Augmentation & Ropnirole

[m1946]

My story started in 2013 when shortly after a prostate surgery procedure my rls became a significant issue.

A hospital neurologist prescribed Ropinirolde (dosage o.25mg rising to 0.5mg) & tramadol.(50mg)

Apart from one or two instances the prescription allowed me more often than not 8 hours sleep every night.

Unfortunately as we all now prescriptions do not last forever! Monday before last was when my augmentation experience started. After three days of the medication not working I decided in laymens terms to stop taking the meds and to see if I could "re boot ' the system! I mentally prepared for a minimum of 4 nights without sleep! I found that if my brain was focusing on something during the night it became easier to see the night through without sleep. My own experience in this regard was watching Prison Break on Netflix !!!

After 5 nights (Prison Break became addictive!) I resumed my meds and it worked! On that first night I slept for 14 hours and most importantly each night thereafter my prescription became effective once again and of course I am hoping for a long time!

During this episode I visited my GP doctor for the purposes of obtaining an appointment to see a ospital neurologist once again and he said "why not increase the Ropinirole"!!!

Just thought my recent experience might help others in this debilitating disease

[Hidden]

Hi, stopping any dopamine agonist suddenly is not a good idea.

I'd say you were lucky things weren't worse when you stopped and that it worked again when you started again, but generally speaking this is not a very good solution.

Neither is increasing the ropinirole.

If you really did experience augmentatiion, i,e, symptoms more intense, start more quickly, spread from legs to other parts of the body and happen earlier in the day, then a better solution is to reduce and possibly stop the ropinirole.

Something to consider if the same should happen again.

Yiub woukld have to replace it with soemthing else,

Additionally, if you apparently suddenly got augmentation then there may have been something that triggered your RLS rather than it being augmentation e.g. a new medicine, something you ate?

Interesting that your RLS got worse after surgery, you may have lost quite a bit of iron through heamorrhage and although you may not be anaemic, your iron stores may not have yet recovered.

I suggest you have your ferritin level checked. My ferritin fell to an all time low after my last surgery, i.e. 26mcg/L and even though that was dismissed as being "normal", for someone with RLS most doctors would agree it should be at least 50mcg/L . RLS specialists would say at least 100mcg/L.

[m1946 in reply to Hidden]

Hi

My most recent blood test showed my iron levels at 100!

[Hidden in reply to m1946]

Is that ferritin though NOT iron?

[m1946 in reply to Hidden]

Yes sorry! Ferritin