Requip & Erectile Dysfunction ???

[rvjimzhr1]

Thanks Steve for that info! I'll discuss this with the doc when I see him in a few weeks.

Jim

[legsbestill]

I'm not sure what the situation is in the US but here in Republic of Ireland it is now possible to get a generic form of pregabalin (Lyrica) which is called Brieka and is A LOT cheaper than Lyrica.

[rvjimzhr1]

Legs, I cannot find Brieka anywhere I've searched in the U.S.

I'm guessing that my withdrawal from Requip might be over. If not, I won't really know since I've started on Lyrica. Last night was my 16th night without Requip and, for the 2nd night, I took 100mg of Lyrica at 2100. I actually went to bed and slept at about 2300, first time I've gone to sleep in the evening since going off Requip. I awoke at 0115 with leg movement and couldn't stay in bed. I went to my recliner where my leg movement calmed to where I wasn't kicking and jumping as usual. I was able to recline and withstand the urge to move, again a first. Leg and arm movements continued until 0330 and I was able to recline through most of it.

At 0400 movements were still there but very mild so I went to bed and slept 'til 0900. Best night so far! Tonight I'll up the dose to 150mg and hope that does the trick.

Interestingly, the first night of the 100mg dose I drank a small glass of wine about 3 hours before I took the Lyrica. Later that night I was really "loaded" and leg movements seemed more severe. I chalked it up to to bump from 50 to 100mg. Last night I drank no wine and the leg/arm movements were much less severe and I was not "loaded" as the night before. I felt the effects of the drug but not nearly as much. I can only assume that the wine is the culprit. DAMN! I don't drink much at all but do enjoy a cocktail or a glass of wine most evenings. I may have to try again but I'll wait awhile until I settle into a routine and a steady dose of the Lyrica.

Jim

[ViewsAskew]

Brieka is in the Republic of Ireland..not in the US. 2018 before it pregabalin is generic in the US.

[badnights]

The difference this time was that the sensation came on slower than normal and, when the movement started I was able to continue reclining and "fight off", for lack of a better word, the need to stand up.

My experience with gabapentin sounds similar. The ugly sensations of WED/RLS and the urge to move had always been so closely linked it was hard to think of them as two separate things. Then I took gabapentin. It stopped the ugly sensations, but left the urge to move, or maybe it changed the urge to move somehow, too - dulled it maybe? Because I could lie there without being tortured, but couldn't sleep because I kept kick-kick-kicking. Small kicks, rapid, impossible to sleep. But nice to just lie there. Better than having the big ugly sensations too. I needed codeine with the gabapentin to stop the urge to move as well, otherwise I got no sleep. Then after a time, the gabapentin didn't do much to stop the sensations, either. It was semi-effective, & only for about a month.

I don't think anyone has determined whether gabapentin or pregabalin/Lyrica has the greater risk of suicide. All the anti-epileptics carry some risk, and Pfizer has been successfully sued many times over both drugs. I will never take Horizant, because I had problems with mood swings, profound depression, and suicidal thoughts on gabapentin.

[rvjimzhr1]

Beth, what meds are you on now? Have you used Pregabalin before?

Thanks Steve! I'll take that to my doc when I see him on May 1.

Results last night, night #18, were pretty much the same as the night before with about 1/2 hour less sleep at bedtime. Tonight I'll bump to 200mg and hope there is a notable improvement. Oh, to sleep 5+ hours in a row.

Jim

[badnights]

You're doing great, Jim. It's not easy.

My main medication is hydromorph contin. It's been my mainstay for -- - gee, 6 years? or so. I also use zopiclone to sleep, modafinil to stop from feeling sleepy all day, and pregabalin/Lyrica 5 nights out of 7 to help sleep. On the other two nights, I was taking a DA, but recently experimented wtih nabilone, a synthetic form of THC.

I don't want to take pregabalin every day because I don't want my brain to need it, and to start freaking out if I don't take it at the exact same time every day, which is what happened with the gabapentin. My doctor doesn't really like me to do it that way, because it's supposed to be better for mood stability to take the anti-convulsants regularly than to mess with the amounts and times, but for me this works.

I take it mainly for sleep, but I think it helps with the symptoms in a small way, because I tend to have worse symptoms on the other two nights unless I take a DA on those nights. The nabilone won't cut it, it has a hangover sleepy effect the next day .

(I'm not sure if there's an exact equivalency, but mg for mg pregabalin is more potent than gabapentin so you take less of it. I Take 75 mg at night, which is maybe like 300 or 600 mg gabapentin, I'm guessing here. )

[rvjimzhr1]

That's interesting Beth...thanks for sharing! The Dilaudid scares me so I'll try to avoid that one. You're getting by on 75mg of pregabalin and I'm at 200mg again tonight and probably up to 250mg the next two nights. Never heard of nabilone but will look into that and probably mention it to my doc. That might be a better way than smoking or vaping.

Last night, #19 off Requip, was a little different. I went to bed about 2 1/2 hours after taking the 200mg of Lyrica. This time I did not sleep as other nights. I lay awake for 1 1/2 hours until arm movement drove me up and to the recliner. There the movement calmed to almost nothing. Soon I dozed and then went back to bed where I slept for 5 hours straight. Woke at 0730, pit stop and back to bed to try for more sleep.....no such luck. The Lyrica leaves me, daily, with a feeling I can't quite describe. It's kind of like a hang over but no pain. My head is "full" and I feel like I'm still under the influence of something. It doesn't slow me down although I'm lazier than I used to be. I don't really like the feeling but I'll get used to it if I start sleeping more regularly and the "legs" are quiet.

