Learning About Neurontin for RLS and Diabetes

[BoyyDavoMan]

You can learn more about Neurontin at

I was on Neurontin for a while and found it effective for my restless legs syndrome (RLS). My father-in-law also takes it for pain for his diabetes-related peripheral neuropathy.

 

[StephG22]

How do you know if you have rls? I thought I had it a while back but didn't quite fit the profile.

 

[BoyyDavoMan]

How did I know I had RLS? Well, the diagnosis was pretty easy given my symptoms (these are from the RLS website):

1. Urge to move due to uncomfortable sensations in the arms and legs. (My sensations were creepy crawlies, like worms under your skin or like someone has wired your legs and is passing a low voltage current through them).

2. Motor restlessness, expressed as activity, that relieves the urge to move. (I would have to get out of bed and do push ups and squats for 20 minutes or so to get them to go away. Not fun at 1-2 am in the morning!)

3. Worsening of symptoms by relaxation. (I would get squirmy just sitting on the couch in the evening to watch a little TV.)

4. Variability over the course of the day-night cycle, with symptoms worse in the evening and early in the night. (Almost always at night! I couldn't get a good nights sleep for an entire summer in 2002).

Check out the bulletin put out by the RLS Foundation at: . This describes the symptoms nicely.

 

[StephG22]

The reason why I thought I had it was because my leg would feel rubbery at night and at rest and therefore uncomfortable. The only thing that would help is getting up to walk around. At the time I did not have the crawley sensation so I didn't think that could be it. Now I do but it's all over twitches which doesn't seem to fit either. Thanks for your response.

 

[katiecarolyn]

Does this sound like BFS? When I am up moving around all day (I teach), I don't feel my buzzing or twitching. I do feel the weakness and pain in my left arm, though. (Perceived weakness, not clinical.) When I sit down, I immediately feel the buzzing ALL over my body, with twitching as well. Twitching is concentrated on my left arm and has been for 6 months. If I were relaxing at home, as my muscles completely "cool down," the twitching and buzzing would completely subside. If I move a muscle, however, my arms and legs will begin to buzz and twitch. As long as I remain still, the buzzing and twitching are gone.

Needless to say all my tests -- EMG, EEG, MRI, every-other-alphabet-soup-test -- have come back normal. Am searching for answers but not sure if BFS is me or not.

 

[BoyyDavoMan]

Amazingly, there is a lot more research on Restless Legs than PNH. If you look at the RLS Medical Bulletin, there are tons of references. See at this link. My neurologist believes that the two are related and the fact that my RLS acts up when I have flare ups seems to lend some credence to his idea (although I'm just one person!).

I am intrigued about the autoimmune theory. I am going to see my neuro on Dec. 10, and I am going to give him a copy of the Hart et al. (2002) paper. Perhaps he will test me for VGKC antibodies. Regardless, it might be interesting to see if I can get an Rx for prednisone. I know that I'll ask him for an Rx for Neurontin, since when I had a flare up in 2002 it seemed to work for the RLS.