Use this section to discuss your experiences with prescription drugs, iron injections, and other medical interventions that involve the introduction of a drug or medicine into the body. Discuss side effects, successes, failures, published research, information about drug trials, and information about new medications being developed.
Important: Posts and information in this section are based on personal experiences and recommendations; they should not be considered a substitute for the advice of a healthcare provider.
I just typed a very long post about my RLS, back surgery,dry eyes and requip etc. went to check the spelling for a word and losted the post and i just can't type it again.
So I think requip is the cause of my augmentation and I am trying to cut back from 6 - 1mg's a day to only taking it at nite. Also, the neurontin from 5 - 300mg's a day to at nite only.
And also my clomazepam 2mg's at nite. Yes they did put me on 5mg's of roxacodone 4 a day.
So this is what i am taking now today: requip 1mg's 6 times aday, neurontin 300mg's 5 times aday, clomazepam 2mg's at nite only. and i believe it is the requip that is causing the augmentation.
Still in lots of pain but for the most part the legs are better.
So after 4 back surgeries/ 2 laminectomy's and serve dry eyes I guess I am doing ok. Of course we all know the RLS will never go away but I am just trying to find what will work now and I think the requip has got to go and I want to go back to my Parlodel. I am so mad i lost that post. Jeannie
- Makes pale patterns and splotches inside my eyelids in the dark. Pretty benign, not much different from pressing gently on your eye through your eyelids.
- Seems to give me periodic warm fuzzies of the literal, physical kind... not the emotional kind, though I feel fine in that regard.
- Gives me a headache the next afternoon, almost every time.
- Seemed to make me hypertensive. Initially I was on 37.5mg per evening, and found my BP went up from 120/80 to 130/90. Later I was on 75mg spread over the day, and got up to 140/100, sometimes worse. I weaned myself off of it and my BP is normal again.
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Disclaimer: I often talk about what I do and what works for me, but these are specific to me and you should always consult a healthcare professional before trying these things yourself, lest you endanger your health or life.
Last edited by Aiken on Tue Dec 11, 2007 3:42 am, edited 5 times in total.
I know this message is a bit casual, but I'd like to give kudos to the descriptions all you guys are giving. Being a psych student, and someone who is taking medication, I was looking for some place on the internet that outlined the realities of the medications, instead of the inflated positive and negative points that are all too easy to find.
The only problem now is that I think I have RLS, but it could just be me getting overanxious over the issue. All I know is that when in lectures my legs move around more than those people around me (though not to the point of it being excessive), and in bed they move around a bit (I still can't sleep if the linens are tucked in over me. Usually I put the linen between my legs as it's like they get warm too easily under the covers).
Anyway, I just came here to see the side effects of Antenex and Luvox, and for better or worse, I'm relieved to see I'm not the only one getting bouts of sleepiness and increased depression the day after if I don't take a tab in time.
So I guess I just want to thank you guys for the service you're providing. It's appreciated.
I take requip 2 mg nightly, which I decided to split, and so take about 1mg around 8pm and the other half at bedtime. I also take simvastatin to reduce cholesterol, plus vit b, folic acid, magnesium. sometimes also cod liver oil, evening primrose oil and glucosomene sulphate.
I have noticed, and I assume it is the requip, which I have been on for about 4 or 5 months, these 'side effects'.
slight nausea - so I split the tablet.
fuzzy head feeling
much lower energy level
tiredness
I have been sleeping (more or less) but much lighter.
headaches - at present I have had a headache for 3 days.
lack of concentration - have to read things a couple of times.
BUT could the lack of energy, tiredness and lack of concentration be an age thing, I'm 58 and still work full-time.
We haven't had any additions in this thread in a long time. Moss had mentioned issues with methadone, not sure if Zach and Brandy's tramadol seizures are in here, etc.
It would be great if anyone who's had any side effects with any meds they take would add them into this thread if they have not already done so.
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.
methadone. I've tried about everything and its still the best.
side effects
low testosterone production
shortness of breath when exerting.
my all time evil drug (meaning, probably, that I put up with it longer than other da's and therefore suffered more long term side effects).
Bromocriptine (Parlodel) - Antiparkinsonian
I took this for several years at my, at the time, neurologist's insistence
hair loss
low wbc
dizziness
sudden urge to sleep
nasty withdrawal (the withdrawal from opioids must surely be easier)
lack of energy (motility)
irritable
depression
cranky
Ultimately made my rls over 50% worst than when first started taking it.
This has been said by other people
neurontin
headaches
doppy, tired and sleepy well into next day (for me with only 300 mg this goes on until late afternoon)
Mirapex
ditto with what others have said plus watch out for personality change. I became very irritable and lost any sense of humor. My wife insisted I stop taking it though it seemed to work for the rls.
one more for bromocriptine (parlodel), an important one.
Heart Damage!
Before taking it I had no heart problems. After taking it for two years I had a heart murmur, in other words it looks like parlodel damaged one of my heart valves. Not major damage (but who knows if I had continued taking it as the neurologist had insisted) but still unlike the hair loss, not reversible.
