Pregabelin & Mirapex?

[RestlessC]

Oh my! I just had a telephone appointment with a sleep doctor I had seen a number of times prior to the pandemic. I was telling him about finding out about the Mayo Clinic algorithm and wanting to get off Mirapex because of augmentation. His first question was "Tell me what you mean by augmentation"!! I started telling him about all the horror stories I'd read here about getting off Mirapex, which he didn't think was really necessary, and that I had gone from 1.5 mg. which was way over the recommended max. (no reaction on his part) down to .625 and was planning on tuning in with gabapentin and perhaps a little tramadol once I got down to .125 mg. We discussed the gabapentin, since I was aware that weight gain and sleep apnea were concerns for someone like me, as well as neuropathy or leg issues due to the stenosis I have. He was more concerned about constipation, which I know is a problem, but one that I'm thinking could probably be a little easier to deal with, from what I've read here, I think? Anyway, he thought that I should start taking pregabelin with the mirapex now, rather than waiting. Is that a safe thing to do? I'm not really sure I even trust his expert opinion. He wanted me to start with 75 mg. before bed for a month, then 100 for a month and then 125 for a month (if necessary). Does this sound like a reasonable plan? I told him about how bad it was supposed to get at the end, and he sort of said that it shouldn't be that bad! He'd had a number of patients that had done it ... My plan had been to ask him to sort of supervise my journey, since I know you're supposed to be doing it under the supervision of a healthcare provider, but I'm not sure it would be much in the way of supervision or assistance. I hay have to rely on the EARLS experts! I asked about checking in with him again in about 3 months, and he said to phone the office now and ask for the next available appointment (which I gathered would be about 3 months from now). So, doesn't sound like he'd be too available for me. Didn't want to prescribe tramadol. He did however say to keep taking iron, eventhough I told him my iron was fine, to use TENS machine, stay away from smoking and alcohol and caffeine. Did tune out for awhile, saying he was reading something (hopefully the Mayo Clinic update)!

[SueJohnson]

You can start the pregabalin now and increase as he suggested. It's safe. And no problem to keep taking the iron. Unbelievable or actually not, how little he knows. As you get down on the mirapex and your symptoms get worse, you can ask him for the tramadol again and tell him at that time how much you are suffering.