Re: relationship between pain and restless legs syndrome

[Guest guest]

Hi group, I'm a newcomer and appreciate the opportunity to learn from a group

personally Knowledgeable about RLS. I've had it about 25 years and have gone

thru all the usual therapies, both conventional and unconventional. For the

past ten years the drugs that have been the most effective are the opiods.

After being assured from my doctor, a nationally known sleep specialist, that

they were safe for non addictive personalities I began what has become a long

term involvement with these medications. I now take a combination of Mirapex

and Methadone that generally is quite effective. It has always been curious to

me that pain medications work so well with RLS, especially after an incident

at the Dead Sea in Isreal. I happened to burn my foot quite severely on the

hot sand, to the paoint where large portions of skin basically liquified on my

foot. The pain was intense, but that night I slept absolutely soundly until

the group woke up for an early flight to Greece at 4:AM. While the rest of the

group struggled for alertness the rest of the day I was certain I had had the

most sound sleep I had had in 20 years. I also felt more mentally alert and

capable than I had in years. 25 years of sleep medications or sleep

deprivation, I'm not sure which, seems at times to have taken their toll on my

memory and mental acuity. There was one other occasion where I had injured my

thumb with a misplaced hammer head where I had a similar restful night

afterwards. While I don't recomment masochism as a sleep remedy it would be

interesting to know if others have experienced this relationship between pain

and sleep. Maybe the severe cold and pneumonia relationships are linked as

much to the pain issue as to the cold (pain) medications. Any thoughts? Glenn

52 Mpls