Are Roprinrole patches available in the uk? Has anyone tried them?

[Scottie99]

[Hidden]

I have not heard of Ropinerole patches... Have you heard of them from somewhere...??

[insomnia2 in reply to Hidden]

I haven't heard of Ropinerole patches but I take Ropinerole in tablet form and as long as I remember to take them, I have little or no problem, only when I'm at the exhausted stage!

[Hidden]

do you mean the rotigotine patch, as in the neupro 24 hour patch, if you do thats been available here for ages

[Tpebop]

Perhaps Nightdancer or another of our friends from the Colonies can help. I think a high dosage ropinerole patch, used primarily for treating Parkinson's Disease, is used by RLS sufferers in the US. This was discussed a few weeks ago somewhere on this site. I think one or two individuals had used them in the UK... The American website RLS-help will have more details I suspect. Regards, Tpebop, Kent, Britain.

[nightdancer in reply to Tpebop]

There is no Ropinerole patch on this side of the pond in the colonies, and on your side of the pond. It is Rotigotine, not Ropinerole, in patch form. Rotigotine is Neupro, the brand name of the only patch approved for RLS/Parkinson's Disesase. Ropinierole is Requip in the US,a nd Pramipexole is Mirapex in the US. Those are in pill form. Will keep on posting this web site for looking up RLS meds and meds in general. rxlist.com is the most detailed site, and rlshelp.org is the nest RLS web site, by far. And, don't forget about your RLS-UK web site for issues that directly affect people in the UK with RLS. The US web sites have way more details about RLS and treatment, but if you need to know something about the UK in particlular, check with someone here. There are 500 UKer's here, so someone will have an answer. And, 3 of us are from the US, I believe. Me and Yikes and I think, another one was wandering around here last night.

[insomnia2 in reply to Tpebop]

I must be one of the individuals you mentioned! I take Ropinerole in tablet form and find them a great help. Nausea at first but that soon went.

[Hidden]

i have used the neupro patch, and it is Rotigotine, not ropinerole, thats a different med and comes in pill form, and is available here, has been for years, the patch has been back in use in the US just recently as it had to be reformulated for use over there, people where not storing it in their fridge, as you have to, so thats why they reformulated it, and im in the UK

[Hidden]

ive also used ropinerole,

and it is definately in pill form not a patch Tpebop, the names ropinerole and rotigotine are very similar though dont you think

[nightdancer in reply to Hidden]

Yep, I think the meds are getting mixed up here, because they are both hard to spell and begin with R. Ellise and Niah, BOTH know a lot abot the meds that are used. I have known them for years and years.

[Hidden]

I belong to one of nightdancers support groups, and i look on the RLS Foundation site, there isnt a Ropinerole Patch, i would have heard of it by now from one of those places.

So, as Jean as said, it it probably the Neupro Patch ( Rotigotine) that Scottie99 is thinking of.

It has only been back to approval for use in the USA since July, the FDA, pulled it off the market as they wanted it reformulated so it didnt need to be kept in the fridge. If it isnt kept refridgerated the patch forms crystals and causes the patch to not work properly. The patch here has been approved to use for RLS for some two years now...and still needs to be kept in the fridge..

[Hidden]

I also belong to Nightdancers support group.

[Scottie99]

Please excuse my ignorance on RLS treatment . I have just recently found this site.

I have suffered from rls for years, but the symptoms have increased dramatically in the last 3 years.

Initially I was prescribed 1mg Roprinrole which soon has to be doubled. I find that 2mg is now much less effective and I am desperate for some alternative to increasing the dose again. My spasms are becoming almost constant. A good nights sleep in when I can manage over 3 hours.

ANY advice would be appreciated.

[Hidden in reply to Scottie99]

we are all learning Scottie 99, i just wish we did'nt have to

[Hidden in reply to Scottie99]

have you spoken to your doctor about trying the neupro patch Scottie, may be worth a try, i got awfull augmentation with the Ropinerole

[Hidden]

No worries Scottie99, we all have to learn about treatments for RLS. Unfortunately that is what happens when taking the dopamine agonists which are Ropinerole, Pramipexole and the Neupro Patch, they eventually stop working over time... You could ask your doctor for one of those i have mentioned or there are other medications which can be used for RLS. For the most its trial and error finding one that suits.

I take it you are in the the UK, so go to the NHS Choices website, it gives what treatment can be used for RLS in this country. Also the website rlshelp.org is a good place to look at, the treatment page gives what medications should be avoided when having RLS. and some foods and drink can for some make RLS worse...

Hope thats all helpful for you..

[nightdancer]

The patch goes for 24 hrs, so you have medication going into you all the time. Much less chance for augmentation.

[Scottie99]

Is the Neupro patch available in the UK?

[Hidden]

Yes....it is...

[Hidden]

yes..thats why i said you should ask the doctor about it ....

[Scottie99 in reply to Hidden]

niah, apologies, I did not realise you were in the UK.

I am just debating if I should ask my GP for the patches as she was unfamiliar with RLS .

I to go privately to a Neurosurgeon to get Ropninerole prescribed. I just wonder if I would have to go back to him

[Scottie99 in reply to Hidden]

niah, apologies, I did not realise you were in the UK.

I am just debating if I should ask my GP for the patches as she was unfamiliar with RLS .

I to go privately to a Neurosurgeon to get Ropninerole prescribed. I just wonder if I would have to go back to him

[Hidden in reply to Scottie99]

hi Scottie, i would ask your gp first, see if they are willing to let you try them

[Scottie99]

Noah,

Was strength of patches did you use? Did you have to increase the dose?

Did you have any augmentation at all!

Are you still using them

[bvlgari]

Hi Scottie99 Just wondering if you have tried the patches yet. I am thinking of trying them and coming of the ropinerole.

[Scottie99]

I asked my GP if I could switch to the patches , but she was reluctant to do this (I think because of the costs). To be honest, whilst she is sympathetic , I think I know more about the condition than she does.

I have arranged an appointment with a neurologist (privately ) in 2 weeks time to discuss the situation .

My GP gave me Tramadol , which I requested and they have helped quite a bit.

[Hidden]

I was put onto 3mg Rotigotine patches in March, following my annual check-up with a hospital consultant here in the UK (I don't think that GPs, who know little about this debilitating condition, are in a position to prescribe the patches independently). Up until this time I was taking 4mg Ropinirole tabs, but they were only effective for about 3-4 hours during the night, and when taken early evening just knocked me out cold. The patches have been brilliant on the whole, but there are odd nights (generally at weekends when I'm more relaxed) when they are not enough, and my GP says it's OK to supplement the patch with a 1mg Ropinirole tab, and this does the trick. Does anyone else find that the more relaxed or tired you are, that's when RLS bites your bum? Whereas if I've had a moderately physical day there's no problem. Either way, I couldn't go back to tabs - the patches have made life bearable again.