Trying to stop Mirapex

[veldon7]

Hi: I've been on Mirapex .75mg for 8-10 yrs, I've been talking about trying to stop it because of augmentation and side effects, well I went to a pain Dr. this wk and he gave me Percocet 7.5 he said to start out with half, and also told me to take Gabapentin in the evening, so I am starting the Percocet tonight. I think I will try to taper the Mirapex for a few days, does anyone take Percocet? I assume that I will have to keep taking it from now on, if it works for me, and if I get off the Mirapex. I have taken the Gabapentin a few mths ago, don't really like the side effects, I have a rapid heart rate anyway, and Dr. says it may be anxiety, also could be meds., several meds. I take can cause rapid heart rate. Wish me luck! thanks

[debbluebird]

You might try and just go cold turkey with the Mirapex. Otherwise you will just drag out what you will go through. Several people have tried to wean down and it just is too uncomfortable. Good luck.

[ViewsAskew]

Definitely wish you luck.

How much can you take of the Percocet (oxycodone) a day? One tablet or more? According to the Clinical Management of RLS (first edition), the dose is between 2.5and 10 mg every 4 to 8 hours. If I remember correctly from when I took it, a max dose is 20 mg. You may need to take it more freguently initially and then will need it less as time goes on.

There is an sustained release version of the drug. I think Beth takes it.

As Deb noted, I'd consider cold-turkey. I don't think we get much from a taper. It's hard either way and cold-turkey at least we get it over with quickly. We usually don't take high enough doses to have to worry about side effects from stopping it quickly.

[veldon7]

I can take 7.5 up to 3 times a day, but I work, so if it makes me drowsy I can't take it at work. I stand up and walk alot at work, I work in Medical Records, so I file and copy alot, so that helps. I'll probably only take it in the evenings and night. My Dr. said I may need to take 1/2 tab which is 3.75 mg, to start because it may cause nausea and drowsiness. I am also supposed to take 300 to 900 mg of Neurontin, it helps some. What do you take now? What do people do when they stop the Mirapex? Keep taking the Opiates.

[debbluebird]

One thing to remember is when you take Neurontin you do have to taper. Most of us take Opioids. Percocet causes me nausea, but I can take Methadone. It also doesn't make me sleepy.

[ViewsAskew]

I can take 7.5 up to 3 times a day, but I work, so if it makes me drowsy I can't take it at work. I stand up and walk alot at work, I work in Medical Records, so I file and copy alot, so that helps. I'll probably only take it in the evenings and night. My Dr. said I may need to take 1/2 tab which is 3.75 mg, to start because it may cause nausea and drowsiness. I am also supposed to take 300 to 900 mg of Neurontin, it helps some. What do you take now? What do people do when they stop the Mirapex? Keep taking the Opiates.

Some of us keep taking the opioids and some switch to neurontin, Lyrica, or the new one in that class - the prodrug of neurontin. Some of us switch between classes. For a couple years, I took opioids one day and pramipexole the next. I never augmented and never had tolerance with the opioid.

I definitely would start low and only take what you need. Me? Not sure I'd take the neurontin without first titrating up. It can have side effects and most people start slow and work up over a week or two - I was so tired when I first started it that I could get any work done that required two brain cells.

Maybe you could consider getting used to the neurontin - and work up to a 900 mg dose - and a small dose of oxy. When you get to 900 of neurontin, you can drop pramipexole cold.

[veldon7]

It's a shame that we have to ask each other these questions, because most of the the Drs. don't know. I guess it's trial and error for different people. I took .25 of Mirapex and 600mg of Neurontin, and 3.5 of Percocet in two divided doses. I itched most of the night. I did sleep pretty good, when I wasn't itching. I hope I'm not allergic to the Percocet!! I have taken Lortab with little itching in the past, it may be the Codiene. I am going to try it again tonight in a smaller dose, 3.5 and the Neurontin 300mg without the Mirapex,(hopefully), I do get tired from the Neurontin, but it help my legs some. I DON'T WANT TO BE ALLERGIC TO THE PERCOCET!! I thought the only drug I am allergic to is Doxycycline, but I've never taken Percocet, only Lortab, thanks.

