Seem to have survived RLS!

[Everythings19]

2nd post here. A big thank you to everyone for their contributions to this site. I’ve used it in the past but finally joined last night.

Man, it was a long night last night. Spent it on the bathroom floor. Didn’t wanna wake the wife, lol. If it hadn’t been for music I think I woulda gone even more nuts. Headphones cranked. Thank you YouTube. Found music that seemed to help with RLS, shook my feet to the beat. Rock, discovered “Nightwish”, and electronica. Some music worked better than others. Music, bathroom floor, Pedialyte, water, and some Jack Daniels (but not much). Fml, lol. If only I knew then what I know now. Such is life.

Our bathroom has a separate shower and tub. Would spend some time with my feet hanging under the showerhead with hot water. Then 2 pairs of socks with feet on top of the toilet lid. Then hanging feet into tub with Epsom salts. Repeat process.

Hoping I can actually get some sleep tonight. Been 4 days with about 5 hours of sleep now. Had been on prescription opiates since ‘09 for severe spine and nerve damage. Switching docs and staying away from opiates. Tapered for 2 weeks (a bit too rapidly towards the end), about 3.5 days of RLS. Utterly scared of going forward. The pain is... argh. Pain and being so used to taking pills to make the hurt go away is really messing with me. I just want my damn life back, at least a portion of it.

Thank you to everyone here for all of the helpful posts.

 

[Mafioso]

That's awesome man, keep going.

I remember spending a lot of time in the shower when going through WDs. I would turn the hot water all the way on and stand or sit under the water for what seemed like hours. Other than a low dose of opioids, I couldn't really find anything that helped with RLS in particular. Staying hydrated definitely helps overall, pedialyte is a god send. It's crazy how soothing music is, at times it felt like it was all that I had. Never tried Epsom salt, did that seem to help?

Sounds like a tough decision to make but it seems like your heart is in the right place. It's crazy how much some people are given, I knew someone who was given enough opioid medication(for legitimate pain) that he was selling half of it and still nodding out all the time.

Do you have any plan as to how to manage or cope with your spine and nerve damage? Hope things work out for you.

 

[herbavore]

I just met a man in the store this afternoon that was looking for elderberry tonic. He said his doctor told him to get it for RLS. I have no idea where to get it but you might look.

 

[CFC]

Tonic water = quinine which is a treatment for RLS. I'm completely ignorant about elderberry tonic though.

Clonidine, propranolol and dopamine agonists have all been helpful to me in the past for my RLS.

 

[Everythings19]

I hear ya, thank God for the larger water heater that was installed last winter, lol.

Epsom salts did seem to help. Fortunately had some here from a while back for soaking muscles. Pretty much no shaking in an Epsom bath, little bit more shaking under shower with hot water but considerably less than without.

I messed up the bathroom pretty good last night. Water and wet towels everywhere. My Maine Coons going in and out, trying vainly for attention. Water bottles and Pedialyte, cig packs, book, ice packs, cold medicine, Tylenol and ibuprofen, .1 of Clonidine every 12 hours. Took 3 comforters and folded them up so I could lay on them, they also helped with the height difference when putting my calves on the toilet seat or hanging feet into the bathtub.

I managed to behave with those scripts for almost 9 years. It’s just been the last few months that I started pulling from meds meant the next day, next week, etc. Shorting myself in the future for relief in the moment and fully aware of doing so. Reached a point where I was so fed up with not getting proper care and docs that never help. All that matters is not feeling pain. That’s all I care about anymore. I’ve felt it for so long. Hell, even when my appendix burst the docs wouldn’t give me any pain meds, lol. That was one long ass drive home. Appendix burst in New Orleans and had 6 states to drive through to get home. Checked myself out of the hospital less then 24 hours after surgery, got in the car and started driving. Made it mostly through another state and crashed there for 1.5 days, then back on the road. Wife needed to get back home, so we went back home.

It seems like I’ve made it through RLS, some movement every once in a while, but will keep those in mind should it ever happen again. Which I’m honestly scared it will. I have no clue how I’m gonna make it going forward. Worried the pain will get so bad that I’ll find stuff through illegitimate routes. Working on getting in to see a new doc, but they’ll never prescribe narcotics for me again. Failed a few random urine screens with the old doc for smoke. I understand it’s their rules and it’s my own fault but I just wanted to not hurt. That’s all that friggin matters- to not be in pain. It controls, dictates, destroys everything.

 

[Mafioso]

If you're open to it, it might be a good time to consider cannabis. High CBD and topical creams have been said to help, but personally I don't believe they are a good substitute for opioids. I have never used opioids or cannabis to medicate for physical pain though, so it may be quite different in your case. I've read reports saying that people have successfully kicked opioids by switching to cannabis. I would think you would want a low or no dose of THC and high dose of CBD or use topical applications to avoid being completely stoned all day.

It's a bummer that cannabis is so stigmatized. Someone could be getting drunk off their ass everyday but if you smoke once a week your out of luck.. tides are changing though.

Sounds like you are pretty tough with all things considered. I hope you can get things worked out for the betterment of your life.

 

[Everythings19]

Greatly appreciate the words. Thank you. I’ve looked into CBD but it’s illegal where I am. Years back I had sources for everything, not any more though. So yeah, no clue what to do. Only scripts I have left are Gabapentin, Robaxin and Cymbalta. Stretching them out in hopes I can get into the new doc soon.

I’ve been smoking off and on the last few days but I hate being high all the time. I’ve never been good at being ripped in public so it’ll never become a regular thing. Never had a problem being messed up on pills in public though, everything just flowed. That I do miss.

It’s been hell, that’s for sure, lmao. I used to be so active, was always out with friends or working on my projects. I’m a car/gun/motorcycle guy. Well, I was, lol. My current car project I love so much but I have to have someone else finish it for me. I hate that, so much. More time that passes the less I can do. It truly gets difficult justifying continuing on sometimes.

 

[Everythings19]

Had to post it. Current project. Audi wagon. My love and hate on 4 wheels. My sanity and anger at her and myself.

The parts list is insane. Some deliveries were stacked as tall as me, lol. 1st round we installed air ride, bunch of interior stuff, high perf brakes, light engine mods, wheels, even more stuff.

2nd round of mods is a bit more intense. Swapping to a manual trans to handle the power the new motor will put out. Bigger turbos, bigger intercoolers, bigger air plumbing, high-perf clutch, tons of other parts. More than doubling the motors output. After that we’re plasti-dipping the wagon in a matte, sparkling blue before Spring hits.

Also modifying the suspension even more so it can be slammed in Summer but have more ground clearance than a Grand Cherokee with big knobby tires and a push bar/light bar/winch for Winter use.

She (Ellen, wife named her) will be the only Audi wagon with this level of mods in the US. That, I think, is pretty damn cool.

I love wagons and Audi’s. Finally got one last year. Went nuts on it. Yet now I’m at the point where I hate it cuz I can’t work on it anymore. If only I got back on stronger meds ? ??

At home-


In the Keys-


Learned not to air out on leaves-


In Colorado for an Audi meet, Pikes Peak area-


Did a lot of road trips last Summer. As long as I’ve got a really comfy seat I can drive non-stop to most of the states in the US. Still need to add some on the east coast-


Damn. Sorry. I’m not used to interacting with people anymore so when I do, yeah, a lot tends to come out, lol.