Getting off mirapex

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Mark_Galeck
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2008 8:01 pm

Re: Getting off mirapex

Post by Mark_Galeck »

I was taking 1mg Mirapex and hated this sh*t. Basically Mirapex makes me so miserable that the only option is to go to sleep, and that continues through next morning. A new doc suggested 300mg Gabapentin. From the first day I took it, I was able to completely forgo Mirapex and I love Gaba. It just works, without making me feel miserable.

Aipulu
Posts: 64
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 8:12 am
Location: Maui, Hawaii

Re: Getting off mirapex

Post by Aipulu »

I have gotten off Mirapex recently. It was difficult and I couldn't get completely off dopamine agonists. What I am on now that works is a 1 mg Neupro patch (dopamine agonist), 600 mg Horizant (Gabapentin Encarbil), and 50 mg of Ultram (Tramadol). That works very well for me. Only problem is remembering to take the Horizant at 5:30 pm. When I don't remember I then take 900 - 1200 mg of Gabapentin. The Horizant is much more reliable than Gabapentin because it doesn't turn into gabapentin until it is in the blood stream. Gabapentin isn't as effective as getting into the blood and the more you take the less is absorbed. But Horizant is expensive: $65 for a one month supply with insurance. Without insurance you would need to get the discount card from the manufacturer (doesn't work to decrease insurance copayments) and I don't know what the cost of that would be.

The main problem I have with the above regime is that I get very tired and sleepy in the afternoon, every afternoon. Today it was around noon. And shortly after feeling groggy I start getting the restless legs feelings, so I can't lie down and take a nap. So I need to take medicine and I take a 50 mg of Ultram.

I favor using meds that increase both dopamine and GABA neurotransmitters after reading an article in Sleepwalkers about research that is beginning on using both types of meds. I added Gabapentin to my Mirapex and immediately got much better sleep. So I intended from the start of getting off Mirapex that I would add back a dopamine agonist at a low dose to my gaba meds. And that is Neupro. I am waiting to see a new doctor, this one a neurologist. I hope this new doctor is up on RLS; the last one wasn't. I had to go to Honolulu (from Maui) to find a good doctor. Dr. B gave me a lot of advice but I still needed to find a doctor who is on the leading edge of treatment.

Richard

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