[ViewsAskew]

I get itching every time I take methadone. I just expect it anymore - still don't like it. But, fortunately, I'm not truly allergic. I was really worried about it in the beginning and talked to my doctor. He said itching is common. He suggested one of the newer antihistamines if I could tolerate them. I can - so I used Zyrtec. Worked OK. Eventually I just sort of got used to the itching and stopped taking it.

It is sad that we have to ask each other, but I'm sure glad there is a place where people know many of the answers! As you said, part of it is that it's trial and error - even for the doctors. Because there isn't a drug that is made for WED/RLS, none of them work for everyone. We just have to try things until we find the ones that seem to work best for us. Not at ALL fun!

[veldon7]

Thanks for your advice, I think you are right about having to take the Percocet more often, it doesn't seem to do much for me. I am trying not to take any Mirapex tonight. It is 7:45 pm and I have taken two 300mg Gabapentin today, and the 3.5mg dosages of the Percocet, every few hours and so far I am not getting much relief. I am not sure the Percocet was what was making me itch, I also took Fever Few. I take it sometimes to prevent migraines. I am not taking the Fever Few tonight to see if I still itch. I am getting sleepy, I hope I can lay down tonight, I have to work tomorrow. I am having a hard time sitting here right now. Thanks again!
Donna

[ViewsAskew]

I hope it's not a tough night, Donna.

[veldon7]

Thanks, but it was a tough night. I walked around until around 12am, and I ususally go to bed around 9:30 to 10:30pm. I had to take .25 of the Mirapex at around 11:30 to 12am, the Percocet and Gabapentin didn't do much for me, I guess I got 3 to 4 hrs of sleep after taking the Mirapex, I didn't want to take it, but the Percocet wasn't working. I was taking 3.5mg every 3 to 4 hrs I was itching so had to take extra Claritin, I'll try it again tonight. I have to get ready for work, at least I am off Thurs. and fri.

[debbluebird]

What happened to you was pretty normal, sorry to say. You might consider taking a week off to go through the withdrawal. You might consider Methadone. Several of us take it. It doesn't cause me to be sleepy. Also I should have said that Perocet causes me to itch as well as nausea. But I can take Methadone. I did have some nausea at first with the Methadone, but it went away with time.
It might take a week to two week to go the withdrawal of the Mirapex. The hardest will be the first week.

[veldon7]

I don't know if this Dr. will give me Methadone, I guess I can ask, but the Pharmacist said they are all in the same family. I don't get paid time off, so I can't really take time off from work. I do get Thurs. and Fri. off this week. I don't know if I can do this, if the Percocet and Neurontin don't work, I won't be able to stop the Mirapex completely, because I have to get some sleep. I felt like crap this morning after taking the Neurontin & Percocet, but I only slept 3 hrs. I had a hard time staying awake at work and my brain wasn't working right. I did take alot of Neurontin three tabs yesterday and several percocet, no wonder I was a zombie. Oh well, I' ll try it again tonight.

[debbluebird]

When I first start taking Neurontin I get very sleepy. Your doc will probably not give you the Methadone until you've tried the Percocet for awhile. The sleepiness from the Neurontin will be less with time.

[veldon7]

Dr. probably won't give me Methadone, I am going to try the Percocet for a while, if I don't itch too much. I did have to take .5 of Mirapex last night. The Percocet and Neurontin didn't work very well. I did sleep 6 to 7 hrs, it sure felt good to sleep! after being up most of Sun. night. If I can't eventually stop the Mirapex, I don't see the need to take the Percocet and Neurontin. I am going to keep trying to take the lowest dose of Mirapex possible.