rotigotine withdrawal

[Camry2020]

Does that leave one totally exhausted? I weaned myself off over two months. Thanks!

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Sorry you've not yet received any replies.

I can't say about rotigotine specifically, I've never used it. I did however wean off another dopamine agonist. That did not leave me exhausted.

I don't know what dose you were on but the main difference between us is that I took nearly ten months, when you've taken two.

There is some opinion that you need to take at least three months.

So it may be that you weaned off too fast.

That still might not explain your exhaustion. Usually you'll get withdrawal effects from weaning off a dopamine agonist, one of the main ones is sleeplessness.

If you're suffering sleeplessness as a withdrawal effect, that may explain your exhaustion. However, if you are sleeping OK then it suggests something else is going on. Be aware though, that quality of sleep is affected by RLS, even if you've not noticed it

The other factor is that you don't mention if you've started taking something else to replace the rotigotine. If you haven't then it may be that your RLS has returned to how it was before you started using rotigotine. If you used the rotiogtine for some time it may even be worse. There is some opinion that long term use of a dopamine agonist can cause permanent damage.

Of coure, if you have started on a replacement, then depending on what it is, it may be that causing the exhaustion.

So the main questions are -

Are you experiencing sleepessness?

Are you experiencing other RLS symptoms?

Are you taking a replacement medication?

Depending on your answers your options may be

- Wait to see if sleeplessness and/or other withdrawal effects decline.

- Start on a non-dopaminergic replacement medicine such as pregabalin or gabapentin, (which promote sleep). These can cause drowsiness at first.

- If you're not suffering sleeplessness or RLS symptoms then your exhaustion may be coincidentally due to something else. in which case consult a doctor who might do blood tests for anaemia, thyroid, diabetes, viatamin B12 and vitamin D.

I hope this helps.

[sudokufan]

Hi Camry2020! I'm in the same situation as you - having just taken 2 months to finally (well I hope finally!!) wean myself off Rotigotine. I cut the patches down into smaller pieces and for the last few days was only using a fairly thin bit of a 1mg patch. I can't say the situation's leaving me exhausted, but I've started taking Pregabalin a few weeks ago so maybe that's carried me through the worst of withdrawal symptoms. Manerva's advice is really good - he knows a lot more than me! I just think we both deserve a medal coming off a dopamine agonist, it isn't easy, and best not to rush it. I would get your doctor's advice if you don't feel better in a day or two. Very best wishes for the future.

[NLaing]

I weaned myself off Rotigotine twice to have our 2 kids. I went from 2mg/24hr patch to 1mg/24 hr then off completely over the course of about a week. I had one really bad night with hardly any sleep but my legs did settle down a bit after a while. I was exhausted, but mainly just from lack of sleep I think more than anything. I was prescribed codeine instead, which definitely helped a bit, although I didn't ever sleep particularly well while off rotigotine. When I went back on it post breastfeeding it was heaven! I was up in the night frequently irrespective of being pregnant or having a young baby, which was especially tough!!