Suffolk or Ropinorole

[Crazy1921]

Sifrol or Ropinorole

6 months ago moved back.to UK from France. Dr in France gave me Sifrol for RLS. It worked really well. He managed to get me enough to see me through until l could see my Dr here but they have given me Ropinorole which doesn't seem to work so well. I am back to walking the floor nearly all night, l cannot sit down during the evening and even during the day my legs twitch. Any suggestions please?

[macewan13]

Hello,I live in France. The English equivalent for Sifrol is Pramipexole I have tried both Sifrol and Ropinirole and couldn’t handle the latter at all (sickness, nausea and fainting). I now take the Neupro patch (Rotigotine) and a100mg Tramadol, (slow release). I have found this works better than either Sifrol or Ropinirole.

Hope this helps.

[m1946]

NICE recommend not to take Ropinirole! So you should ask the question why has your Dr prescribed Ropinirole?

[Joolsg]

Sifrol is Pramipexole in Europe. Both Ropinirole and Sifrol cause augmentation eventually.You're in so ask your GP to prescribe the same dose of sifrol you were taking in France.

However, do then consider very slowly reducing as these drugs are miraculous at first then they increase (augment) the RLS dramatically until you can't sit still day or night.

Make sure you get bloods taken and that your serum ferritin is above 100. That will help reduce augmentation symptoms.

These drugs are no longer first line treatment because of the hundreds of thousands starting to suffer augmentation of RLS. Withdrawal is brutal.

Pregabalin is now the preferred drug to treat RLS.

[SueJohnson]

You might ask your doctor to prescribe Rotinogine transdermal (aka Neupro).

It is also a dopamine antagonist like ropinirole and Pramipexole but is much less likely to cause augmentation and is therefore also easier to come off of, which as Joolsg mentioned you definitely should do. I would suggest gabapentin rather than pregabalin because you can increase it by smaller doses (100 mg). Once you find out what dose works you can switch to pregabalin if you want (they are basically the same except at higher doses of gabapentin, you don't need to divide the dose of pregabalin but can just take one dose - divide the gabapentin dose by 6 to get the pregabalin dose). I would start it at least 3 weeks before you are off Neupro since it takes at least 3 weeks to be effective, although it won't help much until you are off Neupro. Beginning dose is usually 300 mg gabapentin (75 mg pregabalin) or 100 mg gabapentin (50 mg pregabalin) if you are over the age of 65. Once you are off Neupro increase by 100 mg every few days until you find the dose that controls your symptoms. Take it 1-2 hours before bedtime. If you need more than 600 mg take the extra 4 hours before bedtime as it is not as well absorbed above 600 mg. If you need more than 1200 mg, take the extra 6 hours before bedtime. Typical effective doses are 1200-1800 mg. Most of the side effects of gabapentin or pregabalin will disappear after a few weeks and the few that don't will lessen. According to the Mayo Clinic report: "Most RLS patients require 1200 to 1800 mg of gabapentin daily" I also suggest you check out the Mayo Clinic updated guidance on RLS which will tell you everything you want to know at

Https://mayoclinicproceedings.org/a...

[Rwall]

My doctor in the U.S. has given me low dose Xanax, which has been a life saver for those sleepless nights of endless twitching. I don't know what I'd do without it.

[involuntarydancer]

Joolsg has given excellent advice. It is what any knowledgeable RLS expert would recommend.