posted
A friend with Lyme encouraged me to post about this. Thanks T!
My restless legs have gotten worse and worse while I've been treated for Lyme. I finally discovered that some of the meds I was taking for sleep and depression where exacerbating restless legs. No amount of stretching, heat, massage, exercise (or not, or just a little or a lot) helped.
One of those sleepless nights, I found www.rls.org and a pdf brochure about depression and restless legs. SSRIs are out. The antidepressants that work with restless legs are Trazodone and Wellbutrin. In small doses, Trazodone also helps with sleep. The small dose Elavil I was taking for sleep makes restless legs flare. So do Lexapro and most other SSRIs.
I'm starting Wellbutrin tomorrow since I'm in the midst of a big emotional herx on Levaquin and could use the support. I'll add in the Trazodone next week for sleep if I need it.
I haven't seen much here about restless legs so I invite anyone to post anything that's helped or even just to "complain" and share support.
Best, Denise
Posts: 261 | From San Mateo, CA | Registered: May 2005
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I get restless legs off and on. Less often after Lyme treatment. I drink a small glass of tonic water, which has quinine in it.
Restless legs goes away in about on hour after I drink the tonic water. My LLMD gave me a rx for quinine and said take one when I feel it coming on. It hasn't happened sence I got the rx.
posted
I have RLS and it is absolutely torturous. I took Klonopin to relieve the symptoms for about 5 years, and then over the span of about a week, it just stopped working. Since I have been treating lyme and babs, it has gotten better, then worse. I think the symptoms have returned because of neurotoxicity due to herxing die off of babs. In any case, the ONLY thing I have found that gives me any relief at all is a dopamine agonist (in very small dosages) as needed. If your RLS is really bothersome, you might want to ask your doc about it.
Good luck!
Posts: 393 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
I have restless legs too. I also have the feeling of creepy crawly bugs on my legs in addtion to muscle twitches. Sometimes the twitches are subtle but sometimes there are larger and more noticeable.
I would suggest trying extra magnesium. I use Natural Calm. Just be careful not to add so much that you get diaherra.
Bodies under stress from Lyme etc need the magnesium. If our body doesn't get it through nutrition it will take it from the muscles including the heart. I control my heart arythmia episodes with magnesium.
I know there are differing views that the Lyme bacteria loves magnesium too so should we take extra.....My thinking is if it is being taken away from my muscles for whatever reason I should replenish it.
I am so sick & tired of this illness, my thinking the last fews days is to just completely starve my Candida and Lyme. I am already on a strict sauteed chicken, broccoli, etc diet. I am thinking of even going more extreme......maybe just broccoli for a while.
The magnesium might help you with your restless legs. MA
Posts: 58 | From SC | Registered: May 2004
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I'm taking about a gram of Magnesium a day - the glycinate form since I'm allergic to the mold the citrate form and the other form (can't remember the name) makes oen prone to diarrhea.
I loved the idea of tonic water but then I'd have to choose between dosing myself with sugar or artificial sweeteners. Quinine was mentioned at one time but I never pursued it. I'll talk with my docs about it.
I'm aware of the heavier meds to take for RLS however at this point I want to minimize the number of meds so I'll try the low dose Trazodone and the quinine and see if that helps.
Thanks again.
Posts: 261 | From San Mateo, CA | Registered: May 2005
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posted
my daughter is taking Risperdal (a mood stabilizer) to help with her psych issues. Alas, we found if the dose was too high, it brought on restless leg syndrome.
Posts: 991 | From California | Registered: Feb 2006
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5dana8
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7935
posted
My RLS really acts up big time when I am herxing.
posted
I have RLS too and have been taking Requip for over two years.
Requip has helped me greatly, although occasionally I have had to increase the dose (as my body gets used to the med, perhaps.)
But lately it's getting way worse, although I never thought that could be from Herxing.
My LLMD prescribed a Potassium supplement to see if that would help, so I guess she wasn't thinking it was Herxing either.
I too get some relief from my legs rubbed, but my husband is often too tired to give me massage in the middle of the night, and I just take extra Requip.
I have RLS since I was a child, and I don't think it's Lyme related in my case - rather it's dopamine dificiency.
shizuko
Posts: 110 | From Northern Virginia | Registered: Nov 2005
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