I wonder if anyone on here has experienced something similar. When you lower your meds or stop using them altogether do you get a funny feeling in your legs which interferes with your sleep? I first came off Lyrica, that was before Christmas, and within a week my sleep improved (I stopped having nightmares and night sweats - what a relief!) I then weaned off of my antidepressant around New Year. For the past 7-10 days I have been experiencing what I believe is the restless leg syndrome although I have it without the urge to move my legs or walk, it's just that my legs feel so heavy and achy and even though I'm tired I have problems falling asleep before midnight due to that. This is nothing compared to my facial pain several months ago and I have a lot of energy despite my getting just 5-6 hours of sleep every day....but it's still frustrating.
I know that before I had TN I took Gabapentin for restless legs at night (I remember thinking that the fact that I shredded sheets every few months was a big problem, now I know it is nothing compared to TN pain) so maybe there is a connection. .???
I was thinking maybe it's a late side-effect of my medication or a phase that people who wean themselves off of their meds often experience, but RLS seems to be one of those conditions that doctors know little about - similar to TN in this respect. When trying to find out more I often came accross two brain chemicals - serotonin and dopamine and that RLS may be related to their low levels. I'll try to do more reading about that and how can one increase them naturally...I don't want to go back to taking antidepressants unless I get really low.
It is a neurological disorder. I have it. Have had it for a long time. As a side note, did you wean off your meds slowly?
I take a low dose of clonazapam every night for it... happens to also help calm TN down a tiny bit too. Helps that it is a mild anxiety pill - cause I think too much before sleep!
I feel the need to kick my legs in bed if I miss a couple of nights dose.
I weaned off Lyrica gradually but I stopped taking my antidepressant abruptly, which was not clever of me (I lost the pill box and didn't bother going to my doctor to prescribe me a new one as he was going to wean me off anyway). I was on a very small dosage of 5mg/day though, and everything else improved - including my mood - except for my legs! I've learnt that when I'm truly exhausted when going to bed, I sleep the RLS off. I'm also trying magnesium baths but am yet to assess if they're helping or not. I don't want to ask for medication for RLS at this stage, but it's good to know that there's something which helps you and possibly would help me too. Thank you.
Kc Dancer Kc said:
It is a neurological disorder. I have it. Have had it for a long time. As a side note, did you wean off your meds slowly?
I take a low dose of clonazapam every night for it... happens to also help calm TN down a tiny bit too. Helps that it is a mild anxiety pill - cause I think too much before sleep!
I feel the need to kick my legs in bed if I miss a couple of nights dose.