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Restless legs after stopping Lortab addiction

Since stopping Lortab (20mg x 3 times a day for 4 years) cold turkey 60 days ago I have had terrible restless legs. Both legs are effected from the knees down. I get very little sleep. It doesn't bother me much during the day but as soon as I lay down to sleep it starts. I have been taking about 1000 mg Magnesuim per day but it isn't helping much.
I'm a 53 year old male. I read sex would help with this problem. Any truth to that ? Just hopping. Can you get a prescription for sex ? That's most likely the only way to get my wife to cooperate. Maybe I could find a female with restless legs and we could help each other ! Not trying to be dirty just want to make the best of a bad situation. Anyone have any good idea's? I'm at my ropes end with this. Thank you.
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The RLS is from stopping the Lorrab. Happens as part of opiate withdrawal. It'll go away. Try hot Epson salt baths, take magnesium, CALM works well. People say Hylands Restless Leg OTC works good. Hang in there.
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Avatar universal
If you can tough it out, there is a good chance that the symptoms may eventually go away completely.  Lortab has sedative effects on the body, as well as analgesic effects, and whenever you take away a longterm sedative, the body tends to respond with excitation.  That is an uncomfortable but normal consequence of cold-turkey abstinence.  Sixty days out is not very long, in comparison to a four-year addiction.  It could easily take the body several more months to get substantially back to normal, and there could potentially be residual mild symptoms for a few years.  

There is also the unpleasant but quite possible scenario that, while you were on the Lortab, you developed RLS independently of your addiction, and the Lortab suppressed the symptoms as long as you were taking it.  Then, when you stopped the Lortab, the symptoms of RLS were able to emerge.

I do think you did the right thing by getting off the Lortab; don't get me wrong.  It's just a matter of dealing with this new situation in a healthy way.  If you look on the internet, there are lots of home remedies for RLS.  I would try them all.  You can also, if you wish, consult a sleep specialist and have a sleep study done.  The outcome of that, if the sleep study data are consistent with RLS, will probably be that the doctor will offer you medication for RLS.   Anti-Parkinson drugs are commonly prescribed.

In your situation, though, before I consulted a sleep specialist, I would probably consult an addiction medicine specialist, also sometimes known as an addictionologist.  I think an addictionologist would be better able to tell you how long to expect the restlessness to persist, assuming it is caused purely by withdrawal from Lortab.  An addictionologist would also be able to tell you which medications are appropriate for a recovering addict and which medications you should avoid.

I have RLS, confirmed by a sleep study.  The sleep medicine specialist offered me an anti-Parkinsons drug, which I refused, because they tend to eventually make the problem worse.  I chose not to get on that merry-go-round.  I have had fantastic results from eating a paleo diet.  Now about six months into eating paleo, my symptoms have been reduced by about 80-90%.  You can find a lot on the internet about the paleo diet, too.  

Oh, and one other thing.  I don't know if you are in a support group for sobriety, but that is another place that you can find people who are going through sleep disturbance secondary to addiction recovery.  A good support group can be extremely helpful, all the way around.

Good luck in your quest.
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