Restless leg syndrome (RLS)- AIBU to ask what meds you're on?

[Skidzer]

My GP has just changed my asthma inhaler to Symbicort. I am going out of my mind with RLS.
The meds are addressing my asthma, but I can't continue taking it as I'm up all night every night with RLS.

I've finally gotten to a place where my meds had been sorted.

I'm on other medication also, but none that affect RLS, or none that I can identify as the culprit. There was a period of 2 months where I was taken off all meds, and I didn't suffer with RLS then, so I'm starting to think that it's the meds causing this.

Can I ask you to share what medication you're on if you suffer from RLS? I'm particularly interested in asthma medication and also meds for depression.

Sorry to ask.

Pramipexole two 0.125 mg pills nightly

I've suffered from RLS for all my life, it wasn't connected to medication, but when my cancer was diagnosed, and I went through treatment, which started the menopause, it pretty much went away, but came back with a vengeance a couple of years ago, when I had a hospital stay, and was on IV antibiotics, while going through chemo. It stopped again when I got home. I think the plastic covered mattress didn't help, as it made my legs and feet hot, which often sets it off, but I don't know if the antibiotics and/or the chemo (Taxol) also played a part.

I feel for you, it's fucking awful, and with me, it would travel up my legs and into my stomach sometimes, which was 10x worse.

It was only about 15 years ago that I found it was a recognised condition, and had a name. So many people have never heard of it, I can quite believe that people may not have declared it as a side effect of certain drugs.

I hope you're able to find the culprit, and can get it sorted without it being detrimental to your asthma.

Yes, I suspect that since people don't know it has a name means that it hasn't ever been recognised as a side effect.
The symbicort is 100% a cause, so that's going. Otherwise I'd never get a wink of sleep!
I strongly suspect that other meds are causing it and the only one I'm on for years is lansoprazole so that seems a likely culprit.

Yes, like another poster mentioned, it affects my tummy too. And arms and shoulders. Everywhere basically! It has been so bad that now my sleep pattern has changed to sleeping during the day and awake all night. Fucking bastard RLS.

I bought a TENS machine and it's transformed my life. No more RLS. Was £60 from boots but I'd pay that 10 times over to get the relief.

Came on here to say sertraline and glad to see others have mentioned it too - not just coincidence!

I have restless legs and use symbicort and bricanyl inhalers
I am also on lanzoprazole, fexofenadine, montelukast, and 2 types of antibiotics plus codeine when paracaetamol is insufficient

@JaceLancs Well I think we've found a few culprits.

Only thing is I can't come off the lansoprazole really. They tried me on omepraxole (not sure of spelling) for a week and it just didn't work.
I might have to go back to Rennies and see if the RLS stops if I come off the pramipexole.

Had restless legs for years , no medication.

Had minor back trouble and am on 10mg aomitripaline and no restless legs. Hoping to stay on it now the back issues have resolved.

I think it can exist with no medication, but i really feel, from a case study of myself, that it's medication causing it in me.
As I said, I had 2 months with no medication and I didn't have it.

Mine coincided with being diagnosed with b12 deficiency. I'm pretty sure PPI's deplete B12, may be worth getting it checked assuming you aren't already taking b12

I have RLS and am on sertraline and fostair inhaler. However I've always had it even as a child and as an adult was diagnosed with pernicious anaemia so I wonder if that's actually the issue - I definitely get more symptoms of RLS and horrible burning feet when my b12 is due.

Quinine tablets help mine along with TENS machine

Have u tried elevating your legs on 2 pillows?

Gabapentin helps my RLS.

@Thehavenots? I have four pillows which inevitably end up kicked into Kingdom Come by morning time. And that's with me awake!. I kick and I fight and I toss and I turn and then I rearrange everything and then I get up and have a cigarette, return to bed, lay there for an hour jumping in the bed, play candy crush for a while, get back up and eventually fall asleep 20 hours later out of pure exhaustion.

I know people are not familiar with it, but Christ is it hell.

Nothing works apart from pramipexole and hopefully not taking the medications that are causing the damned thing in the first place.

Surely knowing what stops it also identifies the culprit?

In my case it was low potassium.

I've just backtracked through my mind to first time going to GP with it, and where I lived at the time etc. to be able to place the exact timing of when this started (RLS). It would have coincided with me having being put on lansoprazole.
I can pinpoint it down to when I was diagnosed with gastritis, put on lansoprazole and then about 2 weeks later I went to the GP.
Fucking hell.

@DonutMan Pramipexole is the medication to treat it.
I had no idea what it was, let alone that it was a 'thing'.

I never made a connection, until now with the lansoprazole. It never entered my head that something so innocuous could cause something so debilitating.

Advair, contains a combination of fluticasone and salmeterol. O only take one puff once a day. Albuterol as needed(rarely).
I keep quinine on hand to treat the cramps and RLS it causes.

I am so sorry, OP. I spend many hellish nights just as you describe, except the cig breaks. They are what got me into this mess.

Lol working back @creepster yes it all boils down to the cigarettes and the cursed drink. They put you on one med and then you need another one to treat the side effects of that etc.

Some medications exacerbate RLS.
I do know antihistamines trigger RLS.

Hi ive been taking naproxen and omeprazole for 3years due to hip arthritis and past year had rls. Went to docs, was told to come back if it got worse. Well I kept getting breathless and tired, blood test was low ferritin. After about a week of being on ferrous sulphate. The rls went away! I have had all manner of tests, cameras in both ends. In bladder and ultra sound scans and cat scans all to check for bleeding. They found nothing. But i think its omeprazole stopping uptake of iron which is causing it. I was told my medication wouldnt cause iron deficient anaemia. Ive had a period of not taking ferritin and the symptoms of rls and anaemia came back.