Medication for Restless Leg Syndrome

Medication for restless leg syndrome can greatly improve an individual's ability to sleep well. This neurological disorder is known for the uncomfortable and sometimes painful sensations in the legs that cause a burning, tugging or crawling sensation. Treating the condition improves quality of life in many individuals.

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Doctors must first formally diagnosis individuals with restless leg syndrome prior to making a decision of how to treat it. They need to understand what the underlying disorder is that is causing restless leg syndrome (RLS) in the individual. Doctors may be able to treat the underlying condition effectively through medication or through lifestyle improvement, which will in turn improve RLS as well. Common underlying causes include diabetes and peripheral neuropathy.

In individuals who have mild to moderate RLS, doctors are able to treat the condition through preventative methods. Rather than using medications, they may insist on lifestyle changes:

• Reducing the amount of caffeine, alcohol and smoking the individual consumes can help.
• Supplement a healthy diet with magnesium, folate and iron, which are often lacking in individuals suffering from RLS.
• Improve sleep patterns for more consistency, for example, sleeping the same hours each day.
• Encourage moderate exercise to encourage better sleep, though excessive exercise may make the condition worse.
• Relieve symptoms with ice packs, massaging the legs or taking a hot bath.

Doctors will want to minimize symptoms as much as possible through these methods. If these do not work, or the individual has a severe level of RLS, doctors may consider additional treatment options, including medications.

A number of medications available can offer some relief to restless leg syndrome patients. Finding the right option is often a method of trial and error.

• Dopaminergics: The first type of medication often selected to treat RLS are often dopaminergics. This initial medication has a strong short-term result in relieving the symptoms. Medications such as levodopa and carbidopa may be used. These medications often work well at first, but some patients develop augmentation. This means that the symptoms will remain low during the night, but they will begin to present themselves earlier in the day than they used to. Some medications are less likely to develop augmentation. These include pramipexole, pergolide mesylate, and ropinirole hydrochloride. They can be helpful for some patients.
• Benzodiazepines: The medication family of benzodiazepines may also be used for those who have mild or intermittent symptoms of RLS. This includes the drugs diazepam and clonazepam. These medications improve sleep quality, but rarely help alleviate all of the symptoms of RLS. More so, they can be dangerous for those with sleep apnea. They also cause daytime sleepiness.
• Opioids: The medications that fall in the opioids family can help those with severe restless leg syndrome. The medications oxycodone, codeine and propoxyphene are most commonly given to these individuals. There are risks associated with using these medications. They can cause nausea and vomiting. They can also lead to addiction. They do aid in pain reduction and they help an individual to relax.
• Anticonvulsants: The fourth type of medication for restless leg syndrome is anticonvulsants such as gabapentin anad carbamazepine. These medications work to decrease the sensations of crawling that many with RLS feel. They do this by decreasing the individual's sensory abilities. They have side effects such as fatigue and dizziness.

Doctors typically work with patients to determine the right medication for them. Unfortunately, no one medication works better than others do, since this is a very individual situation. Doctors generally start with the lowest doses of the least harmful medication and work from there.

It is important to point out that many of these medications can lead to tolerance. Taking them at first may be very helpful at relieving symptoms, but many will lose their effectiveness over time. Taking them regularly can cause tolerance to happen faster.

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