restless leg syndrome due to heroin wds

[Swain]

I feel like the RLS people experience that is not related to opiate wtihdrawals just doesn't compare.

It is an issue taht might keep you up, but the RLS from withdrawal is brutal.. its like RLS all over your whole body lol. For me weed helps my RLS a little.

 

[eireann]

i use to tink dat swain but after readin up on it some ppl get it the same as if they wer detoxin der hole life it drives sum ppl mad and to answer sum1 question if ur used to benzos and take em during wds it can move the pain to ur arms my friend whos on loadsa pills use to say it to me which i didnt believe untill it happend to me as mad as it sounds u can get rls in ur arms....i guess ud call it ras.

I feel like the RLS people experience that is not related to opiate wtihdrawals just doesn't compare.

It is an issue taht might keep you up, but the RLS from withdrawal is brutal.. its like RLS all over your whole body lol. For me weed helps my RLS a little.

 

[JasNod]

I've had problems with insomnia and rls since I was little. It's the most annoying thing ever. When opiate/opioid withdrawal kicks in it's by far the worst part for me. I can deal with the puking, pain (bad back), clod sweats, diarrhea, anxiety, depression, but not the rls. My friends and family have told me I kick all night when I sleep, I always have. When I'm WDing and I try to lay down, I jerk around violently. My whole body is just thrashing around until I can't handle it and I get up and just start walking around hitting corners with my elbows trying to get my mind off this feeling deep inside my body. This leads to staying up for days at a time. If I can't find something to ween with I literally can't sleep. I've been forced to stay awake for up to 6 days (I did manage to fall asleep for a couple hours a couple times during this period though). I've also had nightmares almost every night since I was little and I have the most ridiculously gruesome and morbid dreams during withdrawals. The strange thing is, the nightmares really don't bother me anymore. Sometimes they'll seem exactly like real life, but I'm still not all that worried in the dream. Anyway sorry for the long rant, but thanks for listening . I don't know why it helps to tell people about your problems anonymously, but it does.

 

[JasNod]

i use to tink dat swain but after readin up on it some ppl get it the same as if they wer detoxin der hole life it drives sum ppl mad and to answer sum1 question if ur used to benzos and take em during wds it can move the pain to ur arms my friend whos on loadsa pills use to say it to me which i didnt believe untill it happend to me as mad as it sounds u can get rls in ur arms....i guess ud call it ras.

During withdrawals it's all over my body. I've heard of other people that get it through their body too. I was that kid in school that everyone got mad at cause he couldn't stop moving and it would distract everyone. Haha, good times.

 

[Jacksterini]

I think rls sux. For anyone. Ive always suffered with it. Of course. Durimg withdrawal. Its like a rls punishment. But it sux. Either way. Withdrawals u got more other stuff goin on. I no. Its not the rite way. But opiates treat. Rls. Obe tried all the mew meds Plus xanax. Opiates help. Im on suboxone. And im tempted to mever get off so i dont have to deal with rls

 

[rules]

i take benadryl if i cant sleep. anti histamines are good for that, but if u use em a lot, they stop working.
i used to use seroquel but i took it too much at too high a dose [to acheive sleep] and wound up feeling very flat all the time, that shit really fucks with you. i hate it now. still take it in desperate sleep times but i really try to avoid it. after i run out im never getting that script refilled

benadryl is good for sleep, yes. but no one in this thread brought up what i thought would be the first reply. RLS is a form of dystonia. dystonia is alleviated by diphenhydramine (benadryl) in high doses. (get one with no acetaminophen, obviously) it also helps you sleep. benadryl was a godsend for my RLS and insomnia during opiate WD. be careful not to take over 300 mg because then it will act like a deliriant and you will never go to sleep. oh, and if you are prescribed benzos, they work in high doses too. just don't go overboard and always look up what a high dose is compared to a LETHAL dose. benzos shouldn't be continually used for RLS obviously, or else you'll end up with a new addiction. good luck with kicking!

 

[knock]

benadryl is good for sleep, yes. but no one in this thread brought up what i thought would be the first reply. RLS is a form of dystonia. dystonia is alleviated by diphenhydramine (benadryl) in high doses. (get one with no acetaminophen, obviously) it also helps you sleep. benadryl was a godsend for my RLS and insomnia during opiate WD. be careful not to take over 300 mg because then it will act like a deliriant and you will never go to sleep. oh, and if you are prescribed benzos, they work in high doses too. just don't go overboard and always look up what a high dose is compared to a LETHAL dose. benzos shouldn't be continually used for RLS obviously, or else you'll end up with a new addiction. good luck with kicking!

Interesting; the wikipedia page for RLS makes no mention of dystonia or diphenhydramine. I'd be obliged if you would link to further information, cheers!

 

[rules]

Interesting; the wikipedia page for RLS makes no mention of dystonia or diphenhydramine. I'd be obliged if you would link to further information, cheers!

first sentence from the wikipedia page on dystonia: "Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder, in which sustained muscle contractions cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures." Doesn't that sound like RLS? I don't have any further information. It's just what my doctor told me to do when I asked him what I should be doing to feel better during WD...and it really worked. He also prescribed me seroquel to try to sleep but that didn't put me asleep for shit...

 

[knock]

first sentence from the wikipedia page on dystonia: "Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder, in which sustained muscle contractions cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures." Doesn't that sound like RLS?

