Methadone pramipexole taper

[tagaxel]

I’m going up to 5 mg of methadone tonight. Eventually I will resume my pramipexole taper. Do you think 5 mg of methadone is high enough to stop the withdrawal syndrome (DAWS)?

[Madlegs1]

My own feeling would be to take as much as is needed(within reason) to be effective.

Short term use would be ok.

Good luck.

[Joolsg]

Difficult to say. Some people escape the worst withdrawal symptoms by using methadone or Buprenorphine.But you should definitely start the reduction of Pramipexole now.

I know one person who took Buprenorphine with Pramipexole and it stopped all the augmentation immediately. So they increased Buprenorphine BUT stayed on Pramipexole! Of course it soon broke through and then they had to go through the brutal withdrawal.

So start reducing Pramipexole now.

[tagaxel in reply to Joolsg]

I have been micro tapering from pramipexole for almost 3 years but got down to a dose where withdrawal started to set in that's why I went to methadone a week ago. I'm just hoping that I don't have to take too much because at 5 mg of methadone I feel really crummy.

[707twitcher]

I'm not sure the methadone will do much for DAWS, but it should help a lot with RLS symptoms, enabling you to taper more easily. For me, the DAWS was bad for a month or two, then started getting better gradually. But buprenorphine enabled me to wean off pramipexole fairly quickly with the RLS being completely under control.

[Kejimkujik]

I went with withdrawal off pramipexole with buprenorphine. I tried gabapentin route but found the side effects were too much. You need to get off pramipexole and if micro dosing down over three years you could be off it with the methadone controlling the RLS. I do not think the use of methadone or buprenorphine and believe it is not intended to address DAWS. I am struggling with daily anxiety and depression now. It is easing as just had some days without, and hoping to keep using non-medicinal approaches to deal with this. At least the RLS is controlled so I sleep better and can function through the day without RLS kicking in. Not everyone gets DAWS so maybe you will be lucky and finish getting off premipexole and healing without getting this. Good luck

[Purpleyam]

Hello Tagaxel, my thoughts are that you fear the effects of DAWS and may be stuck because of it. I tapered the last of my Pramipexole rather quickly to get it over and done. It was only 2 weeks of withdrawals and I experienced improvement immediately from daytime augmentation. I was also withdrawing from Pregabalin at the same time! So go for it, you have the support of methadone. You'll be relieved afterwards and proud of taking charge!

[grandma_of_7]

I loved methadone. My dr started me at 7.5mgs. I ended up at 12.5

[tagaxel in reply to grandma_of_7]

Was the methadone used to prevent DAWS or to treat your RLS?