Cold Turkey off Ropinerole... Day5 of no sleep, how do I know if it's still augmentation

Use this section to discuss your experiences with prescription drugs, iron injections, and other medical interventions that involve the introduction of a drug or medicine into the body. Discuss side effects, successes, failures, published research, information about drug trials, and information about new medications being developed.

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Rustsmith
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Re: Cold Turkey off Ropinerole... Day5 of no sleep, how do I know if it's still augmentation

Post by Rustsmith »

If I have to get off of my current meds that are problematic, and that is a BIG IF, then I can probably go back onto pramipexole for just a short time. If that is not enough, then I would supplement it with kratom. However, I would very definitely not feel comfortable carrying kratom into almost any other country, especially an Islamic one.
Steve

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

ViewsAskew
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Re: Cold Turkey off Ropinerole... Day5 of no sleep, how do I know if it's still augmentation

Post by ViewsAskew »

Yeah, most of the drugs that those of us with the most severe RLS need to take are difficult to use and obtain in the US, Canada, and Europe - I'd NOT want to have this in many other places...we'd be totally screwed (or in jail).
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

badnights
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Re: Cold Turkey off Ropinerole... Day5 of no sleep, how do I know if it's still augmentation

Post by badnights »

steve wrote:these same people really don't care how much that might make you suffer
Nor that chronic lack of sleep can be as big of an impairment as drug or alcohol use.

ann wrote:I'd NOT want to have this in many other places...we'd be totally screwed (or in jail).
I'm still bitter about not being able to travel freely. Like life was snatched from me before I'd done living it. Then I tell myself, I can walk (lord can I walk), I can run and jump and play, I should shut up my whining and enjoy this.
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
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I am a volunteer moderator. My posts are not medical advice. My posts do not reflect RLS Foundation opinion.

Rustsmith
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Re: Cold Turkey off Ropinerole... Day5 of no sleep, how do I know if it's still augmentation

Post by Rustsmith »

badnights wrote: I'm still bitter about not being able to travel freely.


I am just thankful that my RLS mostly stayed in the background until I retired. Bitter would not even begin to describe what I would have felt about having to cut my career short, especially after having to help my wife work through having to give up her engineering career early due to MS. My primary backup was Jewish, so trips to Islamic countries all fell on my shoulders (which I was comfortable with since I got to visit some places and historic sites where tourists are not allowed). So if I had not been able to travel, I would have been encouraged to leave.

But with that said, travel is still an important part of our retirement, so I am going to have to find ways to work around it even if that means having to go to higher than recommended doses of DA while outside the US and occasionally suffering through opiate withdrawal. The night time crew on our cruise last February got to know me well and the only problem that I had was when the seas were so rough that they closed the gym and outside decks. The halls and stairways of the megaships in use these days are long, but it gets VERY boring after the second or third time around. But since that is the only way that my wife can get to see the world that I got to visit during my career, it is something that I will learn to live with.
Steve

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

badnights
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Re: Cold Turkey off Ropinerole... Day5 of no sleep, how do I know if it's still augmentation

Post by badnights »

I guess we can find ways if we want to badly enough. Maybe not doing exactly what we had envisaged, but something that will serve the same purpose.
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
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I am a volunteer moderator. My posts are not medical advice. My posts do not reflect RLS Foundation opinion.

ViewsAskew
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Re: Cold Turkey off Ropinerole... Day5 of no sleep, how do I know if it's still augmentation

Post by ViewsAskew »

I wouldn't say I'm bitter...more sad and confused. I still have at least 15 years I could work and I have no idea if I'll be able to in ways that I want. I think about possibly teaching longer, but office hours were very, very hard. I could be an adjunct, but that pays less than minimum wage.

Beth, I've said that about 1000 times. I just don't feel it anymore. I hope one day I do again, but I feel like the road ran out and I'm looking at a desert.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

badnights
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Re: Cold Turkey off Ropinerole... Day5 of no sleep, how do I know if it's still augmentation

Post by badnights »

You will again. You will feel hope, and the desert will bloom and you'll barely be able to remember it. It's a phase - just another one of those periods of time that will come to an end, and good things will begin again.
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
Click for info on WED/RLS AUGMENTATION & IRON
I am a volunteer moderator. My posts are not medical advice. My posts do not reflect RLS Foundation opinion.

