Mirapex

[brandy]

With regard to the whole weight gain/food craving thing with Mirapex - if cravings often indicate to your body what you might need (I crave a hamburger, I might be low in iron, milk - calcium, etc), how can I distinguish between what my body needs and what the Mirapex is screwing up my mind to tell my body I need? And how are these cravings combatted if they are induced by a drug? I'll throw out a radical attempt at honesty (a little scary) - I am a recovered anorexic and have already had to take one drug that caused weight gain and have been unable to return to where I would like to be. I am afraid of Mirapex causing extra weight gain and sending me into a relapse. Further, Mirapex makes me extremely nauseated, and that is only slightly abated by eating when I take the Mirapex, which is right before bed, per my doctor, thus more food intake. So, I'm trying to figure out how to keep all of this in balance. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[cornelia]

Brandy, I forgot to mention lately that Neurontin causes weight gain in many cases. With me it was 1 kg for each 300 mg pill. When I titrated down 2 pills I lost 2 kg. Of course we differ. Thought I just mention this reading your message. No med without side-effects (sigh).

Corrie

[ViewsAskew]

There is no answer that I know of Brandy. I have always fought weight-issues. I find that when my brain chemistry is out of balance - from drugs or the inherent problems with the RLS - I can't tell the difference. I try to wait for physical symptoms, like actual stomach growling. But, it doesn't always work well. If you really tune into it - maybe like from a mediation observer perspective - you might be able to do some differentiation. If not, at least you could allow the moment to pass! That might help identify true hunger.

This, for me, is one of the hardest battles I have.

[brandy]

Thanks, girls! I am officiating a wedding (I'm a minister) for a very good friend (who also happens to be critical about women's bodies), so this adds to the struggle. I am beginning to be okay with my body. I've discovered that I have a choice at this point: I am doing my best to keep things under control, but, right now, if it is a choice between my sanity and being a good, kind, thoughtful person and dealing with some weight issues or being exhausted, weepy, grouchy, self-absorbed, and basically not a great person, but thin, I'm going to have to choose being a better person. I'm just struggling at this point with making healthy choices and not letting things get out of control. Thanks for your support and help.

[ViewsAskew]

How I wish I didn't have any idea of what you were talking about!!! You probably have, but just in case. . .have you read, "When Women Stop Hating Their Bodies" by Hirschman and Munter? It is truly wonderful. But, so were most of the other books I read and I still struggle, but much less since that book.

[brandy]

I have not read that book, Ann. I'll check it out. Thanks for the tip!

[vinton]

I started mirapex at 0.25 at bedtime and slept well fronm the first night but during the day I have light nausea, fell like I'm twice the weight, had and anxiety attack for the first time in years, trouble to urinate.

Do these symptoms go away after awhile?

Vinton

[ViewsAskew]

They might, they might not. If these are icky, but tolerable, stick it out for two weeks. If it's better, great. If it's not better, but not worse, think about if you can deal with this for several months or years. If you can't, switch. If it's worse, then definitely need to switch. With four categories of meds, and several options within each category, we have lots of options. Most of us have at least partial success and can get back to our lives, even if not quite the way we used to.

[vinton]

Hi,

Thanks soo much for your help.

Here is the situation.

I ate meds and was sowly get tting off klonopin last spring and I srated to have problems with my legs when I went below 1 mg and now am at 0.5 and except for RLS I feel much better and have more energy.

I tried mirapex at 0.125 for 2 weeks and I was anxious ( under stress I would sweat and have tremor). I went off for 5 days and felt great again, energy but my sleep was worse. So I went to 0.25 and I feel depressed and get panic attacks.

I read the review for clinician


So maybe I should just raise my klonopin instead of bringing in another med..

So 2-3 weeks at 0.125 and 3 days at 0.25.. Do I need to taper or just quit?

Thanks so much


Vinton

[ViewsAskew]

I'm not a doc, but the Mirapex should be able to be stopped as you haven't been on it long. To be safe, you could reduce it over a few days.

If it were me, I'd really consider continuting to get off the K. You already have had so many problems from it. Mirapex is only one of many drugs that can help. Requip is in the same class, but works completely differently. If you don't need it more than four days a week, try Sinemet. It works very fast - in 20 minutes or so. You just can't take it everyday or the risks of augmentation increase. If those don't work, you can try the drugs in two other classes - antiseizure and opioids. But, that's just from my perspective - I'm not the one in your shoes.

[kef1950]

Hi all! I am brand new to this site and need all the data anyone can give me. I have had this miserable malady for many years but only recently have begun treatment for it. I have been on requip for several months now( 3mg. daily) but have started having rls earlier and earlier in the day.
I absolutely cannot sleep at night without pain medication to help with the rls. Please direct me to any and all sites where I can get help!
Thanks all!

[ViewsAskew]

kef, so sorry you had these problems.

Please read about augmentation - it's when the drugs like Requip make the RLS start earlier or be more severe. If you read the "sticky" post in this section, you'll find out about it.

Your doctor may or may not know about it. They've known about it for a several years, but most docs went to school before anyone knew it existed, so they may not have heard of it.

Books like the one by Dr Buchfurer, Hening and Kushida talk about it, so they can be a good resource to take to your doctor to explain it. You can also print out things from sites like this one or reputable sites that your doctor would approve of .

About 30% of us have this happen, so if you search on our site for "augmentation" then you will find a lot of our conversations about it.

[ctravel12]

Hi Kef1950 and welcome to the group. I am so sorry that you are having a rough time with your rls.

Please read up on what Ann says about augmentation. I used to take requip and started to augment (having rls anytime of the day or night).

I would also talk to your dr to see what he can do for you.

Please keep us posted on how you are doing. You found a great support group here. We are here for you whenever you want to talk, vent or whatever.

[MyDecember]

The first time I tried taking Mirapex, I thought it made my symptoms worse. I now think it was either a coincidence or that paradoxical worsening of symptoms I've read about in rls literature- I guess it can worsen at first in some patients.

I have just started taking it again (.375 mg) and it seems to not be having any effect at all, negative or positive. Maybe I need a higher dose, although taking it 3 times a day, I don't know if it would be okay to go any higher than .375 mg per dose.

[ViewsAskew]

Do you have symptoms when you take it? If so, it's very hard to "get in front" of the symptoms. Also, .375 is not that much.

Do you have 24/7 RLS? If so, you might want to look at the Mayo Clinic's algorithm (follow the link in my signature to the Managing RLS thread). Also, consider that many people with 24/7 RLS use more than one medication. It seems to be much more effective and cause less side effects. So, you might want something like Ultram during the day (tends to wake people up) and Mirapex at night. Or Mirapex with Neurontin. Or many things. There are many, many options. The algorithm will be a good starting point for deciding.

If you don't have 24/7 RLS, I would not think you need to take Mirapex during the day.