PLMD and Requip/Magnesium HELP!!

[dllfo]

What an interesting post. Thank you for all the good info. I have had "shaky leg syndrome" all my life, but am just now starting to learn about it.

There are so many things I have learned in the last 5 years that might have
saved me some pain and aggravation if I had known them earlier. Threads like this really help. My wife and I are discussing ferritin right now. She had
Grave's Disease 20 years ago and they nuked her thyroid. I am personally
finding all the meds I am on tend to throw the rest of my body "off balance".

Please let us know how this turns out. I am on calcium and magnesium and
quinine sulphate for a variety of reasons....reading some of your comments is making me wonder if I should re-think this. My doctor recommended it,
but did he really understand all the contingencies? I wonder. Same with your doctor.

[MadDogz]

Lori - thanks for the response on Requip. Are you currently taking 1mg? I just had my second night with .25mg and it seems to work so well I wonder if I really need a higher dose. The third night with the sample pack is .5mg, so I guess I will find out!

Sleepyred - Thanks for the encouragement!

Kathy - I appreciate your voice of reason, and I understand that 'Guest' was probably trying to help. HOWEVER - what 'pills' and 'supplements' was 'Guest' talking about? The people that were talking about being on iron were doing so for a good reason and under the care of a Dr. As far as magnesium is concerned, if one takes it and it helps a specific problem, then obviously it is being absorbed, and it's not a waste of time. I guess what set me off was the 'blanket statement' of Guest's message. It also gets under my skin that people post under 'Guest'. At least register a user name and participate in a discussion rather than throwing out comments that can't be addressed directly to the person that made them.

Nothing like a healthy debate to get your blood flowing!! Now, if Guest would have stuck around to participate it would be even better!!

Still a little irked at 'Guest' Terri

[MadDogz]

BTW, I had blood drawn yesterday to have my ferritin checked. They have to send it out to another lab so I don't know how long it will take.

Terri

[sleepyred]

Terri - post when you get your ferritin results - good luck in this quest!

Lori - how is your iron? I don't really understand RLS, but my doc says mine
is from low iron. It will be interesting to see what happens when my iron goes up which I hope it finally will! I'll ask my doc about Requip and why he chose Klonopin over it. I do have other issues (trashed inner ear system) that the Klonopin helps as well. Thanks for your insights!

Sleepyred

[Sleepless on LI]

Sleepyred,

Funny you mention low iron. I am always very slightly anemic. There is a reason that we think it keeps happening, but not one I care to discuss publicly on this site. If you PM me, if you care to discuss it, I'll be more than happy to.

MadDogz,

Yes, I agree that 1 mg. might not be necessary. I was just talking about cutting my pill in half to see if that would be enough to do the trick. I think it may be too much of a dose when .5 seems to work just fine. I will be doing that when I pick up my refill today. It will also give me a two-month supply for the same co-pay, if it works.

This, too, is a "new" drug so maybe over time they'll reduce the accepted dose to .5. I can't see why the 1 mg. is needed, either.

[MadDogz]

First, I have to say that this has been an awesome discussion!!

Lori - I think the sample pack of Requip is supposed to help determine what the best dose for a person is. Although, when I picked up the sample pack at the Dr's, she also included a prescription for 1mg, without even waiting to see if I needed that much. I then called Wal-Mart to see what the prices were for different doses. They had .25mg, .5mg and 1mg, and higher. .25mg was around $60 for a 30 day supply. After that there was only a couple dollar difference to go to .5mg, then only another couple of dollars to go to 1mg. I find this pricing strategy very interesting, especially since I don't have insurance. As you talked about, it makes sense to get the bigger pill and cut it in half. For instance, if I just needed .25mg per night, then I would get the 30 day supply of .5mg and end up with a 60 day supply. I guess you could always get the 1mg tablets and cut them in quarters, but the shape of the pill is so awkward that I'm not sure if that would work! I am also considering ordering them from Canada - it's legal if you don't order more than a 90 day supply. The price for 90 days at .25mg is cheaper than the U.S. price for 30 days, although unlike the Wal-Mart price, the prices for the higher doses goes up exponentially.

Does anyone have any experience with ordering meds from Canada?

Terri

[MadDogz]

Miracle of miracles!! I just walked a couple of blocks to go eat lunch with some co-workers and I experienced only a little bit of discomfort in my lower legs. That's after only 2 nights on Requip. Prior to that, walking only a block would have caused a considerable amount of discomfort and distress in ALL of my leg and lower back muscles.

It's nice to be able to share the good stuff!

Terri

[sleepyred]

Terri - thanks for the update! Sounds good! Keep us posted!