ViewsAskew
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Re: Cold Turkey off Ropinerole... Day5 of no sleep, how do I know if it's still augmentation

Post by ViewsAskew »

badnights wrote:You will again. You will feel hope, and the desert will bloom and you'll barely be able to remember it. It's a phase - just another one of those periods of time that will come to an end, and good things will begin again.


Thanks for the reminder and the smile.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

rvjimzhr1
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Re: Cold Turkey off Ropinerole... Day5 of no sleep, how do I know if it's still augmentation

Post by rvjimzhr1 »

RIKKU9, are you still around? I've been reading about your struggles in a couple of threads and it's been nearly a year since your last post (that I can find). I'm going through pretty much what you did when you went 'cold turkey' and I'm hoping that you finally landed in a good spot and have figured out how to manage your RLS.

Jim

QyX

Re: Cold Turkey off Ropinerole... Day5 of no sleep, how do I know if it's still augmentation

Post by QyX »

badnights wrote:
steve wrote: I'm still bitter about not being able to travel freely. Like life was snatched from me before I'd done living it. Then I tell myself, I can walk (lord can I walk), I can run and jump and play, I should shut up my whining and enjoy this.


In the Europe Union you can relatively easy take your opioids in another country. Legally my doctor has to sign a paper were it states the drug and my dose. This paper then has to signed by the local government / health department. For that stamp you have to pay a small fee. I think it's around 5 EUR.

For countries outside the EU it depends on the law of the country.

But for example taking opioids to Australia is a lot easier then for example Russia or countries with a muslim majority.

But as long as you "popular" opioids like Morphine or Oxycodone there is most likely a way.

However Methadone can be problematic in many countries.

It is very unfortunate that taking opioids is a stigma on its own. Sometimes I feel ashamed that I have to take them. The feeling goes away when I realise that living would simply be impossible without the help of opioids but still all these negative things around opioids can sometimes still kill my mood completely.

Looks like getting and maintaining access to opioids is probably the biggest challenge in managing severe RLS.

Of course it was wrong that opioids had been used like Aspirin but now all this super anxiety around opioids is wrong, too.

ViewsAskew
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Re: Cold Turkey off Ropinerole... Day5 of no sleep, how do I know if it's still augmentation

Post by ViewsAskew »

I agree on the stigma. My SIL sent me an email the other day to a link to this article:

http://www.consumerreports.org/drugs/if ... bbdmar2017

I couldn't help but think that she saw me as an addict. In reality, I have no idea how she sees me and many people who are not addicts to overdose. Given how little I take and that I have taken them for 12 years, I cannot see how I could do it...but who knows. So, maybe I should get some naloxone just in case. As well as take a deep breath - she wasn't accusing me of anything.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

QyX

Re: Cold Turkey off Ropinerole... Day5 of no sleep, how do I know if it's still augmentation

Post by QyX »

I do have some Naloxon at home but purely accident.

When I was new to opioids a friend of mine (a doctor) got some Morphine for i.V. use. He wanted to try it and because I was already on opioids for about a year I saw no reason to try i.V. Morphine at least once, too. To be safe we already purchased some Naloxon. Other then very relaxed legs I had no effect but I wished my legs would feel like this forever.


When you have developed a tolerance against opioids what happens after some months the risk of developing breath depression is reduced extremely. (As long as you don't overdose heavily or mix opioids with lot's of alcohol, high doses of benzodiazepines, barbiturates etc.)

In general I think it is very important for every responsible opioid users to be aware that opioids can lead to fatal overdoses and that Naloxon can be a life saving drug.

I live a alone so I keep my opioids next to my bed because I take them in early morning and late in the evening. If you have children or frequently coming young kids to your house it might me best to lock the opioids in a vault to prevent accidental overdose.

