Dear KarelMiles: I lost touch with you after the Restless Leg Syndrome
bulletin board died from the frustration of not finding a magic bullet to
"cure" RLS. You and I were the only PD/RLS sufferers. I have not been able
to find one other person coping with both diseases. Do you know of anyone
else? That should calm the readers.
It would appear that some neurologists are putting their RLS patients on
Permax rather than Sinemet CR alone or in combination. Have you tried
Permax? You did say that Klonopin works for you - is it still working? I
tried Klonopin for three days and got so jittery I quit. It didn't help the
RLS at all and in fact made it worse.
I take Sinemet CR for both diseases. Before the severe phase of RLS
started (June this year) I lived nicely on one CR 25/100 three times a day
and wasn't bothered by the 2.5 hours it takes for CR to peak. Now I'm taking
CR 25/100 five times a day which covers nights as the RLS is a 24 hour affair
for me. The lag time for CR to work is awful when one's legs are full of
shocks and spasms and "pins and needles" so I do take one half a regular
25/100 Sinemet at bedtime with one CR 25/100. During the day I just keep
walking to keep the miseries at bay. My days have changed since RLS
appeared. I used to take wonderful naps, or relax on the couch, or read all
night. The RLS shockwaves won't let me relax much anymore. I am constantly
trying to keep ahead of the leg miseries.
I have a question. If drug companies can make pain pills that start
working in 20 minutes, and controlled release tablets that work well for 8
hours, why can't Merck Sharp & Dohme do as well with Sinemet?
Regards,
Barbara Yacos
