Restless Legs Syndrome Support Group

Shannon, right now im in the same boat, no insurance, so it cost 89$ for a months worth of pills, mirapex, my Doc gives me samples,have you called the Doc office and ask for samples? They are pretty good at doing this,theres alot of people out of work and no insurance, and the Doc get reps in all the time dropping off the samples, call them you have nothing to loss.I dont know of any vitamins. I do understand the legs wanting to run around the block!! Every night for me if i dont have the pills.Best wishes Cindi

when I was quitting smoking (last one 7am 1/7/97) after 47 years of smoking every day--
I found moving around really helped. the more you sit in a room the more time you have to think about it. go outside and climb the walls literally to keep from "climbing the walls" mentally. The more you can physically exert yourself the better. And, it seems to help my RLS too. I've got to make the current prescription last as long as possible so I'm cutting the pills in half and find that the more exercise I get, the less symptoms I have. If you find something that seems to work for you, do post it.
good luck

Well I did try those pills that they sell in stores for a little while, they are the Hyland's (I think thats the name), they are like the teething tablets but for RLS. They seemed to work a little bit but where you are supposed to take like 2 I had to take like 5...they arent drug based or anything so you cant really overdose.

Maybe I will start taking a walk in the evenings. I did just quit smoking and it would be a good thing all the way around I do believe. Contrats on 12 years quit. My husband and I had our last smoke on July 19, 2009 at 2:30 am. Not really cause we wanted to quit but he gets bad coughs from them after a while and we really cant afford to spend like 60+ bucks a week.

If I find something that helps I will be sure to post it.

I've had restless legs since I was a teenager and was formally diagnosed with it 18 years ago. My doctors tried a variety of treatments, not all were very successful and for the most part I just suffered. I was finally able to see a neurologist who took one look at me wiggling and jiggling in my chair and said RLS, took one look at my extensive medical records (I have a severe kidney and liver disease) and said Klonopin (clonazepam, a benzodiazepine) and prescribed it in the lowest available dose, 0.5 mg. That was 6 years ago and I'm still on that dose. He recommended I take the first dose on a Friday night in the event it made me groggy the next day. I had no grogginess; it didn't make me sleeppy but it did calm down my legs and I was able to fall asleep for the first time in decades without getting up and walking in place, pacing the house, or going out in the middle of the night and running (and I hate running).

And while I have insurance and get my prescriptions filled for free (retired military), I've checked and clonazepam is on the formulary for WalMart and Target and many of the other low cost generic programs. You will need a prescription, but you can't beat the price, $4 for 30 days.

I tried Requip with absolutely no success whatsoever. All it did was cause visual problems which took 6 months to resolve. I won't try Mirapex; it's the same family of medication and I'm pretty confident the side effects will be similar.

Low ferritin levels can also cause RLS, so if you can get your doctor to run an iron panel, you may be able to get some answers as well. A minimum ferritin level of 50 is recommened, not only for health but to offset the effects of RLS. It's by no means a cure (my ferritin levels are much higher than 50) but for some people the supplemental iron, with a doctor's approval can make a significant difference.

Good luck to all!
Ruth