It is bad

[paulamae]

I have been on requip for about 10 yrs, to get relief I am taking 2.5 mgs 3xAday and 4 mgs at bedtime. My entire life revolves around my RLS.All day I am sleepy, and the RLS is getting worse.The only time in 10 yrs I remember getting enough sleep was when I had dental work and the Dentist gave me a RX for norco 10 mg.It helped so much.However when I asked my family Dr.for norco, he said no.I then asked my Neurologist, he also said no.I am 63 yrs old, my life is miserable with this RLS, if the norco helped me cope why cant my doctors prescribe it for me.

[Hidden]

Hi, it sounds like you are having augmentation from the Requip. You are taking a way way to high dose. The new recommended dose for Requip is no more than 2mg per day. Even the old highest dose was 4 mg. So if your RLS is worse then augmentation will be the reason. Augmentation is when the dopamine agonist med turns against you, your RLS starts earlier in the day and doesnt work so well at night, your symptoms become worse and other parts of your body that didnt have RLS can now appear in arms, torso. I am sure that dose is also making you sleepy all day. You need to get off the Requip. But that is not easy to do. It will mean your doctor giving you a strong pain med because you will have withdrawals when coming off the Requip. If the doctor you have will not help you then you need to find one that understands RLS and know what augmentation is.

[Pippins2 in reply to Hidden]

Else is absolutely right it is the vast doses of Requip causing augmentation. You need to find a doctor to help you get off it but will need strong pain pills.Which country do you live?

[beady3]

Hi Paulamae I know just how you are suffering because I have been there and also was taking Requip Xl ,my doc started me on 2tabs and of course after a while they stop working and up them and up them until I was on 8 tabs a day ,then what happens augmentation sets in and that's worse than rls ,well on Tramodol and not doing to bad Nothing is 100per cent ,go back to the docs armed with imformation then you can tell him good luck x

[Hidden]

Good to see compassionate Drs out there!!!!

If you can get it cannabis will see you through a bad patch and longer if needed.

Check out Kratom too - I was literately at my end when I discovered it and I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say it was a life-saver for me. Much less dangerous than anything you are going to get pharmaceutically for RLS.

And finally since I take it you are American and therefore paying privately why are you staying with Drs that can't/wont help?

[Hidden]

Hi Paulamae, I am having the same experience with RLS and Requip. I take 2 2mg. tabs 3 times a day. I am having symptoms conatantly, it is pure hell. The only reason I know about augmentation is from the people on this forum. I've seen 2 Doctors and an emergency room team and it was never mentioned. The ER treated it as a drug overdose, gave me more drugs which didn't help wouldn't give me more Requip when I was due for it, and kept me until it finally wore off . I told my husband he better make sure I'm dead before he takes me back to the ER. So I'm telling you all this to explain my fear and ignorance about my situation. I'm seeing a new to me Neurologists in 6 days. If he doesn't show some understanding then I'm on to another one until I find someone who knows what they're about. You will find reliable information if you google ropinirole augmentation. , make sure you are reading the info for RLS and not Parkinson s it's very different. I am having almost alll of the side effects that you can get with requip and the RLS is the worst its ever been .Sleep, I don't know what that is anymore. I'm writing all of this for my Dr. also in case I'm too nuts to communicate in 6 more days.

I would like to add that this forum and the people on it are invaluable . I can't adequately express my appreciation, but I do thank you.

[SuperMNew in reply to Hidden]

Hi Vintage-me! I am at the beginning stages of medicine for RLS. I've suffered for 40 years with it, but have just now (November 2016) began Ropinirole, which is generic for Requip. I know about the horrors of taking drugs to treat any illness. Our bodies were not created to thrive on drugs, so I've always tried to find the cause of RLS and sought calcium and magnesium to keep my symptoms at bay. But it soon became evident that those two things weren't working any more. Today is February 5, 2016, and I've received my first shipment of Zandopa, which is Mucuna Pruriens, and I intend to try to get off the drug Ropinirole and take this exclusively to control the leg tremors at night. Most doctors either don't know about Mucuna or are not willing to learn anything about it. After doing due diligence on Mucuna, I've decided the research using Zandopa is solid, and I know that no one has my best interests in mind but ME--MYSELF! I'm determined to find a solution to this RLS problem.

If you know anything about Mucuna Pruriens, respond back to me. I'm curious about dosage, etc.

[Hidden in reply to SuperMNew]

I don't know about zandopa, this is the first I've heard of it. I will be searching it out. Thank you for sharing and I will do the same.

[SuperMNew in reply to Hidden]

Vintage-me, the double-blind research I read was done with Zandopa, and I received the powder last night. I will have to experiment with the dosage, but soon discovered that one scoop was not enough. The research suggested much higher dosage that I started with. I will have to find what works for me, but I am determined to get off prescription drugs. Zandopa has a pleasant taste, and you simply dissolve it in water and drink. It worked for me almost immediately, but the scant amount I took first (less than a full scoop) stopped my RLS for only about 45 minutes. So, I'll be doubling the amount tonight, and maybe more as I see how long the Mucuna works. My goal is to be able to sleep all night. We have an Indian doctor here in my town, and I plan to get some advice from her as soon as I can get an appointment. God bless you! I understand what you've been going through.

[Hidden in reply to SuperMNew]

I am interested in how you get along. I think one of the reasons we don't hear so much about alternatives is money. Please be careful

[Hidden]

I looked up zandopa and its for PD's patients. I would be very careful when taking this. And how you dose yourself. There are no instructions for it to be used for RLS. Also i see it can give side effects, so natural or herbal supplements can be just as bad as pharma meds.

[SherrieMaui]

I have RLS. I have been on gabapentin which is the generic for neurontin and for a lot of people this works very well for RLS check it out. Sherrie

[rettalee55]

Hi, I noticed that you live about 19 miles from me. Anyway, I am 60 years young. I am not familiar with requip or norco so no help there, but wanted to ask, did your neurologist mention the drug gabapentin by chance? My husband was recommended it by his neurologist. It cut down his constant feet leg movement at night and gave him a better night's sleep.

[Retren]

To Raffs I read on one of these posts that Kratom was being sold at petrol stations in some states ,but he federal drug administration are trying to get it banned.a number of sufferers seem to have had relief from it.

[Barbara-Halverson74]

Try Co Q 10. I take 800 mg per day. It works really well. It was recommended by my doctor when he prescribed cholesterol medication, but I had RLS before trying the new med. No prescription needed.

[Seaux]

All I know,Paula Mae, is that not all narcotics are approved for RLS. But

Tramedol is. Try asking your neurologist about this. Best of success!