Symptom free - coincidence?

[Guest guest]

For ten days I have had no symptoms of rls. This is the longest time

since I can't remember when.

What happened ten days ago, is that I started having the most horrible

muscles spasms in my back. Worse than labor, no exaggeration. My

internist prescribed 100 mg of Norflex twice a day, and 200 mg of

Sulindac, twice a day. One is a muscle relaxer, and the other

anti-inflammatory.(sp?)

They didn't help the back at first, but it is on the mend now. Maybe

it's just a coincidence, or maybe there is a God who took pity on me, but

I have been getting the most sleep recently as I've had in years, despite

the back still hurting. Dr. Levin, do you think there is a valid cause

and effect here? If so, I'll throw away the mirapex, and take one or

both of these for as long as they work!(unless there are long term side

effects).RLS is a piece of cake compared to the muscle spasms, but

wouldn't it be great to not have either one?!

ne, Lawrenceville, NJ

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[Guest guest]

Shirley

You are describing essentially the same thing I wrote about in the last

two weeks. If you recall, I described how Mirapex was not helping the

RLS in my arms. When I started getting pain in the left arm like I used

to have from my cervical disc disease, I went back to Indocin which is

an NSAID. The pain AND the RLS in the arm disappeared. Feelings of

unrest in the arm recurred two days ago. After one day of Indocin, they

are gone. Have you had back pain before? Where is the pain in your back?

Is there a history of disc disease or trauma to your back? Your answers

would help me try and make some sense from all of this.

You can't stay on the sulindac or any other NSAID too long because of

the side effects, especially GI bleeding due to ulcer formation. But, if

what we are talking about pans out, you might be able to get relief

taking it on an " as needed " basis. What the Norflex is doing, if

anything, I don't know. I have never been a great believer in muscle

relaxants doing a lot of good, though some people think they do. I doubt

if you will be able to discontinue the Mirapex and stay RLS symptom

free. After the back has resolved, it certainly would be worth a try to

slowly cut back on the Mirapex and see what happens.

Nutty or not so nutty coincidences like this have lead to significant

findings in other fields of medicine. Again, I am not saying that all

cases of RLS are due to inflammation irritating the spinal cord or

nerves, but I think some are.

Hope your back spasm didn't spoil Thanksgiving. If it clears up and you

start getting decent sleep, you will have plenty to be thankful for. :-)

Dr. Levin

[Guest guest]

Good morning, Dr. Levin,

Thank-you for responding so quickly to my message. To answer your

questions, yes I have had this problem before, but never so severe or

lasting longer than a week at most. Therefore, I have never gone to the

doctor with it before this. I'm not aware of any injury or trauma. It

starts in the center small of the back, and is now mainly on the right

small of the back area. I am also going to a chiropractor for the first

time in my life. I just want to get back to my usual active life as soon

as possible. I " ve never had any diagnostic work for this, because I

never went to the doctor for it. The internist and chiropractor say it's

caused by the nerves and muscles being so tight, and because I am by

nature a very tense person, I figure this is one of the results. I'm

hoping that if I continue with the chiropractor, say on a monthly basis,

I can prevent this from happening again, at least to this degree of

severity. Probably wishful thinking, but I'm trying to be positive.

Don't want to fall into that depression thing so many others in the group

describe.

I have many things to be thankful for, not the least of which is having

you in this group. You are always a comfort.

ne, 58, Lawrenceville, NJ

On Fri, 27 Nov 1998 21:49:12 -0500 " L. Levin, M.D. "

pathdoc@...> writes:

>Shirley

>

>You are describing essentially the same thing I wrote about in the

>last

>two weeks. If you recall, I described how Mirapex was not helping the

>RLS in my arms. When I started getting pain in the left arm like I

>used

>to have from my cervical disc disease, I went back to Indocin which is

>an NSAID. The pain AND the RLS in the arm disappeared. Feelings of

>unrest in the arm recurred two days ago. After one day of Indocin,

>they

>are gone. Have you had back pain before? Where is the pain in your

>back?

>Is there a history of disc disease or trauma to your back? Your

>answers

>would help me try and make some sense from all of this.

>

>You can't stay on the sulindac or any other NSAID too long because of

>the side effects, especially GI bleeding due to ulcer formation. But,

>if

>what we are talking about pans out, you might be able to get relief

>taking it on an " as needed " basis. What the Norflex is doing, if

>anything, I don't know. I have never been a great believer in muscle

>relaxants doing a lot of good, though some people think they do. I

>doubt

>if you will be able to discontinue the Mirapex and stay RLS symptom

>free. After the back has resolved, it certainly would be worth a try

>to

>slowly cut back on the Mirapex and see what happens.

>

>Nutty or not so nutty coincidences like this have lead to significant

>findings in other fields of medicine. Again, I am not saying that all

>cases of RLS are due to inflammation irritating the spinal cord or

>nerves, but I think some are.

>

>Hope your back spasm didn't spoil Thanksgiving. If it clears up and

>you

>start getting decent sleep, you will have plenty to be thankful for.

>:-)

>

>Dr. Levin

>

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