Thank you for that Zadig777 - it is a warning that for some of us Dopamine Agonists can cause nasty side effects which take a long time to reverse. I for one an for-warned and will never take these drugs.
Gosh, this is interesting and disturbing. I am trying to hunt down similar cases, but although several drugs can cause severe akathisia, Mirapex is not one - or not at one dose.
But we know very well that Mirapex will cause augmentation sooner or a later, perhaps this is an extreme case of much, much sooner. Instantly.
It is now acknowledged that dopamine agonists may be truly addictive, very addictive, and perhaps you are one of those whose addiction trips in immediately. We know that drugs of addiction can kick in after one dose/puff/infusion in vulnerable persons - you may just be one of them.
The miserable legs and lack of sleep are known to many of us.
Stick with it for another couple of weeks, and avoid all triggers such as caffeine, anti-histamines and anti-depressants. Do stretching exercises religiously morning and evening. Take a good dose of magnesium and an iron supplement, the latter two hours after the evening meal, with Vitamin C.
While you're at it, have your ferritin levels checked, you may be short on brain iron.
Thank you for your posts. You speak truth and have given much good information. I encourage those who read this forum to listen to you. I am a long time sufferer of this maddening disorder. No two nights in a row are the same and so I never know what to expect other than being rudely awakened around 2:00-4:00 with whole body RLS. Miserable indeed. Anyway, it is comforting to be able to share with people like you and to know this is not a psychological problem but in every sense a physical disease. My hope is that one day there will be a cure. Thanks again, Parmintor!
That sounds horrible. I'm not sure what country you live in but it is very important that this event is notified to the drug side effect authorities. In the UK this used to be via the yellow card system. It may be that there have been others this has happened to but has not been notified. That is how side effects become recognised whereas they may not be during initial trials. If there are more reports then it can be issued as a warning. I remember these DA's had some strange effects on those with Parkinsons so I was always wary as treatment for my RLS and never took them ( i was Dr ).
I took Pregabalin for pain for my peripheral neuropathy, discovered the initial and at that time unknown effect on my pre-existing RLS. I also think in the end it made my RLS worse.
Hello, I think the best thing you can do now is see the doctor and get an appointment with a neurologist and see if they can help at all. My RLS started 4yrs ago after taking a course of anantidepressants. I took myself of them but unfortunately, my RLS stayed with me. I also get it in my arms and chest. Never have it in both legs or arms at the same time but it can easily switch from limb to limb on one day. I was loosing alot of sleep, usually sitting in the shower for relief. Neurologist tried me out with various meds. Some made me sick and actually made the RLS worse. I settled with Ropinirole for awhile just taking 1mg at night. After awhile, that stopped working so I went up to 2mg, that helped for a few months but I found I was getting my RLS earlier on in the day. Sitting down most evenings became unbearable, never knew when it was going to start, which limb, or even if it would stop!. I upped my Ropinirole to 3mg. I would take one early afternoon, one early evening and another at bedtime. I started to hallucinate badly. I started seeing things and objects around me while in bed and it left me terrified untill I realised that they were not real. I even sat in what looked liked a snow storm around me. If I looked at an object long enough it would appear to move. I took myself down to 2mg and put up with the RLS attacks in the evening, just walking around or back sitting in the shower. I'm now waiting for another appointment with the neurologist but I am not sure how it will help, I can't increase my dose back to 3mg because of the hallucinations. At the moment I'm lucky if I can get two days free of RLS per week. I'm so tired. I'm told its incurable, I think its best to keep seeing the neurologist though as
there might be one day, a new type of medication to try. What doesn't suit one sufferer may just suit another. I hope you find that magic pill😆
Hi, Zadig, I'm sorry to hear of the serious side effects you got from ropinerole. That is a dopamine agonist (DA), which is just one of three main classes of drugs that are used to treat RLS. You might have better luck with drugs from the other two classes, with help from your neurologist. One is called "alpha-2-delta" drugs, which includes gabapentin, pregabalin (Lyrica), and Horizant. The other is opioids, which are very effective up must, of course, be approached with caution. Many of us on this forum have had good luck with either or both of these two classes. I, for instance, take gabapentin plus methadone. Methadone, while it sounds scary at first (due to its association with drug treatment programs), is actually the go-to opioid among most RLS experts. This is because it is just as effective as other opioids but with lower risk of addiction and less need to increase the dosage over time (I.e., less tolerance buildup).
By no means am I recommending any particular medication for you. That is up to you and your doctor. I just want to make sure you ar aware of the options open to you. Good luck!
You are not alone. I have had many of the same sensations. I truly felt like I was dying from the inside out. I couldn't find the words to express how I felt. I literally stumbled through the days. I stopped ropinirole cold turkey after a bout of non stop vomiting and dizziness. I was so confused and foggy minded. I do not recommend cold turkey it was and still is brutal but I didn't know any better. After googling my symptoms I found this site which saved my life. It allowed me to find the words to describe my symptoms to my wonderful Dr. I just thought I was going crazy. I was not. I was augmenting.
as i can understand u were taking a DA and augmentating,but this is not happening with me,since i only took 1 single dose in my life which opened the RLS chapter for me.
im drug free for 2+ weeks now but the symptoms remain
No drugs atm. Symptoms continue. I did begin iron supplements as ordered by my Dr. Ins. Needs proof that supplements don't work before they will pay for iron infusion. My ferritin level was last tested at 7. Extremely low for rls but normal for non RLS. Trying to get it over 100.
Zadig, it is really weird that you have RLS after one - for RLS rather high - dose of Mirapex ( pramipexol is the generic name). And that it still persists.
You really have to consult a doctor quickly. If your gp doesn’t know what to do, ask for a referral to a neurologist. I would start any other medication, because this reaction is definitely not-normal.
One question: did you do anything else around that time that may have caused these sensations you describe?
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