Treatment of RLS with Gabapentin (Neurontin)

[Sir NoddinOff]

Sir NO - You're replying to a 2 yr old note...

I caught that from the start which I mentioned at the end of my dry eye recommendation. You just had to read my whole post to the end to see it. I also mentioned that the info I gave would still be helpful to any dry eye sufferers and that's why I didn't delete the whole post. Hope that's sits okay with you, Julie?

[BlackSpinner]

Sir NO - You're replying to a 2 yr old note...

I sure hope the Goodmans know better than to give administrator rights to any of the members here. (And I believe their judgment has proven to be excellent.)

This silly no-posts-older-than-six-months movement should be allowed to wither on the stalk.

Good day and Happy New Year!

Enjoying reading a few of the old polls again.

I think the issue is that someone has been dredging up old post and polls by the dozen. Usually I don't care about it and often it is someone with a similar issue but the last two weeks the forum has been such a mess that I usually don't even bother to open older threads anymore unless I see people I know posting to it.

[star444]

Thanks for the advice Sir Noddin! Now for some updates.

In the meantime I had punctal plugs installed in my tear ducts. This has given me about 70 to 80% relief. I still have to use gel eye drops. Typically I need to apply them once in the early evening, once at bedtime and once for my usual middle-of-the-night awakening. This is tolerable and I am very pleased with the punctal plugs.

Regarding RLS, recently I tried Mirapex generic .125 mg. This works amazingly well for my RLS, however the tradeoff is some interruption of sleep caused by Mirapex. YMMV.

I am also experimenting with 200 to 400 mcg melatonin. This is helping to counter the bad effect of Mirapex. I will continue to experiment.

But in any case I am feeling excellent vigor lately.

Just a word of caution about Mirapex, or any form of "dopamine agonist" medication... That type of medication works directly on the part of the brain that plays a major role in "reward-motivated behavior". In some people, that can lead to compulsive/addictive behavior. As with many medication side-effects, it only affects a very small number of patients (but that is of little consolation to those who are affected).

Dopamine agonists have long been used to treat patients with Parkinson's Disease, and more recently for RLS. A search of the internet will turn up many horror stories of patients who developed compulsive/addictive behavior (such as shopping or gambling) while taking a dopamine agonist. Many were so extreme that the end-result was: divorce/loss of relationships; financial ruin; or even suicide.

If these patients had suffered physical side effects such as headaches; nausea; diarrhea, they may have made the connection to the drug. But who would think that compulsive/addictive behavior could be linked to a medication!?

While the odds that the medication will cause this type of problem is very, very small; it is important to be aware that it CAN happen. Knowledge is key!

[Lukie]

I read somewhere that some doctors are treating RLS with Parkinson's drugs. Google it.

[JohnBFisher]

I read somewhere that some doctors are treating RLS with Parkinson's drugs. Google it.

Yup. My doctor prescribed Requip (the generic form) to help with my RLS. It makes a huge difference.

PS. Neurotin did nothing other than make me feel VERY fuzzy.

[VVV]

Just a word of caution about Mirapex, or any form of "dopamine agonist" medication... That type of medication works directly on the part of the brain that plays a major role in "reward-motivated behavior". In some people, that can lead to compulsive/addictive behavior. As with many medication side-effects, it only affects a very small number of patients (but that is of little consolation to those who are affected).

(such as shopping or gambling)

Thanks Star! My doctor warned me about the shopping or gambling problem.

My wife handles all my financial matters and checks the accounts on the internet nightly so she sees every shopping trip right away.

Now my gambling money, I keep that in a separate account that she doesn't know about. Hey, you gotta die from something. Gambling wouldn't be the worse way to go.

[VVV]

Now that you mention it I wonder if my wife has been into my Mirapex? She spent a hell of a lot of money at Christmas!