Ropinirole and augmentation

[Shakespeare1564]

I read that a study had found that 70% of Ropinirole users suffered augmentation. Could someone tell me the name of this research?

[oldfidgetlegs]

Sorry, I don't know - I took Ropinirole for a couple of years, gradually increasing the dose as it lost effectiveness, but when I read so much about augmentation I decided to wean myself off it gradually by cutting tiny bits off the pills and taking a decreasing dose over several weeks which was difficult and I had to stiffen my resolve. Now off it completely, on Pregabalin (max dose) but not finding it effective. I manage between 2 and 4 hours sleep a night, then occasionally an 8 hour catch-up sleep, but feeling more or less abandoned by the medical profession. I do hope you can find what you're looking for and that you have a sympathetic GP who at least has an interest in RLS and how life-diminishing it is. At our time of life we deserve to have some quality to the time we have left. Best wishes my friend.

[SueJohnson in reply to oldfidgetlegs]

You may already know this, but On the pregabalin, beginning dose is usually 75 mg. You should have started it 3 weeks before you were off ropinirole although it won't be fully effective until you are off it for several weeks. After that increase it by 25 mg every couple of days until you find the dose that works for you. Take it 1-2 hours before bedtime. According to the Mayo Clinic Updated Algorithm on RLS: "Most RLS patients require 200 to 300 mg of gabapentin daily." If you take magnesium take it at least 3 hours before taking pregabalin as it will interfere with the absorption of the gabapentin.

[Shakespeare1564 in reply to SueJohnson]

Thank you

[restlessstoz in reply to SueJohnson]

Hi Sue, did you mean pregabalin in your reply to Oldfidgetlegs? You mentioned Pregabalin and then gabapentin?

[SueJohnson in reply to restlessstoz]

Whoops - yes I meant pregabalin.

[oldfidgetlegs]

I should have added, try doing a search on this site for 'Ropinirole Research'

[Shakespeare1564 in reply to oldfidgetlegs]

Thanks very much, best wishes to you.

[restlessstoz]

I don't know if there was an actual study as such Jules might know... however, the facts are that if you are on a DA (Dopamine Agonist) such as Ropinirole, a high proportion of people will augment over a period of time. For many, it's a decade or more, for others it's less. Once you've augmented on one DA, you will almost certainly augment on the others in a short time.

If you look up the posts here on augmentation, you will find that there are endless stories of hell that people have gone through on DAs and trying to get off them. It's far better to follow the current treatment plans and start on either gabapentin or pregabalin and avoid the damage that augmenting can do. Most on this forum came here because of augmenting on DAs... and that's a lot of people.

[Shakespeare1564]

Thank you, that is very informative