Withdrawal from Sifrol.

[kelirock]

Can anyone advise me please how long it would take to withdraw from Sifrol 1.25mg per day? I was on this dose for about 3 years and stupidly recently just stopped it (per advice from my new doctor) as I was commencing on Quinine. Needless to say the withdrawals have been murder for about the first 3 weeks but now have eased off. I have to top up the Quinine with a 0.25mg Sifrol as I experience very nasty breakthrough symptoms at times. Is it usual to have worsening symptoms in the evenings? or is this a sign that the RSL is progressing?

[Hidden]

Hi, stopping any med cold turkey is not a good idea as you have found out. I dont know why your doctor has prescribed quinine for your RLS, as quinine used to be used for cramps not RLS. I would say your doctor doesnt know enough about the meds for RLS. Your doctor should have had you wean down very slowly off the Sifrol and gave you a strong pain med like either codeine or tramadol which would have helped some what with those nasty withdrawals. It can vary from person to person, but it can take weeks to months before you are through all the withdrawals.

[kelirock in reply to Hidden]

I think Quinine is a very very old treatment for RLS. It has side effects of course but I am finding it extremely helpful. Thank you for the information about withdrawal from Sifrol, it helps to know this information

[Joolsg]

No it’s a sign that quinine is a complete waste of time.

It doesn’t work for RLS.

You’re off Sifrol and withdrawal lasts about a month after last pill. You need pregabalin or Gabapentin or tramadol.

All the world experts on RLS are in agreement that quinine doesn’t work for RLS.

[Madlegs1 in reply to Joolsg]

FDA have banned Quinine due to heart problems. Only to be used for cramps.

OP - search Pramipexol/ Mirapex withdrawal here- it comes up almost weekly.

[Phogan]

Hello there Kelirock, I have been taking Sifrol for approx 6-7 years and I can honestly say, that it has worked an absolute treat in controlling all of my RLS symptoms. I dread the thought of one day having to live without it. The thought absolutely terrifies me, as from the very first day of taking it, it has stopped my symptoms of RLS (without exception) and I can hereby say, with complete and utter honesty .... that I have not suffered once with RLS symptoms for 100% of the time.

Unless of course I do something really really stupid ..... like taking certain anti-nausea meds, (something that only one would do if one was feeling completely desperate). And completely desperate was how I was feeling on this day of decision making. I actually fell victim to that once, (and it was not that long ago, so it is still undoubtedly quite vivid in my memory). I had been suffering from an extremely, long and cruel bout of nausea for several days, which was a consequence of having extreme fatigue, which was a consequence of having no sleep for at least 3 days. And, after

having been down this track many times in my life, I was completely aware that the next stage was vomiting and I knew for certainty that it was not too far away.

(And for some incredibly unbeknown reason to me, this kind of thing always seems to happen to me on a weekend, when all of the doctors are unavailable. So the decision had to be left up to me.

Now please be aware, that I have an extremely somewhat of a high pain threshold, (and have had since my childhood). But my coping mechanism for handling nausea is unfortunately somewhat on the rather lower end of the spectrum.

I just simply could not put the decision off any longer. My way of thinking was, 'That if I succumb to the nausea and actually give in and

take the anti-nausea medication that I had on hand, I am absolutely 100% certain that, (within a very short time-frame), my suffering from this nausea will be stopped, but most definitely, will be replaced by the torture of restless legs.

However, as it had been years since I have experienced the utter

discomfort of RLS, I was unsure as to how extreme the discomfort

would be that I would be forced to endure and also, (for that matter), for how long?

Plus I had the surety and the comfort in knowing that the Sifrol was quite handy, and if the RLS became too uncomfortable I would reach for the Sifrol and take a few extra, (and altho l know this is not recommended), I would certainly throw down an extra couple and let them go to work.

So the decision was made, anti nausea medication was taken and I kept my eyes closely on the clock. I then decided I was not going to take the chance. I knew that any doubt that the RLS would strike, so immediately followed up with two Sifrol. within 10 minutes the nausea was starting to dissipate. 5 minutes later RLS arrived and it lasted 5-6 hours. The Sifrol did absolutely nothing to stop it.

[Fingerandus in reply to Phogan]

hi, its a long time i know and maybe now you have experienced augmentation, i had been on Sifrol for ten years with very good results but recently RLS started when i took my 0.125 g of Sifrol now they dont work anymore. i am trying to withdraw from all the pills that cause kidney damage and RLS. Statins being a major cause and Sifrol and Lyrica i have almost done lyrica but found out that i will need to take it to withdraw from Sifrol [pramipexole ] my legs at the moment are keeping me awake all nite and most of the day so i am back on Lyrica --[pregabalin ] and i purchased a Revitive pro relief circulation booster which i hope is going to work on my legs with out pills heres hoping i get some relief i have had restless legs for 15 years at least 10 of them on pills since as the docs added statins diabetes pills my legs got worse then i have periffial neuropathy caused by radiation for breast cancer i no longer take metformin which for ten years was a mistake my blood sugar is normal and always was. i have to take thyroxine because my thyroid gland was removed most of these pills cause restless legs syndromeso another one bites the dust goodbye Sifrol i have a few weeks of terror yet and some painful nites good luck to you all xx

[kelirock]

Thank you Phogan. There is nothing I can find documented about Quinine potentially causing cardiac problems. Liver yes, but not heart, anyway, I guess different things work for different people. Sifrol made me put on a huge amount of weight and I was having to increase it as the initial dose wasn't holding the symptoms at bay. Eventually after several more increases literature states it would stop working all together, so I stopped taking it.

[Pippins2 in reply to kelirock]

If you put FDA Quinine heart /cardiac into google search lots of info will come upx

[hootchiemama]

Hi there Kelirock. Im new to this site and have been reading your posts. I have just come back from the doctors where I was told I too have RLS (all my life). I have been put on Sifrol and have all my fingers and toes crossed. Im wondering how you are fairing with your RLS? Have you found anything that is helping you?

[kelirock in reply to hootchiemama]

Well, I've done a couple of things that seem to have helped. I am now eating a very low carbohydrate diet, I was suspicious of carbs. for a while and now have cut back to less than 100gm per day. I have also started meditating. Since commencing both of these things, I have noticed a huge reduction in the really unbearable symptoms of RLS. I still get the symptoms but to a slight degree, occassionally I have a night where they are bad and drive me mad but on the whole I am pleased with how things are seemingly settling down. If I have a really bad night and Sifrol (0.25mg) doesn't seem to help, I also keep some Diazepam in the house (5mg) and take a half a tablet. This often helps enormously. I really think everyone is an individual, I find the reduction in carbs. helpful but others might not and of course you have to find a replacement food as carbohydrates are normally a large part of a meal. I have also increased my vegetable intake by double the amount. I still take one tablet of Sifrol an one of quinine which most people dismiss as being of little use but I find it helpful. Hope this assists, unfortunately it seems that there has been unproductive research into the condition to date, hopefully as science progresses someone clever will discover a cause of RLS and therefore a treatment that does not have the side effects that the commonly prescribed medication has.