Mirapex

[lizza]

Avoid mirapex. It might help at first but it is evil. 6 years on it terrible side effects. I was shopping like crazy. Gained 70 pounds, dui,divorce, lost jobs,and now I put two and two together. It all started when I took mirapex. Going off is hell. Hospitalized twice.

[Hidden]

Hi lizza, i am sorry you had such a bad experience with Mirapex, i know alot of people who had the side effects of gambling etc. But it doesnt happen to everyone. So, when trying to come off the Mirapex, how have you been doing it? Did you see your doctor for getting a back up med to help with the withdrawals..? A lot of people on here have managed to get off either Mirapex or Requip with their doctor giving them a strong pain med. Tramadol might be enough to help or morphine. Please discuss this with your doctor.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Prob closer to morphine for day and especially night use. Sleeping pills will not help much nor will switching over to non dopamine medicine. A lady that l know was instructed to stop the mirapex and go onto cymbalta....a non dopamine by her GP. Dont let it happen to you. Most doctors know better- hers didnt. She suffered and went to the emergency room on day 3. Her daughter picked her up from work and my belief is that the ER called Dr. B. She went on morphine for 5 days following the ER visit and was on oxycodone for 2 more weeks before the taper of that to just Cymbalta and a muscle relaxer. THATS how to come off of mirapex. I did it too using oxycodone and lidocaine cream and massage, l went on lyrica at the time for neuropathy...it works just okay for rls. Im back on mirapex again. I quit mirapex several times for 2 weeks or longer. Its not impossible to quit. Read up a bit before attempting it is my best advice. Xx Karen

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

lol - "A lot of people on here have managed to get off either Mirapex or Requip with their doctor giving them a strong pain med...Please discuss this with your doctor" - MY GP spent months telling me I needed to stop all pain medication even though I have restless legs and a number of damaged discs in my back I was told to stop everything, (co-codamol 8/500 and 7.5 g of Kratom to take the edge off and still near constant discomfort but well reduced). One of the major side-effects of the Misuse of Drugs Act in the UK and indeed with drug prohibition worldwide is that Drs are afraid to prescribe the more potent opiods/opiates and many are left in pain that shouldn't be.

You GP should have warned you about the Mirapexin I would imagine you would have grounds to complain if (s)he didn't. The Dr should be well aware of the behavioural changes that come with dopamine and advised you accordingly - it is terrible that you had such a bad experience while looking for help. You will, as Elisse rightly said need stronger pain meds to help ease things - maybe look at gabapentin which has done wonders for many on here. If you are in the states or don't mind breaking the law cannabis has been used by many and for me at the moment the only thing preventing me from putting a rope around my neck is Kratom - but please research it well, (although safety profile is way better than most/all drugs your Dr will prescribe).

The dopamine agonists are b@stards - I had very disturbing thoughts - like driving my car in front of a lorry and my sex drive went through the roof, (should have slipped some in the Mrs' tea ), which was very frustrating - I imagine back then if I had been having sex constantly it wouldn't have been enough - but I knew it was down to the drugs and was able to understand and protect myself before it got too much.

Good luck and take a visit to rls-uk.org for advice on drugs used to treat RLS. Good luck and take care

[lizza in reply to Hidden]

Doctor will not give me pain med to get off mirapex

[Hidden in reply to lizza]

Which country do you live in lizza..? No doctor should be denying you help while getting off the Mirapex. If you are in the USA then change doctors, which apparently is alot easier to do than in the UK. If you are in the UK, then see another doctor at your surgery.

[lizza in reply to Hidden]

It's the closest doctor for my insurance. I just talk to them and said I'm having terrible side effects from withdrawal and they told me to take more mirapex

[Hidden in reply to lizza]

Then you need to go again to your doctor. Take info that shows them, you need to get off the Mirapex, NOT increase it. Tell them you CANT take any more Mirapex and you NEED them to help you off it. I get so mad when i hear of doctors not helping their patients. Yours need to look up the side effects of Mirapex and what happens when its increased. This is an article that your doctor needs to look at and read, it was posted on this forum recently. Dr. B tells you what happens when you increase any dopamine med and what he does now with the dosage. Tell your doctor you have enough problems with the Mirapex, with increasing it to cause you more problems. sleepreviewmag.com/2015/02/...

[lizza in reply to Hidden]

I'm not sure how to start going off it. I need to go to doctor and get pain killer I guess. I can't even cut down dose on my own! I even have to take it at 4 in morning to sleep till 8!

