getting off miraprex

[ViewsAskew]

50 mg is a really low dose. You could try one and see - I often start with less than the doc says because I am often sensitive to side effects.

Check with a pharmacist or one of the online drug checkers to find out about not taking them together. I do not know why, though I'd likely listen until I learned why!

[badnights]

I was started on 75 mg. If you're unsure, start low; you will know the first night if it was enough. (the 75 did nothing for me)

[hercman4239]

Beth, I started on (2) 50mg on my 1st night and it did nothing for me and I ended up taking a .5mg Mirapex before getting any sleep. (not much sleep) Today I will have taken (3) 50mg Lyrica's and see what happens.

[badnights]

What time of day do you take them? For best effect on sleep, take them 1.5 or 2 hr before you go to bed.

[hercman4239]

Yesterday I took (3) Lyrica. 1 @ 10am, 1 @ 4pm and 1 @ 8pm along with 1 .5mg Mirapex @ 9pm because legs were bugging me. I went to bed @ approx. 9:30pm. I slept about 6 hrs. It seems like Lyrica is not working with this setup and we are going on a week vacation soon and I am going back on Mirapex (Pramapixele) until we get back. Maybe I should be taking 3 Lyrica at bedtime.?????

[badnights]

Depending how bad your daytime symptoms are, yes. Or move the morning and afternoon ones closer to bedtime. They're probably doing more good than you realize because you went to bed 1/2 hr after Mirapex which is too soon for it to have taken effect (it's 1-1.5 hr before it takes effect, iirc)

[hercman4239]

We just got back home from a week long vacation. Had a great time, except for the 7 hr drive there and 7 hr drive back. I was on passenger side and my son-in-law drove. I was prepared and took my Mirapex at what I thought was good time to take them. I also took my Hydrocodon-acetaminoph Tab's and even though they are not real good, they helped.
Got home and had appointment with my Dr and he started me out on Lyrica 100 mg 2 times daily. It is not working like I think it should but will finish the trial and kick it up some. May be to 150 twice daily.

[calliope]

Well said, ViewsAskew! Be very wary of taking Mirapex. It is such a seductive drug ... working beautifully to rid one of RLS until the day augmentation sets in. I have just gone off it for the second time ... ditto for Requip ... for me, the dopamine agonists are drugs I must never use again. I have just started on a very low dose of Methadone and am hopeful this is the answer. So far, so good!

[ViewsAskew]

Well said, ViewsAskew! Be very wary of taking Mirapex. It is such a seductive drug ... working beautifully to rid one of RLS until the day augmentation sets in. I have just gone off it for the second time ... ditto for Requip ... for me, the dopamine agonists are drugs I must never use again. I have just started on a very low dose of Methadone and am hopeful this is the answer. So far, so good!

it's too bad that the doctors took so long to put 2 and 2 together. I wish they were working on a site such as this. If they collaborated regularly, they might see trends more quickly and be able to prevent such disasters.

So many primary care docs prescribe these drugs and have NO clue how horrible they can be and what to do when everything goes sideways. Or even just to test the ferritin levels.

[hercman4239]

Yes Mirapex is a seductive drug because it works, and I have found nothing else that works like it. True, when Augmentation sets in hell is here for a few days. Then it starts working again for a while. I have never kept records of how long the drug is in Augmentation or how long it works, but it works for a good period. I hope someday I will find something that works better. I will keep watching this thread for news

[kathleenbutts]

I take .75 Mirapex. I have been on some form of Mirapex for 10 years or more. It's not working anymore........it is 4:00 a.m........and I've already taken 2 hot bathes. I so can't sleep.
It is even hard to sit here are type. My doctor is trying to work with me, but I feel like I am leading the way, and that's not always good.

This is my 2nd day of cutting my Mirapex in half and supplementing with Requip at .25mg. If this is augmentation, it is hellish. What can I expect? I have hydrocodene/Act, but that does not really make me sleepy. Ambien does nothing. Xanac does nothing. And I'm fearful of taking any more meds at night.

My doctor's thought is to be able to switch entirely to Requip, but from what i'm reading on these forums, it sounds like I will end up in augmentation again.

I'm so tired...........any thoughts.

[Rustsmith]

Welcome to the board Kathleen. Sorry it has to be under these circumstances and yes it is going to be difficult.

If you haven't seen it yet, take a look at the response that Views prepared to this inquiry. It provides quite a few details about augmentation and getting off pramipexole.

http://bb.rls.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=8265&p=75991&hilit=branti#p75991

As for sleeping, the research is still very new, but there are indications that WED also causes an excess of glutamate in the brain and that it is this excess that causes our severe insomnia. I know that on my bad nights, Ambien, Lunesta or trazadone will cause me to stagger like a drunk (including bumping into walls), but the do nothing to put me to sleep. As for Sonata, that might as well be a sugar pill. The speculation at this time is that the alpha-2-delta drugs (gabapentin and Lyrica) might help with this side of WED, but that is all conjecture at this point since the glutamate studies are still ongoing.

[ViewsAskew]

Ropinerole (Requip) is not as strong as pramipexole (Mirapex). You need at least double.

But, as you've noted, this likely isn't the solution. You likely have augmented.

The hydro may not help you sleep, but it should take away the sensations. For now, that may be the best you get. When you stop a DA and you are augmented, it is pretty horrible. Xanax might help you sleep once you get the sensations under control.

If you read the post Rustsmith linked to, you'll see that .25 mg of pramipexole is the MAXIMUM now recommended by the experience WED/RLS docs. You're much higher than that.

These links are VERY helpful: bb.rls.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=6532&p=61601#p61601'

You may want to print the two in red, highlight the important parts, and take them to your doctor. If he can't help you after that, the only solution is finding another doctor - which is not always easy.

[hercman4239]

Has anyone heard anymore about Lyrica vs. Pramipexoli Augmentation?? I have started a Lyrica trial twice and had to cancel both times because of sickness and other reasons. My thought now is to try again the next time my Pramipexoli goes into Augmentation. Like I have said before, I have never kept records of how long my Pramipexoli was in Augmentation or how long a period between Augmentations until the last time which was a little more than 11 weeks ago.
I plan on taking my Dr's advice and he recommends (3) 100mg Lyrica caps/day and go from there. The only helpers I have are a few of the patches, a few Requip and 7.5-325 Norco caps (which never help) Maybe will Doc will help here.

[ViewsAskew]

Please help me understand, hercman4239.

You want to use Lyrica (pregabalin) when you start having augmentation with pramipexole?

If it were me, I'd want to swap BEFORE augmentation started. If augmentation starts in 3 months, let's say, then use pramipexole for 2 months, use pregabalin for 2 weeks, then go back to pramipexole.

I hope it works well for you.