been having a non- life . Until approximately 5 weeks ago when I came straight off the Ropinirole (AKA Requip), and onto the Neupro 24 hour patch. the patch is Rotigotine, and it has given me my life back. Ropinirole was a blessing at one time, but the augmentation got so bad, I couldn't watch tv, stand still in a qwueue, visit people or be visited, i couldn't go to the dentist or have my hair done, and had to make appointments with the doctor in the mornings. Bus journeys and travelling anywhere as a passenger were out of the question. Holidays just didn't happen indeed I had NO social life. The patches are a miracle for me. i try to do on the least amount of dosage that I can, and I still cannot get used to being able to actually DO things again. I've just been on holiday with my fella, which involved car and plane journeys, and I could relax all the way! I have my ;life back, and if it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone!! I was left without hope, and even contemplated ending it all, although I never told my fella that. But I think he knew. Good luck, finding the right medication. i now realise that I may have this for the rest of my life which upsets me, but I can now hope to at least control it.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Hi Helen, i used to have the Neupro patch, i went up to 8 mgs before i had to stop using it, i know that dose was to high, but my doctor insisted i try. I alos used to take requip (ropinerole), but even though it helps the RLS i was the side effects that were horrid, dizzyness and nausea, very bad, im taking mirapexin now, the slow release one, at night, and so far its been the best med for me, had to up the dose twice so far, but its almost as if i dont have RLS, wonder when this meds going to stop working for me, they all do eventually.

jean

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Niah, yes, I think 8mgs is very high, I think that dosage is more for a person dealing with Parkinson's. No wonder you had all the side effects. I have been ok so far, no real side effects, just maybe tiredness in the evenings, when it's OK to be tired! And I agree, all the Meds seem to lose effectiveness after a while. This illness is the worst thing I have ever had, I also have MS, but I am sooo lucky with that, and it's very rare for me to have problems with that. My problem is RLS. I do hate it.

[BobM]

Wow!!! I am seeing my Dr tomorrow

Thank you for this feedback

Bob

[Hidden in reply to BobM]

Good luck, Bob.

[Hidden]

PLMD and PLMS are the same thing, Periodic Limb Movement Disorder, Periodic Limb Movement Syndrome. both mean you are kicking your legs or your legs and arms while alseep and you dont know you are doing it, but your other half will know, if you have one. Some people have both RLS and PLMD.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Ah thank you, Elisse, I got that wrong. I am not aware of having PLMS although my partner says I kick in my sleep very very occasionally. It's so infrequent that I wonder if it's just another aspect of my RLS. I am really hoping these Neupro patches will keep controlling my RLS for at least a few years I need a break. My Ferratin levels are now up to 133, which has been a hard slog. But of course the RLS is still there, it shows through on occasions, but it's much less severe than it was, and it goes within minutes, but I have learned that even though 133 is excellent for a non-RLS person, I should still be aiming for around 200 or so or even higher. I don't know how feasable it is to get that high, but hey, I never thought I'd get the levels up to 133, they were away down at 11. It's such a battle, but for now I have my life back...