Pramipexole - shall I go cold Turkey?

[Theonlypetied]

I have been weaning myself off Pramipexole and am now down to 1/2 tablet each night. I am up to 150mg of Pregabalin. I’m ready to kick Pram into the bin where it belongs. Those of you who have stopped Pram, shall I go cold turkey now or do 1/4 tablet or one night on one night off? How did you do it please? Thank you!

[SueJohnson]

I sure wouldn't and there is no point in the one night on, one night off.

[Theonlypetied in reply to SueJohnson]

Do you mean you wouldn’t stop taking Pram totally at this point or you wouldn’t go to 1/4 tab? I won’t to one on and one off then!

[SueJohnson in reply to Theonlypetied]

I wouldn't stop taking it totally at this point.

[Theonlypetied in reply to SueJohnson]

Oh? Is that because the Pregab needs to be higher dose?

[SueJohnson in reply to Theonlypetied]

No - it is because you would suffer more.

[Joolsg]

I wouldn't do one night off. There's definitely split opinion on this one. Dr Buchfuhrer and Dr Winkelman prefer a long, slow withdrawal but DrEarley and the team at Johns Hopkins prefer a short 3 to 4 week withdrawal.I would listen to your body. If dropping 1/4 tablet has been tolerable, then.stick to that. However, if you suffer increased, unbearable RLS continually and it doesn't settle between drops, then it may be better to rip off the bandaid now.

It's usually the last drop that is the worst and the month after the last dose is the difficult bit.

[Theonlypetied in reply to Joolsg]

Thanks Joolsg. The RLS doesn’t seem too bad, it’s the night time PLMD that’s depriving me of sleep. Interestingly, the PLMD stops when I’m awake, even just sitting watching telly. 3 am onwards, I manage some sleep. Think I’d rather get it over and done with tbh as it’s all horrible.

[Joolsg in reply to Theonlypetied]

Totally understand. Sleep wherever and whenever you can during withdrawal. I found the only thing that really helped was smoking cannabis during the tough times. It gave me 30 mins sleep during that horrible first 5 days after the last pill.It's legal now in the UK. Hopefully you can source some.

[Theonlypetied in reply to Joolsg]

I do Kratom. Chase that dragon baby! No, just drink it as tea!

[Theonlypetied in reply to Joolsg]

I tried THC gummy bears and my RLS went off the charts!

[phantom388]

I have just done something very similar - my final dose level was 1/2 a .088 mcg tablet, at the same time taking 150mg of Pregablin, I dropped the 1/2 tablet and I have to say even though I upped my Pregablin to 300mg (after suggestions on this forum) it was a pretty bumpy ride for at least 1 week with quite severe RLS, and again as per suggestions I got some codeine and took two before bedtime, which helped. But I have to warn you your body doesn’t want to give up Prami! Anyway 2 weeks clear now of Prami and feel better for it, settled on 300mg of pregab. I will say however my mind is like a sieve and I am forgetting lots of little things, including turning cookers off, so not sure I am any better off as yet. I have been in Pregablin (started at 100mg) for 10 weeks, but not happy on the short term memory hassle

[Theonlypetied in reply to phantom388]

That’s a helpful post phantom388. Thank you.