meripex to Requip?

[mistermaurice]

I had been on Meripex for years , and recently got switched to Requip.

Has anyone else done this?

And how long till the Requip started to work?

Thanks.

Also where is a good place to find all the cures people have had luck with,, is there just one spot to look , or is it all over the forum?

thanks again.

[ViewsAskew]

Welcome mistermaurice.

Yes, many of us have been switched. It works for some, and not for others.

First, you have to have the right dosage. How much Mirapex were you taking?

Also, it may not work if you have had increased symptoms because of the Mirapex. Please let us know why the doctor switched you.

You asked about the cures. Most of us wish there was an actual cure - something we'd do and never have RLS again. Mostly there are things that help us manage the RLS for a period of time. And, most of us find that it changes many times over time. So, what worked at one point, stops and we have to try something else.

There is no perfect solution, nor a magic path. Each of us tries different things. As such, there is no one place where things are listed.

I can say that if you need drugs to resolve the RLS, then the best place to see the options is to look at the Mayo Clinic Algorithm for treating RLS. You'll find it by clicking on the link in my signature line, below my name in this post. It's one of the first links in the page that shows up when you click on the link in my signature line.

The drugs listed there are the ones most often used with success.

If you want non-drug options, there are many, but they tend to work with only a small portion of us. They still are worth a try. Those are listed in the non pharm section. The sticky at the top is a list of the things people have tried and posted about.

Hope that you find what you need.

[SquirmingSusan]

Welcome to the forum. We're all here to help!

[Sojourner]

m, Another welcome. I have no first hand experience with respect to you question. However, I know others have been in your situation and will likely respond. Best wishes, my friend. M.

[gulliver]

M....I just recently changed from Mirapex to Requip. Mirapex worked fine for several years but suddently lost its effect and augmentation began. It was horrible and I couldn't sleep at all. My doctor started me on Requip (1 1/2 mg. a day for one week, and then 2 mg. a day). He also prescribed Mirtazipine to help with sleeping. So far it is working! However I feel like I'm in a stupor almost all day, but I guess I can live with that as long as I can sleep at night. I still have some short episodes of RLS during the day when I sit and read, but if I take Requip a few hours before bed at night at least I can sleep fairly well through the night. It is working for now. I hope and pray it continues to do so.

[Neco]

You should know that Mirtazipene is one of the more notorious RLS worsening medications, that may be why you are getting breakthrough symptoms..

Did you actually feel like you were depressed when you were prescribed it? Or was this just the doctor assuming you were from lack of sleep / medication working properly?

[mackjergens]

This was copied/pasted from www.rlshelp.org under antidepressants.


Noradrenergic and Serotonergic
Remeron (Mirtazapine) - This is the newest class of antidepressants. It enhances both the noradrenalin and serotonin systems. Remeron may have less side effects than the serotonin uptake inhibitors and the tricyclics, and it even seems to promote sleep. There are 2 case reports of Remeron causing worsening of RLS, so it should be used with caution in RLS patients


______________________________________________________

Sounds like mirazapine(Remeron) might be one of the few antidepressants to try with rls.

[Neco]

I know that it always made mine worse within 20 minutes of taking the dose - when un/under-medicated. I'm pretty sure there was a discussion a while back, somewhere in a thread around here, about Mirtazipene in particular being identified as one of the worst offenders.

[gulliver]

That's interesting. So far Remeron has not made my RLS worse, but I will watch it carefully. I did ask my doctor if that was one of the antidepressant drugs that caused RLS to get worse and he said no. He gave me Remeron to help with sleep--I had previously been taking Lunesta for sleep as well as Zanex for anxiety. He told me to stop taking both of those and just use Remeron.

[SquirmingSusan]

As far as I know there is only one study about how antidepressants affect RLS. I've referenced it before, and Corrie has quoted it recently. Here it is again. Just remember that NOT EVERYONE has problems with these medications; only about 9% of SSRI users, and 28% or Remeron users had problems with the drug worsening their RLS.

There is no reason to stop taking the antidepressant if it doesn't bother you, or it it's necessary to treat the depression. Dr. B advises treating around the antidepressant; ie taking more RLS meds to cover the additional symptoms.

RLS and Antidepressants


Restless legs syndrome as side effect of second generation antidepressants.
Rottach K, Schaner B, Kirch M, et al. Journal of Psychiatric Research. May 2008.

Background:

There are many medications that can cause RLS as a side effect. Most of the articles published are case reports; there are few full medical studies examining this topic. When dealing with antidepressants, the literature is conflicting. The case reports published claims that RLS was caused or worsened by antidepressants. The research studies have shown that antidepressants may improve or worsen RLS symptoms. This is an important area of study because RLS occurs more frequently in patients with depression or anxiety.

Research: The researchers in this study wanted to look at “modern” antidepressants and RLS. The medications examined were fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), citalopram (Celexa), sertraline (Zoloft), escitalopram (Lexapro), venlafaxine (Effexor), duloxetine (Cymbalta), reboxetine (Edronax), and mirtazapine (Remeron). This study included 271 patients (aged 18-87 years), who were being started on antidepressants and who had not been on any antidepressant medication for at least three months prior. Of those participants, 227 (92%) did not have preexisting RLS while 20 (8%) had mild pre-existing RLS.


Findings included:

24 (9%) of the 271 patients either developed RLS or had worsening of RLS symptoms.
28% of the patients started on mirtazapine (Remeron) had RLS side effects.
None of the patients started on reboxetine (Edronax) had RLS side effects.
2-10% of the remaining medications had RLS side effects.
The results of this study showed that there is an association between antidepressants and RLS symptoms. Mirtazapine (Remeron) appears to have the highest incidence of side effects and reboxetine (Edronax) the lowest. It is interesting that RLS side effects appeared within the first few days of starting the medication.

The Bottom Line: Based on this study, patients need to be aware that some antidepressants may cause RLS symptoms to appear or become worse. These symptoms should appear in the first few days of starting the medication. If one antidepressant has RLS side effects, it does not mean that they all will. Some trial and error may be needed.

[mackjergens]

i have never taken Remeron, I just copied/pasted what is on www.rlshelp.org which is Dr's B web site?? or at least you can contact him from that web site.. I am sure that there are rlser's that can take any of the antidepressants and them a large majority can not.

I was on paxil once, while it didnt make my rls worse, it caused me to develop PLMD. and that was awful.. it all stopped once I stopped taking the Paxil. So I suggest that when anyone tries these meds, to keep a dairy as to how their rls is changed, good or bad. and watch for developing plmd.

[ViewsAskew]

To me, this is the issue. First, this was one small study. So, some things might be higher....or lower in terms of affecting RLS.

The main thing is simply this: some drugs worsen RLS. Be careful with them. If you can take something else rather than chancing it, do. If you have to have them, test them and find the one that doesn't interact. If all interact and you still have to have them, take more RLS drugs.

That's really all we can do.