[Hidden in reply to lizza]

Cutting down on your own is hard to do, i do know some that have done it, but not what i would recommend. You need to see your doctor as i have said in another comment to you. Take the info with you on needing to get off that med. Some people can take Tramadol and be successful with getting off the dopamine, some its not strong enough and have to resort to morphine. Its not easy even with a pain med, you will have some bad nights, but the pain med should help. Good luck, keep in touch.

[lizza in reply to Hidden]

Just left doctor. Refused to give me something to get off mirapex. I have to wait one month for neurologist!

[Hidden in reply to lizza]

So sorry lizza, i can only guess your doctor is too scared to give you any pain meds. I know that alot of doctors over the pond are reluctant to do so. New rules that have come in over there. Stay strong, i hope the neuro is more understanding and KNOWS about the problems that the dopamine meds can give people. Keep in touch.

[lizza in reply to Hidden]

I'm at wits end very depressed

[Hidden in reply to lizza]

I am not surprised you are feeling so bad. When you cant get the help and support you need so badly from your doctor. We are here for you when you just need to rant and rave on how you are feeling. hugs x

[bigal999]

I have periodic limb movements. I was taking huge doses of mirapex (4.5 mg) with gabapenten (2700 mg), and had problems with playing the stock market and porn addiction. I started coming off the mirapex in January, and it's been three months of hell. I can't get a good night's sleep. I'm taking Lyrica, oxycodone, and gabapenten and still have major issues. I will be seeing a top doctor in the field, next week. Hopefully he will come up with a better plan. I would like to get some sleep without my leg jumping around every 15 seconds. At least my compulsive behaviors are under control. However, i did gain about 10 lbs., probably due to the Lyrica.

[lizza in reply to bigal999]

Mirapex will put on pounds! I lost everything on it. Couldn't even keep a job. I m getting off it slowly. It's awful. Antidepressants make rls a lot worse!

[Hidden in reply to bigal999]

Oops...l think that lyrica and Gabapentin shouldn't be taken together my doctor told me no. He said that they are basically the same drug but the formulation s are very different making it a no no to take together. forum? Any thoughts? Maybe my doctor is wrong.

[bigal999 in reply to Hidden]

I thought I was seeing a expert in the field who put me on the large doses of Gabapenten with Lyrica. Now I'm seeing another doctor and he said exactly what your doctor said-both drugs work on the same receptors. So I'm now going to come off of these two drugs over several weeks, and then will go to Methadone. Sounds scary, but my new doctor, a big name in the field, is confident it will work for me.

[TEAH35 in reply to bigal999]

I believe the only experts in the field of RLS are us .... the suffererers

[Hidden]

Hi bigal999, are you still coming off the Mirapex or you have stopped it now. ? Are you in the USA or UK, or you live some where else. You could email Dr. Buchfuhrer who has a website in the USA . It doesnt matter where you live in the world he will reply back to you. So, i was thinking maybe you could email him and explain your situation regarding the coming off the Mirapex and nothing is helping you, 3 months is a long time for you to still be having bad RLS symptoms. His advice could help you when seeing your doctor next week. rlshelp.org is the website to look at and you will see a little yellow email box.

[bigal999 in reply to Hidden]

I am off the Mirapex. I have emailed Dr. Buchfuhrer, and he has been very helpful. He is a great resource. I'm waiting to see what happen this week with the new Dr.

[Hidden in reply to bigal999]

Oh right, you already have emailed Dr. B. Glad he was helpful for you, he usually is. Let us know how the new doctor appointment goes.

[Windwalker]

Any compulsions you have when you start Mirapex, will be made much worse. I had a small interest in gambling, so after I started Mirapex, it became the center of every day. I lost a great deal of money and am now paying the price for my actions.

All the meds I have taken so far, makes compulsions worse. Some are dstructive and others are helpful. You must sort out those that are good and keep them and try to drop the bad ones if you can. Good Luck---to be continued!

[ELMAGO_1]

I'm currently on lyryca and have vowed to myself if that ever stops working to go med free, especially I will never touch a dopamine med, far too many horror stories on them and the hell coming off.

Hope you get sorted soon, I wish you all the best.

[lizza]

Going to doctor Monday to get pain killer to get off it. Any recommendations?

[oolala]

Told my GP Id cut down the Mirapex - because I didn't like the symptoms didn't ask what symptoms Id had just said how do you know you will get symptoms if you don't take it much ... tried to explain I had been taking it got symptoms so cut it down - trying not to take it I asked to see a neurologist with special interest in rls and was told all neurologists deal with rls Also - she said as I have a chronic condition I must learn to manage it !!!