(no subject)

[jeshyr]

My restless legs (RLS) has been getting bad lately, enough to stop me sleeping which is unusual for me.

Found out today that one probable cause is antihistamines of the exact type that I *need* to take for mast cell crap.. I've been taking more of them because getting the prednisolone dose down under 5mg means that my immune system is going crazy.

Talk about catch-22:
Option 1: Take prednisolone long-term. Long-term side effects of pred include cataracts, osteoporosis, and weight gain.
Option 2: Be incredibly itchy all over all the time. Take buckets of antihistamines. Have restless legs so badly I can’t sleep.

That’s a fucking unfair set of options, life.

There is a *possible* option 3 which is that the RSL is actually been triggered off by an iron deficiency, but given that I haven’t been losing any blood (no periods, no other bleeding) and I eat lots of red meat that seems unlikely. I’ll get it tested ASAP though because it’s definitely the best possibility at this point!

Bleah. ;(

Comments

[acelightning]

there are a few other drugs that are used off-label for RLS, beginning with gabapentin or pregabalin and a few other related drugs. i'm sure your doctors know a lot more about it than i do. but i also wanted to mention that you don't necessarily have to have a diet that's low in iron, or be losing iron through bleeding, to have an iron deficiency; there are various biochemical conditions that prevent the body from metabolizing iron properly. fortunately, they're treatable. and you never know what else might benefit from normalizing the level of iron (and other vital nutrients) in your body.

*hugs*

[jesse_the_k]

*sympathy*

[sheramil]

> hears from a friend that RLS is sometimes due to a vitamin B deficiency

> tries a vitamin B supplement

> VIVID DREAMS OMG I CAN SEE THROUGH TIME

[synecdochic]

Fucking bodies!

[jeshyr]

Word!

[jeshyr]

LOL crazy dreams are so weird ... I've had various meds at different times that did tat too!

[jeshyr]

Thank you :)

[jeshyr]

My feeling was that with no known bleeding and high dietary intake it's certainly less *likely* to be iron deficient - don't know for sure whether that's true, but it seems intuitive at least. Anyway, like I said, I'll ask them to test it.

And I already take gabapentin and magnesium!

[acelightning]

i thought i remembered that you took gabapentin, but i wasn't sure.

i have a LiveJournal friend in the far north of Scotland, who is suffering from kidney failure, being treated by peritoneal dialysis (because the nearest hemodialysis clinic is 300 km away over roads that are often closed for days at a time in winter). one of the symptoms of kidney failure is severe generalized itching. his nephrologist gave him gabapentin for that, and the itching magically stopped... but the side effects of gabapentin include water retention (which is really a bad idea for someone whose kidneys aren't working) and weight gain. he gained 5 kg of water weight in his feet and ankles in three days, and he had to stop taking the gabapentin. they switched him to pregabalin, which seems to be mitigating the itching (though not as dramatically as the gabapentin did) without causing water retention... so far. (i'm not sure what any of this has to do with you; i'm just thinking "out loud".)

hmm... playing conga drums (as a career) can cause iron deficiency, by the same mechanism as "high-impact" sports such as running. somehow, repetitive impacts on the feet or hands create lowered iron levels in the body. have you taken up Afro-Caribbean drumming (or Afro-Caribbean religion) lately? :-)

[acelightning]

a very long time ago, i read a comment by a minor SF writer about how, as a bachelor on a low income, he ate a diet rather low in B vitamins (primarily corn chips and cheap takeaway). someone convinced him to take a mixed-B supplement... and he completely lost his imagination (and his hallucinatory dreams), and couldn't write anything interesting any more. apparently that effect is inverted for you. (note: it's entirely possible to OD on some of those vitamins, with potentially serious health effects, so don't go taking even more in the hope that you'll have even weirder dreams.)

[feyandstrange]

I hate it when the cure for A makes B worse. Hope something else turns up that works!

[dragonsally]

That is a total bugger. I hope that something can be sorted and pronto.