Awful side effects

[Blue1956]

What happens when you stop the generic for mirapex cold turkey? I have RLS and it helps my legs but side effects are getting to be to much. I take 0.5 2x a day

[Joolsg]

I'm not familiar with the dose of Mirapex for RLS but seem to think 0.75 is the highest recommended.

Stopping any DA has to be done very slowly and under doctor's supervision. You will suffer severe withdrawal symptoms ( the RLS will be very severe 24/7) so you need an opioid like tramadol or oxycontin or codeine whilst withdrawing. You will also need to start an alternative med like gabapentin or pregabalin to take once you're off mirapex. Gabapentin & pregabalin take about 3 weeks to be fully effective.

Have a look at posts by Bganim and Nick-the-Turk who both came off dopamine agonists over the last year. It's not easy but it can be done.

[Neil46]

Hi Blue1956, i see you are new to the site so Welcome. You will find support, advice and help here i am sure.

Mirapex is a dopamine agonist drug which allows your symptoms to get worse over time and force you to want to quit it. This may be the stage you are at right now. Withdrawal must be done slowly over several weeks and with the aid of your doctor because if you experience pain with your RLS this may get worse and more frequent. You may require pain meds to help you and your legs will trouble you a lot more than previously. If you type DAWS into the Search box above you will find more info.

It won't be pleasant but when you have done it you will be glad you have and you will feel very much better and be able to consult your doctor for another, kinder, drug for your RLS.

In the meantime you will receive as much backup and encouragement as you need from this forum. Have a good moan if you need to; we will know exactly how you feel.

Best Wishes

Neil

[Blue1956 in reply to Neil46]

Thank you Niel for you reply and sincere input. I hope things will go well for me while the mirapex leaves my system

[Neil46]

I hope things will go well for you too. Feel free to post and post again if you need support. We are all here for you.

[Adge]

Mirapex in the UK usually comes in 0.088mg tablets, I've not seem 0.5mg before. I was on 10 x 0.088mg, so 0.88mg in total and suffered severe augmentation earlier this year. I came off cold turkey because that's what my GP said to do. I would not recommend it to anyone, try and taper off if you can over a period of a few months if you are on that high dose. When I came off cold turkey I didn't sleep more than 5 minutes at a time for about 5 times, then I collapsed into bed with a bad fever and nausea. I then slept for 18 hours with no RLS - I think my body just gave up with the RLS at that time and was trying to cope with the fevers. All that I could cope with, but the hardest thing you need to be prepared for are the pyschological side effects. The mirapex is like a natural high and keeps you going despite the lack of sleep. Coming off cold turkey I became depressed and had suicidal tendancies. I've heard this is normal. You need to be ready for this, in particular you will need help and support around you. I went onto Diazapam for a while to help the symptoms, and now off it after 4 months. You will need an opiate like Tramadol to help the withdrawal pains, I am still on this as it seems to be helping the RLS.

If this all sounds really depressing, there is light at the end of the tunnel. After 4 months my RLS is much reduced and I'm now averaging nearly 6 hours sleep a night, when I was down to an hour a night with the augmentation. I am learning to control my remaining RLS by working out what triggers worse episodes. For me it's sugar (now on low sugar diet), alcohol (have had to give up), long car journeys, stress and sitting/standing still for too long in a day. You may have your own triggers, you may not, everyone is different.

Good luck, you've got support on here, but I would seriously recommend you taper off the agonist rather than going cold turkey.

[Blue1956 in reply to Adge]

Thank you very much for your sincere input as well Adge. I know this is just the beginning of many painful and pain steaking nights for me. Last night was not good. I'm a retired nurse living on disabily now and I have some knowledge on RLS but I'm still not a MD and still learning. Tramadol and Gabpatine do nothing for me from past experience. Ibuprofen helps some. Thankfully I have only taken the mirapex for a little over a month and started feeling awful in so many ways. But I'm hanging in the best I can. And I'm rooting for you as well Adge. We can do this!

[Adge in reply to Blue1956]

You're welcome, as you know it's unfortunately just trial and error for us all, hope you eventually find what helps for you!