Final ropinirole drop.

[RLSAndy]

Hey guys, i haven’t posted for a while my RLS was not to bad while dropping from 4mg to now at .25 along side 450 pregabalin and 60mg codeine when needed.

In the last few weeks my symptoms have got terrible with 6-3 hours sleep.

Ive had my initial app at the Babrbery Birmingham and awaiting bloods and a sleep watch study but need to do something as i dont know when my next app will be.

Just looking for educated guesses or just some support on what to do now at .25 would you drop it out completely and suck it up until its out my system or break them in half and go down smaller as life is busy, im opening a restaurant and need to sleep obviously.

im praying that once im clear the pregabalin will do its thing and i should level out a bit.

[LotteM]

Slow down! You need your sleep more than stopping the ropinirole completely now. If it helps, even up the ropinirole a little, by half or a whole 0.25mg tablet. The rule of thumb is to reduce by a certain amount every two weeks. BUT, to make it more bearable, it is also important to wait for symptoms to settle before you do your next reduction. That part is sometime too easily overlooked in the drive to get rid of the ropinirole in your case.

You have already done a terrific job to reduce from 4 mg to now 0.25mg. As the last parts are the hardest, it is best to wait for proper support. Get your bloods done for iron (and maybe check for other deficiencies), check your other meds (if any) for potentially worsening ones, get the sleep study done, and then discuss with your doctor what you need to reduce further. You may need something stronger than codiene, at least temporarily, during the last reductions of the ropinirole and, after that, until your symptoms settle.

Good luck with all this and also with the restaurant. Exciting and demanding times, I assume. You need some proper sleep.

[RLSAndy in reply to LotteM]

Hey thanks for the reply. Ive had iron results done and they are good. Ive done the taper over about 7 months so not to fast apart from the first drop until i came on here. My symptoms since .5 to .25 have got worse over time the last drop was about 5 weeks ago and atm are the worst they have ever been hence me wanting to just finish on this horrible med.

[SueJohnson in reply to RLSAndy]

If you dropped directly from .5 to .25 that is too fast. I agree with LotteM. Go back up to an amount you can stand and let your symptoms settle before reducing again. As she says the last reductions are the hardest. You can get an inexpensive jewelry scale on Amazon ($11 in the US) that measures down to .01 gram and shave off a bit of the tablet and measure it. Then reduce by that amount every 2 weeks. Ask for a stronger opioid temporarily to help. Emphasize temporary to get your doctor to agree.

I would recommend buprenorphine or methadone as they are long lasting. Most of the others last only 4 to 6 hours and need to be taken that often or you will have mini withdrawals. If you are prescribed one of the others be sure you are given enough to take them that often.

You are on the normal maximum amount of pregabalin although you can take up to 600 mg. After you are off ropinirole for awhile and the pregabalin kicks in to control your symptoms, you should try to reduce it to see if you can still have control of your symptoms at a lower amount. According to the Mayo Clinic Updated Algorithm on RLS: "Most RLS patients require 200 mg to 300 mg of pregabalin."

To reduce it ask for 25 mg tablets and reduce by 25 mg every 2 weeks to avoid withdrawal symptoms.

[RLSAndy in reply to SueJohnson]

My problem is I was the same at .5 for months so dont really want to go up to come down again. No Dr will give me opioids im getting them from a friend.

[SueJohnson in reply to RLSAndy]

You don't need to go all the way up to .5 mg. - just enough to get your symptoms under control.