Newbie on requip

[Sniezka]

Hi All,

I just started taking requip last Wednesday. My doctor prescribed .5 mg to be taken at bed time. My question is it best to be taken right before getting in bed or a little bit before bed?

Thanks,
Sniezka

[rthom]

I was told it had a sedating effect (not on me) anyway, the suggestion was right before i was ready to climb in, for that reason. I think it's likely a different thing with each person. Might be better to err on the side of caution for the first night though. If you are ready for bed and you get sleepy, it'd be better no? Just a thought. Pleasant dreams.

[Polar Bear]

Hello Sniezka, and welcome to the board.

Requip takes about 90 minutes to take effect and therefore you should take it 90 minutes before your RLS/WED symptoms would usually start.

I note that your starting dose is .5mg and would have thought that you would have started on a lower dose and titrated upwards slowly until you reached to dose that worked for you.

I hope the requip works well for you.

[rthom]

Don't know if the following will be helpful but I have the medical facts sheet from the pharmacy and it does say the following; "If you are using this medication for RLS, take this medication by mouth, usually once daily with or without food, 1- 3 hours before bedtime or as directed by your doctor." Further along it also says: "Some people taking ropinirole have reported falling asleep suddenly during their usual daily activities (e.g., talking on the phone, driving). In some cases, sleep occurred without any feelings of drowsiness beforehand. This sleep effect may occur any time during treatment with ropinirole, including up to 1 year after starting the medication. Therefore, you should not drive or take part in other possible dangerous activities until you are certain that this medication will not cause drowsiness or sudden sleep." This must be what my doctor was referring to. Good luck with it. Hope it works well for you!

[ViewsAskew]

Minimum of 60 minutes for ropinerole, minimum of 90 minutes for pramipexole for it to work close to 100%. If you can fall asleep with some symptoms, but the symptoms would wake you, say, 45 minutes after falling asleep, then you'd need to take it at least 15 minutes before bed. If symptoms prevent you from sleeping, give it at least 60 minutes.

[Sniezka]

Hi All,

Thanks for the replies. rthom, thanks for the drug sheet instructions....read that but didn't sink in the first time . I sleep well for the first 3 hours of the night and then the awakens start. Sounds like I should be OK taking this as I get into bed. I will try an hour before bed and see if I can extend that 3 hours of sleep.

Polar Bear, my doc wants me to check back in 3 weeks. The first few nights on the medicaiton I got some time (2 hours or so) later in the evening with good sleep. Last night was bad...the worst. I slept well from 9:45 to 12:30. Flopped like a fish after that. I finaly got out of bed at about 4 am, let the dogs out, hopped on the treadmill for 10 mins, let the dogs in, and went back to bed. I got some sleep after that. How long should I give the requip to work? With the worsening should I be calling the doc back ASAP? Think I will if tonight is as bad.

Thanks,
Sniezka

[Polar Bear]

My understanding is that requip should work from the first dosage, but it may be necessary to take some time to get the dosage correct.

[ViewsAskew]

Ditto what PB said; the average dose of Requip is, IIRC, around 2 mg. The average pramipexole dose is .75 mg.

So, taking .5 is a very low dose - a starting dose. You may need to increase it. You might, for example, need .5 mg a couple hours before bed, then another .5 as you go to sleep.

For what it's worth, Requip lasts something like 4-6 hours. Pramipexole lasts 6 or so. So, you may find that Requip isn't going to get you through the night if your sensations last longer than 3-4 hours and you're someone for whom it only lasts 4 hours.
'

[badnights]

Putting that together, remember it takes 1-2 hr for Requip to achieve full potency and it lasts only about 4 hr after that.

fyi There's also an extended release version of Mirapex.

[rthom]

Is there an extended version of requip?
Also that is key information about the time it lasts--i just got off it partly because it was causing some problems--bad arm aches etc. but also it was doing something but not for long. I was on it at bedtime--seems it should maybe have been less more often. How do others take theirs--dosage and number of times?

[Sniezka]

Thanks to all for the info. Sounds like I've got a ways to go to get it all ballanced out.

[Polar Bear]

rthom, as my symptoms are 24/7 I take my meds 24/7, smaller dose in the middle of the night, and in the morning, a slightly bigger dose early afternoon, and main doses and 6pm and 10mg.

[rthom]

Ah, that's intrersting
Might have to try it aagain.
Thanks

[Sniezka]

Hi, its been a week on .5 mg Requip. I'm not sleeping any better and reported that back to the doctors office. The nurse called back indicating they wanted me to stop the Requip and start Clonazepam. The side effects on the Clonazepam seems scary compared to the Requip. I called back and declined the Clonazepam requesting an appoinment. I don't understand the change in meds instead of upping the dose on the Requip.

[ViewsAskew]

It doesn't make any sense. .5 mg is not a large dose at all. Good for you to request an appointment.