My unprofessional opinion. DO NOT TAKE PARLODEL. While it works on rls for maybe two years before the rls gets worst it ultimately makes this illness that you have to live with for the rest of your life, a lot worse and for me, a lot more painful, than it was before taking parlodel.
I thought I was going crazy on Mirapex. I would hear and see things that were not there, and the neurologist didn't believe me. I am so glad it was not just me!
Mirapex not only made me hear and see things, I was nervous, anxious, angry alot about nothing, depressed, memory loss, could not remember conversations from 2 minutes before, insomnia (4am). I like to draw, but I would sit for hours and hours drawing something I have never done before. Since being off the Mirapex I haven't drawn anything. I was also spending money like there was nothing to it and hiding it from my husband which is so uncharacteristic of me, now we are in lots of debt. Mirapex is a very powerful and DANGEROUS drug which is not being monitered closely enough by physicians.
Requip made me nauseaous
Clonazepam and Neurontin did nothing at all
Amytriptelene caused muscle rigidity so bad I went to the ER
The only thing that worked was the iron infusion and getting off Mirapex.
Thought I would add my $2 worth..............yes, I said 2 dollars! Inflation, you know!
I have been on Requip for several months now..........began with the starter pack, leveled off at 1 mg. per night. Before the Requip, was actually getting pretty good relief with all the non/pharm "tricks", along with 1/4 of a 5 mg. Darvocet nightly. (Had been taking it fairly regularly for about 2 years.) When it became pretty evident that I needed to up the Darvocet, I asked my doctor about the Requip. She also has RLS, and said it was working well for her. Didn't want to up the opoid, and believed that the Requip would be the better choice. Well................after about 5 months, noticed that I was getting symptoms in the late afternoon/early evening. So, I added back the Darv. at around 6-7 pm, then the Requip about 9 pm. Within the last month, more symptoms, beginning earlier in the afternoon. The "tricks" seemed to lose their effectiveness, also. When I discussed this with my doc right before Christmas, we decided to go with 1/4 of oxycodone plus the Requip. Early symptoms responded, but by 9 pm, was in misery. After reading evrything I could find on Requip, and many of your stories, I decided on Wednesday (01/09/08)...............no more daily Requip!! For the last two nights, I have taken half of the 5mg Oxycodone around 7 pm, gone to bed
around 11, and have slept just as well as with the Requip. I am dreaming, so I know that I am getting deep sleep.
In additon to augumentation, I was having trouble driving during the day time...........had to drink a caffeinated beverage to stay awake on long trips...............talk about the devil and the deep blue sea! I have also experienced unexplained weight gain; and at times, a deep, throbbing pain in my legs early in the mornings before I get up. Can not yet positively identify Requip as the culprit on the weight and the pain, but am absolutely positive about the narcolepsy and the augmentation. I will save my Requip for those times when some alien influence causes me excessive symptoms, and use on a one-night-at-a-time basis. Am going to also talk to my doctor about a "switcheroo" program of using a different med every few nights............she always prescribes the pain meds as if I am taking the full dose every 6 hours for pain, therefore one prescription lasts for several months, and no one has any reason to question her ethics, and the druggist doesn't look at me like I am an addict. (He is also RLS aware.)
Now, wasn't that worth $2? If not, I will be glad to return everyone's money!
Jane
PS Would be happy to share my bag of non/pharm "tricks", but it will cost you a bit more!
Jane- please do share your Non-Pharm "tricks" in the Non Pharm category. I'm always looking for additions to my bag of tricks.
I have never heard that Requip can be taken on an "as needed" basis my understanding was that it's a daily med that only works if you have a continuous supply in your system. Let us know if it works for you on a "one night at a time basis".
Requip is not a great choice for an "as needed" drug, but mostly because it takes so long to get into your system and doesn't work too well after symptoms start. The other possible problem is if you need a large dose - if you don't take it regularly you can have side effects when you do.
That said, it would work well if you knew you were going to the movies and took it in plenty of time to work and you weren't one to suffer side effects from it. It's got a fairly short half life, so as far as I know doesn't need any building up in your system to work.
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.
Ann ~ I have never taken more that .05 mg of Requip, and would only use it if I have a couple of bad nights in a row. My doctor had mentioned using it this way, and I think she also does.
At any rate, I have been off the Requip for several nights now. Last night, I even went to bed with nothing, but started to feel a few twinges right before I drifted off to sleep. Rather than chance that "twilight non-sleep", where you realize that you need to get up and take something, but are not awake enough to do it, I just went on and took 1/4 of my opoid. Slept like a baby all night! I chose to just lay around all day today - dreary day here in my neck of the woods - for the first time in many moons, I was able to sit and read, and doze, with no symptoms whatsoever. I have added a couple of supplements: Omega-3 capsules, and glucosamine chrondition. I used to take the glucosamine on a regular basis, but cannot remember if maybe discontinuing that co-incicded with an upswing in the RLS! Who knows what affects this curse, and what doesn't !!!
Bottom line, right now, I am experiencing a reprieve, and am grateful for it, now matter why or for how long. Until convinced otherwise, I am sure in my mind that I was having augmentation associated with the Requip.
Will be interesting to see if this becomes a common, reported side effect, and if GSK will acknowledge it, and label their product accordingly.
Jeannie