Coming out of a very very long dark tunnel.

[HipHop1972]

Those of you who have the patience to read my sometimes rambling posts will know that I was taking 6mg of Ropinirole a day and had been taking it for quite some time with Neupro patches before that anyway I finally went private to see a terrific Doctor Jose Thomas at the Spire Hospital in Cardiff who prescribed Pregabalin instead of the Ropinirole that I was suffering terribly with Augmentation and therefore had been slowly withdrawing from since 23 October 2022. I think I’ve got my GP on board now as he is following Doctor Jose Thomas’s recommendations re change of medication and referral to a sleep clinic yet to receive an appointment.

I got down to half a milligram of Ropinirole and decided to stop taking it and just go cold turkey that was 5 days ago and the first 3 days / nights were horrendous with sleep deprivation at a level whereby I couldn’t spell my name.. Anyway I got through the worst of it by taking Solpadeine MAX not overdosing but keeping within reasonable limits and very long hot showers, can’t sit in a Bath, have to be on my feet. My GP prescribed 25mg Prograbalin and to increase by a further 25mg every 7 days up to 100 mg when I’m to see him again for a review. I know that the usual starting dose for Prograbaline is 75mg and as it takes about 3 weeks for it to start to work I took it upon myself to increase my dosage every couple of days and am now on 100mg and as of last night I felt as if things were improving. I have a follow up appointment with my GP on Monday 13th November, ( glad it wasn’t Friday the 13th🤣) so will let you know how I get on and what he says about increasing dosage so quickly. I will also be interested to hear any reaction from the practice to the file I put together on RLS and Augmentation. That feedback could be very telling.

my very best wishes to you all

HipHop1972

[Joolsg]

I am so delighted for you. You are through the worst of it and things will definitely start to settle from now on.Well done for getting through withdrawal.

I wish you plenty of good night's sleep and RLS free days.

[HipHop1972 in reply to Joolsg]

Ah bless you Joolsg and thank you for your support and all the others who supported me on the hardest journey of my life. I notice the time you replied to me and hope you managed to to get some sleep.

Best wishes. HipHop1972

[Joolsg in reply to HipHop1972]

I have Covid so blocked nose kept me awake. I slept well though from 2 until 10.30 this morning. Vick's rub and steaming helped.I wish you many good night's sleep.

[HipHop1972 in reply to Joolsg]

Oh, poor you hope it goes soon. What a good chap Vick is, always there with a vapour rub 🤣. Take great care of yourself Joolsg, Covid can be horrible.

Best wishes HipHop1972, or possibly now a Cha Cha Cha 🕺🏻

[Huntingleroy]

Good luck ,like you I was on 6mgs Ropinirole and have just weaned off it , boy it was tough ! Days are good now , just need to sort nights out but loads better. Like u i was having 3 baths a night . Going to see private guy soon for help with withdrawal

[HipHop1972 in reply to Huntingleroy]

Good morning Huntingleroy, thanks for your reply and yes we get through a lot of hot water but it certainly helps. Hell and withdrawal go together like two pieces of a puzzle so I guess I’m just going to have to try and be good to ensure I don’t go there when the time comes 🤣🤣. I hope you get the help you need. You won’t believe how long it’s taken me to write this reply nodding of and blurred vision. Anyway take care.

Kind wishes HipHop1972

[Munroist]

That’s great news. I wouldn’t worry about increasing the pregabalin the way you have done. The increases are very small and you are being careful and giving yourself enough time to feel the effects. It’s very easy to adjust back down again if you do feel you have gone too high.

[HipHop1972 in reply to Munroist]

Hi Munroist, thanks for your encouraging reply and I will play it by ear, until my GP takes my ears away. 🤣🤣 Beach boys, fun till her daddy takes the T Bird away. A very tenuous link but maybe a terrible sense of humour is an unfortunate side effect 🏄

[Munroist in reply to HipHop1972]

Any sense of humour is better than none at this stage!