Also older people who use Fentanyl patches have a bigger risk of accidental overdose. It is east to underestimate the potent effects of Fentanyl since the full effect only kicks in after around 12 hours. So someone can use a patch in the morning, be fine in the evening and dead night.

WIth opiods there is also the thing that when you stop them your tolerance will go back (very) fast. Let's say you used 300 mg / Morphine daily (I know, most RLS patients take doses below 100 mg, it is just for the sake of argument) and you reduce the dose and stop the drug. After one week without opioids the 300 mg could already be way too much!

You have to take into consideration that many people legitimately take opioids but also have some kind of psychological dependence which makes it hart for them to stay on their dose. So occasionally this people might inject or snort or play with their dose (reduce it to lower tolerance and raise it again to be able to experience a high) and use opioids together with other drugs which creates a great risk of overdose. Many are simply just not aware how dangerous opioids can be and think it is safe to take the old higher dose when they haven't use opioids in a while. And unfortunately even young healthy adults can easily from overdose.

In genreal you can say that a healthy adult can tolerate 100 mg of Morphine taken orally (without any tolerance) but he would feel heavy sedation and his breathing rate would lower significantly. The same 100 mg injected could possibly or likely kill an adult.

That all said I would later inform all my patients about the dangers involving opioids. And people who have a high risk to experience a overdose by them self or in their environment I would prescribe additional Naloxon.

badnights
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Re: Cold Turkey off Ropinerole... Day5 of no sleep, how do I know if it's still augmentation

Post by badnights »

Ann wrote:So, maybe I should get some naloxone just in case. As well as take a deep breath - she wasn't accusing me of anything.


She was just thinking it was important information that you might not have seen. Substitute any other medication for opioid and see how it sounds. Very benign. I'm sure she didn't think through the implications - like, why would you overdose? - becuase the article was written in such a tone that one would think accidental overdose was easy and common. Maybe it is! But like you said, I don't know how I would do it. That said, a number of years ago I took Cold FX, a ginseng preparation, in perhaps twice the amount that was recommended, and it reacted very strongly with my hydromorphone - I was basically overdosing, even though I only took my normal dose.

QyX - if people can be ignorant of the wise ways to use opioids, would having naloxone on hand do those people any good? Would they even know to take it?

Well, I guess what you propose makes the most sense
"That all said I would later inform all my patients about the dangers involving opioids. And people who have a high risk to experience a overdose by them self or in their environment I would prescribe additional Naloxon."
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
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I am a volunteer moderator. My posts are not medical advice. My posts do not reflect RLS Foundation opinion.

reliefis#1
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Re: Cold Turkey off Ropinerole... Day5 of no sleep, how do I know if it's still augmentation

Post by reliefis#1 »

I'am new on this site and I thank God I found it!! I was on Clonazepam for 15 yrs. Never knew it was so hard get off these meds. Went off cold turkey and it was terrible. Have been having withdrawals for 6 weeks. The doctor put me on ropinirole .5 mg. Was still having withdrawals from previous med. I am on day 6 of the ropinirole. Feel terrible. I checked on the side effects for ropinirole and it feels like I'am having many of them. I am thinking of going off this med also. I can not tolerate the side effects. The doctor told me ropinirole is not addictive. How hard would it be to just go off and try to manage my RLS without prescription medicines. Need to feel normal again. I found that the doctors I had and the one I have now don't understand this disease. I found out about tapering off the clonazepam on own on-line. Thank you for giving me hope.

stjohnh
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Re: Cold Turkey off Ropinerole... Day5 of no sleep, how do I know if it's still augmentation

Post by stjohnh »

Welcome relief to the RLS community. You will find lots of help here. Perhaps you could give us some more info to help. Like what your symptoms are that you are having and what were those symptoms like before you started ropinerole. And you took no medicine for 6 weeks before starting ropinerole, correct? Also it might help to know what your RLS symptoms are like.

It is possible, but unlikely that you can manage your RLS without meds, depends on how severe your symptoms are.

It takes lots of people a while for their bodies to adjust to RLS meds.
Blessings,
Holland

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