Need help with RLS and jumpy body!

[lilacsandoldlace]

I am a a cancer patient and my dr had me on oxycodone for about 3 months.  Pretty low dosage, 10 mg every six hours.  But I ran out and now am in withdrawal.  They didn't tell me that you had to taper off, nor did the pharmacist.  I'm pissed off cuz now I have an addiction not really of my own making and I'm the one whoe has to suffer through it.  My oncologist won't give me any more and I can't get into my regular dr til Thursday.  From what I've been reading, I should be through the worst of the withdrawal by then.  I am day 2 right now.  It's bad, but most of it I can deal with except the RLS and the fact that when I try to sleep, my whole body jerks every minute or two.  I tried taking a benadryl to sleep, but was still flopping around like a fish all night.  Is there anything that helps with this feeling that anyone knows of?

[gnarly_1]

HI the highlands stuff helped me its all natural so you can take as much as you need
hot baths help also im so sorry to here your in this plight in such a short period of time
3 mo is not that long but I guess it was long enough for a dependency you should be feeling better in a couple of days I just wanted to encourage you if your up again tonight  good luck and God bless.....Gnarly

[worried878]

As a rule, after 3 mths at your dose, most do not need to taper off?  Do you have a prior history of addiction?  Not everyone who takes narcotics as prescribed for 3 mths become addicted or no one would RX them...most///over 90% can take narcotics without an issue for that short amount of time which is what they were intended for/short term use

It is possible the RLS is not associated with the low oxycodone intake...possible but extremely odd if so....rls associated with addiction is from a sudden massive amount of dopamine/endorphins taken away from the body//ie narcotics....Parkinsons/the twitching etc is a disease of low dopamine/it worsens....with addiction the body recovers when the brain starts producing dopamine adequately but as a rule it would be a much higher dose for a much longer amount of time to induce rls from narcotic abuse

There are many other causes of RLS than addiction..my mom has it and never touched a narcotic in her life

There is an article in the health pages on RLS that may help u....have u talked with ut doctor?

[Xsane]

I understand your pain. I have been trying to come off of Methadone for the past couple of weeks - and my RLS is the Worst part of it all. I cant sleep or function what so ever. My Doctor persists that I continue to ween myself of off Methadone instead of using a Benzodiazapine such as Valium or Ativan. He feels that I am substituting one drug for another. Its very hard for me to convince him that Im bascially over the Methadone WD's , its just a matter of RLS that I cant stand, and that in my HIstory of Valium usage - Ive never shown any sign of Dependency of Benzos. I do know for a Fact, that Benzos help a Tremendous amount. And if you can control those sorts of drugs, than that really is your best bet. Ive tried Magnesium to its fullest, and really does me No good what so ever. Best of luck to you.

[laurel453]

did you try the soap under the matress, IB ? :)

[laurel453]

add to what has been said..... epsom salts on your hot bath .... and take a good magnesium +calcium suplemment... eat as much potassium rich food like bananas, apple/orange juiice, tomato soup ....you should be feeling better ... RLS is really exhausting at nights... some people find that some hot  on the legs alleviate the pain, i found that ice was my trick ....All the luck :)

[IBKleen]

If you can, also try a brisk walk before retiring. It is amazing how much it will tire you and help with the muscle twitching. there are other home remedies that I did but most people laugh at me when they hear them. If you want to know. let me know.

In the meantime, know that this will pass. By thursday you should be through the worst and should reconsider getting another prescription. You need to judge your pain level and decide what is best.

[feohmoon]

Good advice ang_811 - the RLS and overall restlessness is miserable but there are a few remedies that can help you get past this.  Check out the vitamins in the Thomas Recipe also (right side of page in Health Pages) -
I get frustrated with doctors for this very reason...Perhaps they should all be required to take the opiates they hand out to others for a few months and then have them experience withdrawals.  Would they gain a better understanding then?
This forum helps by giving you an outlet and by connecting you with members who can offer support and encouragement.  Best of luck to you and continue to post.

[ang_811]

check out the thomas recipe here. its full of vitamins u can take to help ur wds some.. as for the resltes legs  try going to walk mart and picking up some hyland restful legs. i swear by it. it helped me out alot. also get some melantonin and valerian root for the sleep. try taking the hottest bath u can stand and sit in it for as long as u can stand. it should help u relax a lil bit