Posted by willow on September 21, 2001, at 11:16:33
In reply to Restless legs and Effexor, posted by Fred Potter on September 20, 2001, at 20:33:21
"Do others suffer this torment? Does it go away eventually? Is it caused by insufficient dopamine activity?"
I've been meaning to write a post concerning my visit to a sleep clinic but was waiting to find a happy ending to my visit. I'll give a quick history. I started with severe fatigue over five years ago, which has been diagnosed as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Last fall I started taking effexor, which I've been extremely happy with, but the lack of stamina persisted and muscle stiffness and pain including twitches.
The effexor made the twitching worse and like someone described the constant urge to stretch. I had this before the effexor, but it aggravated the symptoms. So I inquired about a sleep test which the doctor sent me for. Results of the sleep test a diagnosis of moderate to severe periodic limb movements and restless leg syndrome.
My "ferritin" level was tested and it is low. The sleep doctor wants to get it up to a 50. You may want to inquire with your health care provider about your ferritin level. Also, you mentioned dopamine. The first drug I was put on for the RLS was mirapex which is somehow related to dopamine.
The mirapex did wonders for the RLS but unfortunately it undid all the good the effexor was doing, so I was put on sinemet. This didn't help and just gave me bad side-effects. So I tried the mirapex again, and the side-effects came again. Right now I'm trying to get my iron levels up.
Two points I would like to make. First is not to take iron supplements without having your iron tested first. My grandmother had a disorder which caused her body to store and produce excess amounts of iron. This can destroy organs. Second others may have better success with the mirapex. My father has schizophrenia, which I think is somehow related to dopamine. Perhaps for some reason the mirapex affected my thinking in a way it may not affect others?
Whistling Willow
ps having to choose between being able to think or a body that obeys the mind, i've settled for thinking
poster:willow
thread:79186
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010917/msgs/79219.html