To be honest, no, it doesn't sound like RLS. I can only speak from my own experience, and what I've read myself, but - IME - the muscle contractions in RLS need not be sustained. RLS manifests itself as a perceived need to move, not actual movement, per se. The movement which relieves the need is voluntary and therefore the details of the movements, muscle contractions, postures etc are left to the individual, so to speak.

When I get RLS in my legs, I relieve it by, for example, contracting and relaxing my calf muscles. It's a conscious, voluntary act but not doing it becomes unbearable quickly. There need be no twisting or abnormal postures. Dystonia sounds to me like the sufferer has no control whatsoever over the muscle movements involved.

 

[rules]

when i've had rls my legs would literally kick. i don't know about you, then.

 

[knock]

when i've had rls my legs would literally kick. i don't know about you, then.

Sometimes I kick my legs but it's me that kicks them, it's not an involuntary movement. It's quite difficult to pin down because the line between voluntary and involuntary is hard to draw. If I am not paying attention to my RLS, then I will make movements that are not "conscious" but I think that's just because I've learned to move to relieve the urge.

If I'm feeling masochistic I can try to restrain myself from carrying out the movements which the RLS demands. Within seconds it becomes unbearable and I have to move. But it's voluntary. I choose to do it because not to do it is unbearable.

 

[rules]

Sometimes I kick my legs but it's me that kicks them, it's not an involuntary movement. It's quite difficult to pin down because the line between voluntary and involuntary is hard to draw. If I am not paying attention to my RLS, then I will make movements that are not "conscious" but I think that's just because I've learned to move to relieve the urge.

If I'm feeling masochistic I can try to restrain myself from carrying out the movements which the RLS demands. Within seconds it becomes unbearable and I have to move. But it's voluntary. I choose to do it because not to do it is unbearable.

strange...i really do think it's involuntary. if you have an urge to do something but you know in your brain that you don't and you do it anyways it seems involuntary to me. and i don't know, this is what my doctor said and what he told me to do and unless it was completely a placebo effect, it seemed to help me a lot.

 

[knock]

and i don't know, this is what my doctor said and what he told me to do and unless it was completely a placebo effect, it seemed to help me a lot.

Oh, I'm not denying it's helped you and I'll try it out myself if I can get hold of some diphenhydramine. I'd just be wary about classifying RLS as a type of dystonia. But the meds may still be effective.

 

[JasNod]

The strange thing is, diphenhydramine intensifies rls for me, even 25 mg will lead to a terrible night. I've looked this up and I've found many people share this experience.

 

[rules]

i actually just looked it up and found a whole thread about people arguing about it. seems we are not the first.

 

[knock]

If you look here (and you probably already have) it categorises dystonia as involving involuntary muscle contractions while the movements in RLS are a response to desires/sensations. No argument, I'm right (or maybe not, but I doubt it!)

 

[eireann]

rls can be so bad that u wud nearly stab urself in the leg for a different kind of pain i have often punched my legs as hard as i cud as a distraction from it thank god im off gear and dont live totally in fear of rls anymore but i really am scared by it [does any1 wake up the middle of the night gaspn for breath with a thumping heart feelin like if u hadnt of woke u wer seconds from death] well if so u can thank gear for it its most likely obstructive sleep apnea and u can die from it im off gear and i have it for the rest of my life now

 

[knock]

rls can be so bad that u wud nearly stab urself in the leg for a different kind of pain i have often punched my legs as hard as i cud as a distraction from it

Oh yes, I've punched my thighs repeatedly in an attempt to numb the RLS away! works... for a few seconds.

 

[eireann]

heroin wds you shit water up to 5 times an hr puke foam cum urself piss constantly hot sweats cold sweats you get rls where u want to break ur own legs for relief you cant sleep for a week get depression and anxiety for months where u wake up wanting to kill urself everyday great huh i will never touch gear again to avoid this although if u have a shit load of benzos its about 10 percent less sevre hahaha fuck me its sum drug and even tho ur killing urself it tricks ur brain in to tinkn everythings hunky dory fuck me its some wake up call back in the real world like for 5 yrs a fantasy of mine was to be living in afghanistan beside d poppy plants haha i genuinely wanted to live in sand in a warzone......feckn mad shit

 

[Swimmingdancer]

I get that from sitting down and having a coffee. Half the time I don't even notice it (I assume half the time...). Why is it such a bitch?

I don't think that's the same. It sounds like you are talking about caffeine jitters, like when you are just subconsciously jiggling your leg or something. RLS caused by opioid withdrawals is excruciating. As people said above, it can make you want to stab or brak your legs from the agony, and it can happen all over your body. It basically feels like your bones and muscles are very sore, you feel very anxious, and your muscles get incredibly painful if you don't move them or jerk them, or sometimes you just jerk them uncontrollably. It's hard to fully explain how horrible it is, but trust me, it's miserable. I have had symptoms of RLS at night that were not caused by opioid withdrawals and just consisted of my legs moving in my sleep and waking me briefly (or my partner would tell me my leg or arm had been moving) and it was not painful or anywhere close to the feeling of the restless legs/arms/body that comes with opioid WDs (for me). So I'm not sure whether people with non-opioid caused RLS are really going through the same thing or not. It probably varies. Plus, when you're in WD you have all the other myriad torturous symptoms of WD as well.