Requip

[Betty/WV]

Hi Rachael: Read your message. I really don't think this requip is going to do much good. I only took it 3 days and had miserable side affects. I take clonazapam, and the doctor told me to stop the requip and go back on the clonazapam (klonopin) and keep taking the neurontin. Only I uped my clonazapam to 1 mg. He is going to try to determine where to go from here. The clonazapam isn't doing much good anymore. I have taken it for a long time. I don't have much advice to give you. My grandaughter is 23 and she also has rls. I have had it for years and years, but didn't know what it was. My daughter found an article called "NightWalkers" that was my first clue as to what was wrong with me. Then I found this site and it has helped me so much. Sometimes when I'm really suffering, I sit in a tub of hot water. Drink a cup of warm milk. Sometimes I rub my legs with a salve called Unkers (similar to bengay) and put on a pair of jogging pants. The heat of that helps alittle. It helps to to check on this site, the things that aggravate rls. Like over the counter meds, antidepressants, and ice cream does it for me. And sometimes nothing helps and I just walk the floor and cry because I'm so tired and can't sleep. Thanks goodness I don't have little children to care for or a job to get up early and go to. I feel bad that any one has this terrible pain in the neck (legs) but especially when it is someone young. Hope you find something that helps. Take care. Something they always say on this site and I think it helps too. THINK POSITIVE BETTY/WV A new mattress can't hurt. At least when you are sleeping it will feel better.

[tazmama]

I have been taking Requip for 3 weeks now, started on .25 and then went to .5 . It has been a wonder drug for me. I have been having only one attack per day and the worst of the symptoms are gone completely. I have had rls for 4 years and have had trouble sleeping at night and have been unable to take a nap during the day to make up for the lost sleep at night, because just at the point where I was about to fall into a deep sleep, I would get an attack which would wake me up. I was hoping that Requip would make me sleepy enuf to finally be able to get to sleep at a decent time, like most normal people. However, one of the side effects of Requip is that it can keep you awake. I have found that if I take Unisom about 1-1/2 hours before I go to bed, and then take my Requip, that I can fall asleep before the effect of the Requip hits. I have been sleeping soooo much better. And I am extremely happy that I can now make up for any sleep missed, by taking a nap during the day or evening, because I only seem to get an attack first thing in the morning. I previously had symptoms that were constant the minute I laid down and also had about 7 attacks a day. Thank God for Requip.

[ViewsAskew]

Tazmama, you might want to reconsider using Unisom. The main ingredient (that makes you sleepy) is dypenhydramine. This is the generic of Benadryl - and a known antagonist of RLS. Almost all people find that this makes their RLS worse.

The Requip may be working well enough to cover for it so you are not noticing it now, but you might be better off with either a natural sleep aid like chamomile tea, and if that is not strong enough, one of the newer presciption sleep aids that are approved for long term use.

Ann

[moreta]

I started Requip a week ago, with the 2 week starter kit ranging from .25 to 1 mg doses. (Really surprised my doctor to learn that Mirapex had been the cause of my nausea and vomiting for 6 months - at 1 mg, I was on a "low" dose compared to some of his other RLS & Parkinson's patients)

Besides the fact that I had a sleep deficit after going off my Mirapex for 4 days before starting Requip at a much lower dose, I've been having the following side-effects on a nightly basis:

* night sweats - will wake up soaked and chilled a couple times a night
* waking - every 1 1/2-2 hours (was really bad last night, when I remember looking at the clock at least 8 times between 10 pm and 6 am)

This morning, I was also dealing with some mild nausea. Not sure if it's the Requip, or more the very restless night last night. Extremely tired today.

And for those who have mentioned getting a different mattress, here's my story. When my hubby & I decided it was time for a new bed last spring, I was the one to test them all...and we ultimately went for memory foam with sections that could be rearranged for preferred hardness. My preference? Nearly rock-hard. Found that a too-soft mattress contributed to a sense of claustrophobia, especially on a very restless night.

moreta in AZ