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Sometimes when people look up on the internet, the medications that are commonly used for restless leg syndrome, such as the dopaminergic agonists like Pramapaxil and Ropinirole, they may see that these same medications are used for a very serious neurologic disorder called Parkinson’s disease. And they can get really frightened and wonder if they are on their own way to Parkinson’s disease. And the truth is it’s on a spectrum and people with restless leg syndrome never have to develop Parkinson’s disease. Although many patients with Parkinson’s disease do develop restless leg syndrome. It can be a disease that’s just on its own and nothing worse has to happen. So I want to give people comfort knowing that just because this medication is also prescribed Parkinson’s disease does not mean that they’re going to get it. And just because they have restless leg syndrome and it’s considered a movement disorder doesn’t mean anything’s going to get worse. So one should feel relieved, not worried. It’s restless leg syndrome. It doesn’t have to get worse. It doesn’t mean bad things are coming. It’s usually very well-treated and once we’ve got the right diagnosis and treatment, life gets a lot better.
