Hi again
My doctor has given my 0.375mg Sifrol to try for my symptoms. I am on the 4 month waiting list for a nerve conduction test to see if it's neuropathy.
My symptoms are constant now, it feels like buzzing in my legs. It's like I am sitting on a vibrating machine constantly and it's starting to make me feel sick to my stomach. I am also getting a lot of muscle fasculations.
The buzzing is in my fingers too but not to the same degree as of yet.
Only take the lowest dose available, to start with. Go up by the smallest possible increments every 3 days until you get to the 3rd increment.
Do not go further
If it controls the symptoms, ok.
If it does not, then you do NOT have rls.. and should get off the medication as soon as possible.
If it works for the rls, be aware of the dangers of being on a dopamine agonist.
Read up about augmentation.
Good luck.
I'm a little bit confused about the third increase? My doctor has given me the 0.375mg and that is once per day, no increments.
Tablets come in several sized, 0.125mg, 0.25mg, 0.5mg and 1.5mg.
To get 0.375 mg you need to take either 3 X 0.125mg tabs or 1 X 0.125mg tab plus 1 X 0.25mg tab.
There is no 0.375 mg tablet.
Madlegs is suggesting you start taking just 1. 0.125 tab, then build up to 2 X 0.125mg tabs after a few days, then build up to 3. X 0.125 tabs after another few days.
I suggest that if the pramipexole does actually work at any dose i.e. 1 or 2 tabs, then don't increase any more.
When you reach 0.375 mg, you can take 1 each of the 0.125 & 0.25mg tabs.
Your pharmacy can't give you 0.375 tabs, they don't exist.
As madlegs says, if 0.375mg doesn't work, don't be tempted to further increase the dose, you probably don't have RLS.
It does sound as if you don't have RLS anyway.
Here's a link to the diagnostic criteria for RLS. For a RLS diagnosis to be confirned, your symptoms have to match ALL five criteria. If any ine doesn't match, the diagnosis can not be confirmed.
irlssg.org/diagnostic-criteria
0.375 mg of Sifrol in a tablet definitely exists. It's what the doctor prescribed me and what I have in my hands.
Anyway I think the point you are making is to stick with the lowest dose which for me is 0.375 mg. I think both parties on this reply should just educate themselves that there is a 0.375 mg Sifrol tablet incase someone else ever attempts to post and is met with the argument that it does not exist
My apologies, I live in the UK, where most people on this forum live. Sifrol, I believe is not available here only generic pramipexole or Mirapex.
There is no 0.375mg tablets of these. Hence my mistake. This was a genuine mistake with no criticism intended.
Thank you for letting me know that Sifrol is different and I will remember this in future.
My post wasn't intended to be argumentative, nor was Madlegs, rather to be helpful.
Apart from my misjudgement about the strength of the tablets given you Madlegs suggestion is reasonable. The usual starting dose for pramipexole is 0.125mg and it should be built up gradually because of potential side effects.
This is a second point, in addition to the point about not exceeding 0.375mg.
I hope you find that most members on this site intend to offer helpful remarks based on their own experiences of RLS and it's treatment, but aren't all knowing.
It isn't really necessary then to be so quick in taking offense and offering such remarks as "other parties" should "educate themselves."
Apologies for my offensive wordimh
A lot of knowledgeable people on here but sometimes even they get it wrong, hopefully you'll get some help you need,I've tried everything over the years and the only thing that works for me is opioids,good luck xxx
Diagnosed with RLS 10 yrs ago, but suffered for it long before that. Weaned off Pramipexiole- was taking so high of a dosage made me a walking zombie. Gabipeton gave me horrible nightmares. Now taking Ropinerole- worked well at first but now it wear off around 2-3pm. Can’t sit for even short periods - very painful. Only solution is a bath with Epson salt in it. Works more times than not. I am in so much pain every day- my muscles hurt I just want to cut them off. Wish I could live a normal life.
So sorry to hear this. I've never suffered actual pain with my RLS, just the horrible crawling urge to move sensation. I believe that some RLS sufferers do experience pain, as you do.
Unfortunately, Ropinirole which is a dopamine agonist (DA), like all DAs has some long term consequences. few people don't experience them, some do after years, but for some it can be just months.
The most common are loss of efficacy and augmentation. Loss of efficacy is as it says, and that what's your experiencing now. The ropinirole's not working so well.
It sounds like you might be stsrting with augmentation as well.
With augmentation, symptoms get more intense, may spread to.other parts of the body and happen earlier in the day. DAs cause this and increasing the.dose.only makes it worse.
The only effective way of dealing with augmentation is to reduce and possibly stop taking the ropinirole.
No point in switching to another DA, e.g. pramipexole or rotigotine.. All DAs cause augmentation.
Normally I'd say switch to either gabapentin or pregabalin. You say gabapentin gave you nightmares, so you could try pregabalin.. There shouldn't be any difficulty in getting a prescription for it.
The only other, known to be effective, medication for RLS is an opiate. I've never tried an opiate for my RLS, but some people have found Tramadol, Oxycontin, Buprenorphine or Methadone has relieved their RLS when all else has failed. You may find it extremely difficult to get a prescription for an opiate for RLS however.
If you do manage to get a prescription for an alternative to ropinirole, especially pregabalin, take it for a while before reducing the ropinirole.
If you reduce the ropinirole, do it very slowly and in small steps as DAs can have nasty withdrawal effects.
I hope this helps
Thank you for responding to me. Sometime I feel so alone and although I read a lot about RLS, I really have no one to talk to about it that understands.
I understand that, although it's quite common, I don't really know anyone else who has severe RLS.
Luckily my wife is quite understanding, she has mild RLS
I have more of a problem with my Aspergers, she doesn't get that all.
Advice on Sifrol
Ropinirol ore Sifrol. 
How to withdraw from Sifrol ER
Withdrawal from Sifrol.
