UK advice please (PLMD new dx)

[kteague]

Hi. Sorry I didn't see this sooner. When I saw the thread title I figured I probably couldn't be of much help with UK issues. Sounds like you've got a good handle on approaching the RLS or any Periodic Limb Movement problems. Did you have a ferritin level done to check your iron? You may already know that keeping the ferritin up around 100 is generally recommended for people with these issues. Wouldn't hurt to make sure your magnesium, Vitamin D and B vitamins are at a good place to support nerve and muscle health. You may be onto something about the antidepressant. After getting things stabilized with your sleep disordered breathing, you may need to have your medication adjusted. We hear stories on here quite a lot of people being being put on mood altering drugs when they really needed healthy sleep.Long term sleep deprivation in addition to the stress hormones related to sleep apnea are a recipe for all kinds of dysfunction. If your med is causing RLS, that's harder to treat as long as you are on the med. If you start adding new potentially problematic meds to old probablematic meds it's a slippery slope and I wouldn't take that course as a first option. There's always a chance fixing your breathing will bring some relief to your movement issues. On the other hand, it's not uncommon after treating the breathing to find that with more sleep, the movements get a chance to more fully manifest. It's a wait and see game. Good luck with things.

[JustBreathe234]

Hey ktleague, thanks for stopping by.

Maybe I should change the thread title now as time has moved things along (I think thats a good thing. lol).

Private sleep doc I saw diagnosed RLS from just a pulse oximetry, basically I had tachycardia throughout the night and lots of peaks in heart rate, I'm assuming from twitches as I slept. Baring in mind you have to forgive my brain functioning as it's had no decent sleep in decades, so ye, being clear about things isn't my strong point! He asked about RLS stuff which I have rarely experienced and thinking back may have been a meds side effect as they tried to medicate my mood and energy levels and made matters worse.

I joined a couple of RLS sites and pretty much told it must be PLMD. For sure it's definitely not a good fit with RLS but that can be triggered by the wrong kind of meds - shudders.

Either way it seems they are treated pretty much the same way, so whatever atm really. I'm off the horrible SSRI Paxil now but suffering withdrawals which isn't pleasant. Hoping they might quit by Christmas..maybe. Then I may have a bit of a clearer picture as to what's going on. About a month ago my Ferritin was 25, so not good at all. Doc wants it up to 100 and I'm really trying with eating greens, eggs and will have regular liver meals next week onwards but I've heard it can be hard to raise that high. I'm so tempted to go get an iron infusion but it's crazy expensive here. Cheapest I found was £800 including Drs consultation. I may still do this as would possibly make the SSRI withdrawal easier possibly too.
My magnesium after the disaster op recently was for some reason practically non existent so they gave me a couple of bags IV for that. I do take 400mgs a day anyway + B vits and need to get back onto Vit D as that's always low.

So really all this is just a waiting game to see how much of an effect the vitamins, iron and med withdrawal makes. What kind of meds need adjusting after OSA treatment? Do you mean antidepressants or something else?

I'm really, really hoping this doesn't get worse. I've not been able to work for the past 5 years or so anyway, was hoping this new dx would get me back on my feet a bit. Fingers and everything else crossed!

[kteague]

When I mentioned meds may need adjusted, I was referring to mood drugs, but now that you mention it, wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on any other meds also. What is needed for a sleep deprived body may not be the same for a rested body. Some people see an improvement in blood sugar and blood pressure. As to the limb movements, after going off a med that worsened my RLS/PLMD, I began trying to find ways to help myself. Found by experimentation that I could get relief and some sleep by using a TENS Unit on my lower back for about a half hour before bed. I had been prescribed it for low back pain, but this turned out to be a fringe benefit. The basic models are not expensive and might be worth a try.