he's got more miles than an old greyhound

[truepenny]

Appointment at the Wisconsin Sleep Clinic this afternoon. Upshot: a new drug to try: pramipexole instead of ropinirole. It's supposed to be easier to tolerate than ropinirole, so hopefully it will not make me queasy. (Fingers crossed.) I got to play Stump the Doctor (which actually is not so much my favorite game)--I asked if my albinism and associated photosensitivity issues might be screwing around with my circadian rhythms (a theory first propounded by my gastroenterologist), and he said, "Well, I don't think that . . . I don't know. . . . I'll have to do some research this evening." Also, blood drawn for lab work, and the doctor wants me to stop donating blood for a while, since iron deficiency is associated with RLS, and my ferritin is low.

That part sucks, especially since the Red Cross needs donors this winter, but I do reluctantly recognize that I have to take care of myself first.

I am amused/discomfited by the medicine information sheet for pramipexole, which tells me, "This medicine is a dopamine agonist. Exactly how this medicine works is not known."

Unless the pramipexole turns out to work miracles here over the weekend, I will be starting my search for an acupuncturist again on Monday. Anyone in the Madison area who has a recommendation, please feel free to share!

Comments

[aranel.livejournal.com]

Possibly useful datapoint, given your low ferritin levels: many iron supplements cause gastrointestinal issues, but I have found that the Floradix brand liquid doesn't, for me, and I've heard a number of anecdotal reports suggesting this is true for others as well.

Here's hoping the new drug is helpful.

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm currently taking Mason's slow release iron supplement and not having any trouble--but if I have to increase the dose, I may need to keep the Floradix in mind.

Acupuncturist

[mystickeeper.livejournal.com]

I see Xuehui Wang through GHC, at either Capitol Clinic of the Hatchery Hill Clinic.

If you don't have GHC, she also has her own practice on University Avenue, address/etc. at the end of this this article (http://www.asianwisconzine.com/0210XuehuiWangAcupuncture.html).


Granted, she's the only acupuncturist I've ever had so I don't have anything to compare her to, but I feel AWESOME every time I go!

[sillylilly-bird.livejournal.com]

I wish you good outcomes meds-wise. Cthulhu save us from being "interesting" to our medical professionals....

[asciikitty.livejournal.com]

Once upon a time i did medical data entry for a clinical trial of an iron supplement to help with RLS. From what I remember, it actually did seem to help with some of the symptoms, but y'know, I was mostly trying to get the data into the database, and not mostly reading it.