FRANK, 
 
 FS> Any GOOD information on the effective control of RLS (Restless Leg 
 FS> Syndrome)? 
 
I have this: 
  ------------------- 
 Sinemet (carbidopa/l-dopa) has helped with rls, apnea, & limb movement. 
  ------------------- 
 Area:    FIBROM 
 Date:    05-11-96 
 From:    LINDA CUMMINGS 
 Subject: Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) 
 [...] 
The prescription drug of choice for people with severe RLS is Sinemet CR  <<< 
(a long-acting combination of L-dopa and carbidopa), normally used to treat 
Parkinson's disease.  This does not imply any causal relationship between 
RLS and Parkinson's, but RLS often responds to medications that replace or 
simulate the neurotransmitter dopamine, the lack of which causes Parkinson's. 
 
Some doctors combine Sinemet with other dopamine-like drugs like Permax 
(pergolide) or Parlodel (bromocriptine) in an effort to avoid the daytime 
rebound Sinemet sometimes causes.  Over the past year, more doctors have 
begun prescribing Permax alone.                                          <<<< 
 
For mild cases, however, a physician might initially prescribe something in 
the benzodiazepine family, one of a group of medicines known as central 
nervous system depressants.  The most favored benzodiazepine medication for 
RLS is Klonopin (clonazepam).                                            <<<< 
 
A third category of drugs used for treatment is a combination of 
acetaminophen 
and narcotic analgesics, which include Tylenol III (codeine), Percocet   <<<< 
(oxycodone), and Darvocet (propoxyphene).                                <<<< 
 
Some doctors hesitate to prescribe such drugs for fear patients will become 
addicted.  But a study of their use for RLS, conducted by seven scientists 
for 
the journal Sleep, concluded as have other studies that they "can be 
successfully used long-term with little risk of addition."  Some 
geriatricians, 
however, feel that older people should not use propoxyphene and warn that 
narcotics can cause side effects including constipation and difficulty 
urinating. 
 
Despite the myriad types of treatments, all the experts are in agreement on 
one point:  A physician should monitor any medications taken for RLS.  Every 
person reacts differently; a drug that creates no side effects in one patient 
could knock another for a loop.  Further, older people tend to be more 
sensitive to all these drugs' side effects. 
[...] 
 ------------------------ 
 Area:    CFS 
 Date:    04-09-96 
 From:    MARY-TERESA SCHMIDT 
 Subject: Restless Legs Syndrome 
 
From tonight's Washington Post comes this information on restless leg 
syndrome: 
 
Only in the past five years have sleep and neurology researchers determined 
that restless legs syndrome is caused by an abnormality in the brain related 
to 
a low level of dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter, according to the 
studies. 
Researchers already knew that a lack of the same chemical was responsible 
for Parkinson's disease, and doctors have begun treating restless legs 
patients 
with drugs that are used with Parkinson's patients. However, the syndrome 
doesn't appear to be related to Parkinson's disease. 
Initially patients were given small doses of L-dopa or Sinemet, but those <<< 
drugs had the potential to cause the symptoms to return worse, sometimes 
affecting other parts of the body, said Allen. 
Opiates, tranquilizers, the blood pressure medication clonidine and other 
drugs that affect dopamine levels have been used with limited success. More 
recently, drs are using Pergolide and in severe cases a new drug, Neurontin, 
< 
two drugs that enhance the body's use of dopamine with fewer side effects 
that 
the earlier medications, according to studies. 
Research has shown that the syndrome is often familial and is linked to the 
body's circadian sleep=wake cycles - worsening in the afternoon and evening 
and disappearing after about 3 am. It gets worse when the individual is lying 
in bed or sitting down.
 
[So DHEA might help?] 
 ------------------------ 
 Area:    ASK_A_NURSE 
 Date:    10-05-96 
 From:    PHIL THWING [MD] 
 Subject: RESTLESS/NERVOUS LEGS 
 
 BL> Does anyone know what will control restless/nervous legs. Mom has them. 
 
Some possibilities (medicine-wise, anyhow) are: 
 
  Klonopin 
  Tegretol 
  Xanax 
  Dalmane 
  and something else that I can't recall right at this moment. 
 
Restless Legs Syndrome can be quite irritating, especially after you get 
some significant sleep deprivation under you belt! Good luck with your mom 
 -------------------- 
 Area:    FIBROM 
 Date:    10-17-96 
 From:    WENDY BUCHANAN 
 Subject: RLS 
 
 DH> I have had RLS for awhile. I was in between doctors so I didn't have 
 DH> any muscle relaxers. One night I had RLS in my legs and arms. 
 DH> I thought I was going to go nuts. Richard kept asking if I was okay. 
 
I guess so!  Tom asked our doctor about his RLS, and the doctor 
said that a lot of his patients take 400 mg of Vitamin E at bedtime,    <<<< 
and it helps with the RLS.  Tom says it's helped with the RLS, 
but not with the other foot and leg pain he has, so I think he needs 
to go back and see if the doctor can maybe give him some kind of 
NSAID for that. 
 ------------------- 
 
Take care. 
Paul 
 * OFFLINE 1.58 * Bacteriology Lab: STAPH ONLY! 
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