[Sleepless on LI]

Terry, best of luck with the muscle cramps. Glad to hear Requip seems to be working for you not only at night, but in a situation like this. Hopefully it will be the answer to your discomforts.

[MadDogz]

I just got the results back from my ferritin test. The Dr's nurse called and said it was within normal limits. I asked what it was and she said 30. I was under the impression that 'normal' was a little higher.

[sleepyred]

My sleep doctor said that to help RLS (I'm not sure about PLM because I don't have it) your ferritin must be over 60. Mine was at 30 (before it dropped to 22) and he said - great 1/2 the way there.

I'll do some research and see if I can come up with something to back up what my doc is saying.

How are you feeling?

Sleepyred

[MadDogz]

Sleepyred,

Thanks for the reply. I'm feeling OK. For 2 nights I took .25mg of Requip and felt great. Then the next night the sample pack upped the dose to .5mg. Not good. It wasn't as bad as the night with Sinemet, but it wasn't great either. I had to cut the .5mg pills in half, and its kind of hard because they are a weird shape. It worked OK one night, then last night I must have gotten more than .25mg because I tossed and turned, woke up a lot, and at around 2:00 woke up wide awake. I'm picking up a 10 day prescription for .25mg just to make sure it works before I pay for a full 30 days. Since I had problems last night I am worried that that my body won't tolerate the Requip, then I'm back to square one. And I don't really want to take iron without talking to my Dr about it - I know it's toxic if you take too much.

I would really appreciate anything you have on RLS and iron so I can approach my Dr with it. Thanks!!

Terri

[Sleepless on LI]

Terri,

I'm very surprised to read your association of tossing and turning with the Requip. If anything, the side effects are supposed to be grogginess, not over-stimulation. Are you sure you're putting the right two things together to come up with this answer to your tossing and turning? I know everyone reacts differently to medication, but I can't imagine Requip causing this type of side effect.

As per their web site, the following are possibly side effects:

What are the possible side effects of REQUIP?

• Most people who take REQUIP tolerate it well. The most commonly reported side effects in people taking REQUIP for RLS are nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and drowsiness or sleepiness. You should be careful until you know if REQUIP affects your ability to remain alert while doing normal daily activities, and you should watch for the development of significant daytime sleepiness or episodes of falling asleep. It is possible that you could fall asleep while doing normal activities such as driving a car, doing physical tasks, or using hazardous machinery while taking REQUIP. Your chances of falling asleep while doing normal activities while taking REQUIP are greater if you are taking other medicines that cause drowsiness.

• When you start taking REQUIP or when you increase your dose, you may feel dizzy, nauseated, sweaty or faint, when first standing up from sitting or lying down. Therefore, do not stand up quickly after sitting or lying down, particularly if you have been sitting or lying down for a long period of time. Take a minute sitting on the edge of the bed or chair before you get up.

• Hallucinations (unreal sounds, visions, or sensations) have been reported in patients taking REQUIP. These were uncommon in patients taking REQUIP for RLS. The risk is greater in patients with Parkinson's disease who are elderly, taking REQUIP with L-dopa, or taking higher doses of REQUIP than recommended for RLS.

This is not a complete list of side effects and should not take the place of discussions with your healthcare providers. Your doctor or pharmacist can give you a more complete list of possible side effects. Talk to your doctor about any side effects or problems you may have.

[MadDogz]

Hi Lori,

There is another possible explanation for my tossing and turning. I have been on 30mg of Restoril, a sleeping pill, for a VERY long time. A couple of years ago when it wasn't working too well, my Psych Dr. added 25mg of Seroquel which is an anti-phychotic drug, but at low doses, helps with sleep. Since I started Requip and had such great results, I have been slowly decreasing my dose of Seroquel. Saturday night I took about 1/4 of a tablet - probably about 6mg, and slept great. Last night I didn't take any. That may or may not account for my tossing and turning. IT could have been something I ate, I guess, but I don't know what, and I haven't had anything with caffeine in it for over a week The good news is that even with a bad night's sleep, I still feel fairly awake and alert today

Tonight I will go back to .25mg of Requip and a partial tablet of Seroquel. I want so desperately to get off the sleeping pills that I think I might be going too fast! But I guess you never know until you try, and I realize that I alone am responsible for the consequences of my 'experimenting'.

Terri

[Sleepless on LI]

Terri,

To me, that sounds like a much more plausible explanation. I never experienced anything from Requip other than total relief from RLS and sleepiness. But those are two positives, as long as the grogginess didn't transfer over into the next day.

Please keep me posted on how you're doing. I really wouldn't think it was the increased dosage of the Requip causing sleep-less-ness, especially since .5 is still only half of what the recommended dosage is. Best of luck.