My husband takes 4 x 25mg of co-beneldopa and has just been put on Requip x1 a day, as it says do not drive or use machinery

[ALDI]

My husband has to drive to get to work and back, would it be okay to take this Requip before he goes to bed?

[soup]

Your previous posts say that your husband is constantly tired. Requip can cause sudden onset sleep and you won't know that until you have reached the effective dose for him. Contact your specialist or Parkinson's nurse for a definitive answer to your question. This might be the time to think about alternative solutions to driving to work and back every day. I am sure your husband would not want to be responsible for an accident and this period of exploring the dosage of Requip will not be for ever. Could you drive him to work? Is there any public transport or car share he could look into?

[ALDI in reply to soup]

Thank you for your reply soup, there is no alternative to driving to work....I work myself and its down the motorway so no public transport

[NanCyclist]

I took ReQuip XL for years in the morning with no problem, still driving. 8 mg, dropped to 6mg, dropped to 4 mg with forced pace cycling.

[BillDavid in reply to NanCyclist]

NanCyclist

What do you mean by "forced paced cycling"?

[NanCyclist in reply to BillDavid]

Forced pace cycling is defined in the program Pedaling for Parkinson's. In a nutshell it means pedaling for an hour three times a week, 10 minutes warm-up, 40 minutes at the cadence of 80 to 90 RPM and 10 minutes cool down. you need to keep your heart rate within 60 to 80% of your maximum heart rate. This is loosely calculated by subtracting your age from 220. for example, I am 68 years old so 220-68 is 152. 60% of 152 is 91 and 80% of 152 is 122. So I would want to keep my heart rate between 91 and 122. It is worth the investment to buy a heart rate monitor and a cadence meter for your bike. By following this protocol I was able to turn my disease around enough to enable me to ride across the state of Iowa three times, climb up Kilimanjaro, climb to Annapurna base camp in Nepal, and hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru. My symptoms are still progressing much more slowly than they would have otherwise.

Another really strong suggestion I would make is for you to buy the book The Peripatetic Pursuit of Parkinson Disease. It is an amazing book written by people with Parkinson's for people with Parkinson's and those who work with them.

All the best.

[BillDavid in reply to NanCyclist]

NanCyclist

Thanks for your response.....did you meet the Cleveland Clinic folks in Iowa?

[ALDI in reply to NanCyclist]

Thanks nancyclist, that's interesting because they have only started him on 2mg.

[PatV]

There are so many reasons to avoid requip. Exercise is neuroprotective. I would recommend any alternative based on my own horrible experience.

[LJ123]

Husband totaled out his truck while on this drug. Just fell asleep at the wheel. Be careful. Everybody reacts differently. Ever PD drug has a side effect that may or may not happen to you!

[soup]

Dear Aldi,

Many people are prepared to believe that Parkinson's is a very individual condition but are then less likely to accept that drug responses are too. You will hear all sorts of horror stories about side effects, and behavioural changes and how wonderful different alternative therapies are, but through it all will be the steadying advice of your team of clinical professionals and the Parkinson's UK helpline if you need it.

Will your husband be on Requip XL, the slow release formulation? I don't know how long that lasts in the system so changing the time of the dose might not be a way round this problem. Also, he will need the effect of the drug during the active parts of the day.

Your husband's response will be individual to him but if you have been advised not to drive it could very well be that his insurance company would have something to say about it too.

This must be an incredibly worrying time for you both and at the moment you 'can't see the wood for the trees'. But don't give up. The meds will work wonders and for the time he is exploring the increasing doses there is always sick leave.

In this time of exploring options and coming to terms with the diagnosis and life with Parkinson's, it will pay to take as much help as you can and to hear the stories of as many people as possible. Do you have a younger support group near you?

I am here if you want to message me.

[ALDI in reply to soup]

Hi soup,

Yes he is on Requip XL prolonged release tablets, I will be telephoning his specialised nurse in morning to ask the question about driving, I didn't think about his insurance thank you, not yet looked into any support groups near us but I think it would be a good idea.

Although I don't write much on here, I read a lot!

Thanks again Di

[soup in reply to ALDI]

Are you in the UK? Do you use Facebook?

[ALDI in reply to soup]

yes, in s/Yorkshire and yes I use f/book

[AnnoM in reply to ALDI]

Hello Aldi i am on 12mg requip 14 months now and like you read the info in the tablets packet im doing a 40 mile commute every day, so far no problem

i think you have to try it and see how it goes

[ALDI in reply to AnnoM]

Thank you AnnoM, that eases my mind