Ropinirole

Barbee · Post by **Barbee** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 1:31 pm

My doctor finally prescribed Ropinirole 2 mg for me... I could not wait to try it, my symptoms have been so bad lately. First night I woke up at 4 a.m. sicker than I have ever been in my life. Nausea, and weakness so bad I could hardly make it down the stairs. Luckily I had anti-nausea pills on hand that I gobbled down and it helped. The doctor said to discontinue it. I'm so disappointed.

Neco · Post by **Neco** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 2:38 pm

That's too bad.. Frankly they started you way too high if 2mg was your starting dose. You should have at least gotten a starter sample pack from the doctor, or the doctor should have prescribed something along the same lines as the sample pack.

Also, if you take Requip on an empty stomach, you are inviting problems.. So if you didn't eat anything that may be why you got so sick. It happened to me once or twice too. Taking such a large dose also didn't help..

There is still a slim chance it may work, if you try taking .250mg or something like that, after eating something.. Crackers, toast, a meal or something, but nothing heavy that would make it worse if you did get sick enough to throw up.

ALso, check out the Mayo Algorithm, and show it to your doctor. The link is in my signature,

jim splitt · Post by **jim splitt** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 3:44 pm

When I was first diagnosed with RLS I was prescribed .5mg Requip 3 times a day and that seemed to help, as time went on my symptoms became worse and my does was increased to 1mg 3 times a day and then up to 2mg 3 times a day. Soon after that my insurance company decided that I was to get a generic brand (Ropinirole) which I am taking now, the side affect seem to be worse on the Ropinirole than on the Requip and I am trying to get the insurance company to ok the Requip as my side affect did not seem to be as bad. So far they have turned down my requests. I agree that they started you out too strong and I hope that your doctor is going to start you out on a lesser dose. My prescription is in 1mg tablets and I have tried different dose combinations to find what works best for me, so far the best is taking 1mg twice during the day and 2mg at night. Fortunately for me I have been able to sleep however when the RLS does "kick" in at night it wakes my wife and she then has trouble getting back to sleep. Good Luck!

Post by **Polar Bear** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 5:22 pm

Hi Barbee, I am also on Requip and thoroughly agree with previous posters. Your starting dose was way too high to begin with. Zach's suggestion of the Mayo Algorithm is excellent, it is a great guide for your doc.

Don't entirely give up on the Requip.
Try again, starting low and building up.

Alan · Post by **Alan** » Thu Jun 04, 2009 6:31 pm

I had severe augmentation on ropinirole and stopped it for a long while. Recently, with the consent of my sleep doctor, if my RLS breaks through my usual regimen (Neurontin, codeine and trazodone), I have been taking 0.25 of ropinirole on an as needed basis. Though scientifically this drug should work best given continuously, I have found this "as needed" dosing to work for me. I do have anxiety about augmentation, especially if I have to take it several nights in a row (Is the frequency going up because of the drug?) so I often will not take it for three or four days and then resume "prn".

Neco · Post by **Neco** » Thu Jun 04, 2009 7:02 pm

Well since you're only on codeine, it would make more sense to step up to a stronger painkiller like Hydrocodone, or higher dose (if your dose is low already) of codeine.