Jim

[ViewsAskew]

You're getting by on 75mg of pregabalin and I'm at 200mg again tonight and probably up to 250mg the next two nights.

Jim

When you combine, it seems that often you can use less collectively than any one thing alone. I always need more of my DA or the methadone when I go off the other, than when I take them together. Many docs are proponents of combination therapies because of this, as are many of us here.

As Beth does, I use 2-4 substances. I take regular breaks from all of them.

[badnights]

5 hours straight sleep at an almost-normal time is not bad I wonder if the Lyrica "hangover" will go away after a few weeks of steady use? Sometimes these side effects do that. Worth it to see, probably.

I am not sure if the nabilone is better than inhaled/vaped weed. It contains only THC, whereas the real deal has numerous substances, any of which or any combination of which might be important in the effects it has. You should be getting a sleepy effect from the Lyrica, anyway.

I sure hope you continue to improve! And that your doctor works with you to address your needs. 5 hours straight is definitely cool, but it's not enough.

[rvjimzhr1]

Yes Ann I've been noticing that many here are on combinations of drugs. I find that interesting and will discuss it with my doc. I think I recall reading that you are a patient of Dr. B in CA. If you don't mind , are you? I sensed at our first meeting that my new doc is not a proponent of opioids. Not sure how he'll respond to the combo theory. I guess I should not get too far ahead of things here so I'll not beat him up about it just yet, I am going to bump up to 250mg Lyrica for the next two nights and then call into his office to give the doc a report on how the Lyrica is working. I will also put a bug in his ear about doing a "pre-authorization" call for Horizant since that was the drug he mentioned he likes the best.

Beth, I expect to be on the Lyrica for awhile so I'll wait and see if the hangover effects get better. The only reason I've backed off on the vaping is that I still feel some irritation in my lungs though it's slight compared to smoking in a pipe. I'd rather not smoke at all but will if turns out to be helpful in combo with whatever drugs I'm taking.

So last night was #20 off Requip. I took the Lyrica a little ealier, 2015 and went to bed at 2130 instead of 2300. No sleep at first so I read in bed til 2330, slight arm movement but I went to sleep about 2345 and slept straight thru til 0340.....4 hours. Pit stop and then back to bed but little sleep, dozing restlessly til about 0530. Laid awake then until 0700 and got up. So 4 hours in a row but this time the 4 hours was at the beginning of my night rather than the end of my night into morning. I didn't need to get out of bed due to movements and that's a real plus! Tonight we bump to 250mg. I thinking there won't be much of an improvement and wondering where we'll go from here.

Jim

[legsbestill]

I appreciate that four hours of sleep does not exactly call for wild celebrations but it is a wonderful improvement on what you were managing even a few days ago. Well done, Jim.
I have read of others who found that the Lyrica hangover improves with usage.
I too find the effect of vaping on my lungs is not uplifting. Have you tried using mmj as an edible? I find the effects last much longer that way. A friend of my daughters came over and gave me a master-class in how to decarboxylate and make cannabutter. He thought I was getting through my supply too quickly. The result does seem to be stronger in effect so that I can use less of it than when I tried these processes on my own but it could be to do with the strain also. As I am reduced to obtaining it illegally, I never know what strain I am using.

[ViewsAskew]

Yes Ann I've been noticing that many here are on combinations of drugs. I find that interesting and will discuss it with my doc. I think I recall reading that you are a patient of Dr. B in CA. If you don't mind , are you?

Jim

Yes - he helped my family doc get me off of DAs. Then I had to change docs and he worked with this new doc on the phone - he wasn't even my doctor. I started flying out to see him in 2008 when that doctor stopped providing opioids for me on a Friday when she was supposed to be giving me a script.; Instead she send an email saying that she was uncomfortable and would no longer treat me. I booked the first not-too-expensive flight I could.

I am even moving to CA because he is there. I literally cannot deal with all the things we have to and not have a doctor who can work with me. It's taken an incredible toll. For some of us, it's easier or more straight forward I should say. Never been so for me.

[rvjimzhr1]

Beth, have you actually made the butter yourself? Want to share your recipe? 've thought about trying it but have not as yet. I have tried some brownies which a friend made. For me, it takes several hours before I feel anything and then the high kicks in big-time. I eat a very small piece of the brownie about 8, sleep at 10 feeling nothing, and wake up for a pit stop at 1. At that point I need to hang onto the bed and the wall as I navigate. The edible doesn't stop/prevent the 'legs' but it does help me sleep. I have no idea how much weed or what strain went into these brownies.

Ann, that's terrible, not to mention gutless, what your doc did when she sent that last minute email to you! Is there no way that Dr. couldn't be your primary and advise/prescribe for you long distance? I'm guessing that state laws must prohibit that. Sorry you must move just to find an understanding doctor.

Jim

[ViewsAskew]

Ann, that's terrible, not to mention gutless, what your doc did when she sent that last minute email to you! Is there no way that Dr. couldn't be your primary and advise/prescribe for you long distance? I'm guessing that state laws must prohibit that. Sorry you must move just to find an understanding doctor.

Jim

The pages here are littered with similar or worse stories, unfortunately. I have another that tops it

Dr B does work with me from a distance, but some things aren't legal in my state and some things are just hard to do. I finally just decided it was easier to be there - and I have family there and like the area a lot - so it wasn't as hard of a decision as it could have been. And, if he lived in, say, North Dakota, I would have made a different decision!