Pregabalin/ropinirole

[SilverEvie]

Hello there i haven't posted for a long time on this forum but I do read and keep an interest in other people's posts/views. I find it helps, sadly, knowing that other people are also experiencing what you are going through.

so Ii have been taking Ropinirole for 18+ years. Drs decided I needed to get off it and have supported me to a degree. I had my ferritin levels checked and i think they were acceptable. So I started my journey on Pregabalin quite some months ago and have gradually increased the dose. I now take 2 x 50 mg in the morning and 3 x 50 mg when I go to bed. I am still taking daily 2 x 0.5 mg of Ropinirole at 4.30pm. On bad days I take ropinirole through the day. These are not too frequent at the moment, thank god. If I take more I am off my face and certainly can't drive or function as a normal human being.

So Ropinirole gives me terrible comulsive bahaviour which I daily have to fight but Pregabalin has made me put so much weight on which I really hate and cant afford to as overweight already.

I am getting to the stage where I think "sod it" lets just stay with Ropinirole whereby some days I am only having to take 2 tablets and do away with the Pregablin - is this wise/would it matter. Please help/advise me as i dont know what to do - I am so desperaely unhappy as to how I look it is affecting me and my marriage. My poor husband is so supportive he doesnt deserve all the s**t i throw his way!

[SueJohnson]

What was your ferritin? Doctors will say they are normal, but what is normal for others is not normal for those of us with RLS. If you were not told, ask your doctor. You might want to try switching to gabapentin. Although they are basically the same drug except you need to divide the doses, and the side effects are basically the same, some people find that the side effects that bother them on one don't bother them on the other. Multiply the pregabalin amount by 6 to get the correct dose. Since taking more than 600 mg at a time reduces its effectiveness, take 600 mg 1 to 2 hours before you go to bed and 300 mg 4 hours before you go to bed. If you still find you are gaining weight and decide to come off it reduce it very slowly to avoid withdrawal effects. If you do so, you won't have any. If you can live with the compulsive behavior and you were not augmenting on the ropinirole, than there is no reason not to stay on it. The signs of augmentation are when you have to keep increasing your dose to get relief, or when your symptoms occur earlier in the day or there is a shorter period of rest or inactivity before symptoms start or when they move to other parts of your body (arms, trunk or face) or when the intensity of your symptoms worsen. However if you were augmenting, you will need to come off it. To come off ropinirole, reduce by .25 mg every 2 weeks or so. You will have increased symptoms. You may need to reduce more slowly or with a smaller amount. Wait until the increased symptoms from each reduction has settled before going to the next one. You will suffer and may need a low dose opioid temporarily to help out with the symptoms especially as you near the end. In fact if gabapentin does not work for you, then you will probably want to stay on a low dose opioid to control your symptoms.

[PWMoo]

Although some say SSRIs may contribute to RLS, I was on Zoloft for years, and it is often prescribed for OCD, if that's something you might consider.

I took Gabapentin for years for another neurological issue and had terrible concentration issues while studying for a teaching credential. Then read about it possibly interfering with formation of new brain cells, especially in older folk. Will not take it again.