New on List

[Guest guest]

Thanks for all the good information. My internist has just started me on

Mirapex 125 mg qd. After one week, I don't notice much difference except

that initially falling asleep is, if anything, more difficult. Also I wake

frequently during the night and have trouble going back to sleep. What

works moderately well for me -- and has for five years -- is sleeping on

the floor. I think it's the pressure of the hard surface on the legs. My

mother suffered from RLS too (she called it " the fidgets " -- I recall going

to the movies with her when I was a child and watching her pace at the back

of the theater. She took " Legatrin " late in life and claimed it worked well

for her (never did anything for me).

I went to my family doctor for my restless legs five years ago and his

response was " it's in your head. " Since I'm a psychologist in private

practice, that amounted to a curse. I pretty much kept my problem to myself

after that. Only recently my wife convinced me this was neither necessary

nor normal -- it was she who talked to the internist finally. He didn't say

it was psychosomatic, and he's been happy to work with me. Although

improvement seems hard to come by, I'm at least pleased that I'm doing

something about it.

The RLS connection with ADHD and Depression is particularly interesting to

me. The SSRI antidepressants make lots of people anxious. I'd figured

Prozac, Zoloft and the like would make RLS worse. I wonder if St. 's

Wort is similar.

I was amazed to read that some people have found help in sleeping with

Ritalin. The children with ADHD I see in my practice typically have trouble

sleeping once they're on stimulants. Interesting idea to take them for

enhanced sleep.

Again, thanks for sharing all the information.

, 55, Arlington, Texas