Requip - Questions

[NEPA-Bob]

I started taking requip about two weeks ago and have finaly started to get some relief. I am now at 1mg but don't feel any relief until six hours after I take my dose. Smaller doses didn't offer any help.

I was instructed to take the meds 1-3 hours prior to bedtime. Does anyone else experience a similar timeframe for the requip to kick in?

I am a large guy at 225 lbs. No pun intended, but does size matter with this drug?

I am having no bad side effects other than feeling a little empty headed "hung over" in the morning. Does this sensation go away after getting used to the drug?

THanks... Bob

[ViewsAskew]

Requip works in about 60-90 minutes, so your dose is probably still low for you. Size does not matter, but people need as little as .25 and as much as 4 mg for it to work. The average is about 1.5 mg, so you are still below the average. It also only works for about 4-5 hours, so my guess is that your RLS "rhythm" is that it stops about 2-4 in the morning (many of us have this) and it's just coincidence that you have no RLS after 6 hours - but not due to the med.

I'd just keep increasing the dose, slowly, .25 at a time, every 5 days or do until it controls the RLS.

Oh, it also works MUCH better if you take it BEFORE symptoms start. If you take it after, it might not work at all. If you know your RLS starts at 8 PM, say, take your dose at 7 PM. ALso, a split dose might help. Take some at, say 6 or 7 PM and then the other half at 10 PM. This will ensure it works through the night.

Hope that makes some sense and helps.

[NEPA-Bob]

Great suggestion on taking requip before the symptoms start! It worked MUCH better...

I feel a slight tingling throughout the day, but it doesn't bother me enough to require any meds. The worst starts around 5-6 PM and apparenty, based on your input, probably eases about 1-2 AM.

Yesterday I took the requip at 4pm (1mg) and didn't experience the usual
sensations last night. I got a few hours of sleep and woke up about midnight. When awakened, I didn't have the usual strong electrical feeling that occurs that time of night, but I wasn't able to get back to sleep none-the-less.

I still take this as a mjor breakthrough and got a few more hours of sleep this morning. Today, I'm going to push back taking meds until 5pm and see how that goes. The next step will be a split dose with the second half coming at about 9PM.

Does Requip or any other DA come in a time release formula?

Thanks again for the help!!!

Bob

[ViewsAskew]

They have one in trials. Should be out soon (within a year or so).

I am going to the RLS conference and they always talk about drugs in the pipeline. I'll make sure I get the info and I'll write about here after I get back.