Does anyone else "stagger" their pramipexole meds?

[Tpebop]

In the past I have taken pramipexole (4x0.088mg) at about 8pm and eventually get relief from RLS symptoms throughout the night. My GPs have refused to allow me the Neupro patch and when I tried the highest dose it made me fall asleep during the day. However I am finding it difficult to rest in the early evening, sitting down with the wife and family can be impossible. So now I take one or two tabs early on and the rest later. Is this a good idea? Do others do something similar? Best wishes, Tpebop, Kent, Britain.

[jumpylegs]

I think in our position of seeking relief from symptoms we do what works. You are staggering your meds but you are not increasing your meds, if it works for you, go for it.

I suffer from symptoms 24/7 and so take meds staggered over the 24 hour period, less in the morning and increasing at lunchtime, increasing a little more at 5pm and again at 9pm. Also a small dose at 3am.

Good luck.

[nightdancer]

Lots of people find that they have to stager the meds. If you don;t calm the RLS down in the evening you will most likely have a worse night. so, takin 1 or 2 around 7 is agood idea it seems for you. We all end up "tweaking" our meds to suit or schedue best. Why will he not give the patch to you to try? It is the same class of meds just a patch form that gives you meds 24 hrs a day.

[ffrwdwin]

I too stagger the meds. I take one midday, one early evening and two at night. It seems the secret is to try and stop the misery starting. Once it sets in it's much harder to control.

My doctor refused the patch on grounds of cost.

[Rish]

I use to take the same dose as you and I took 3 at 11:00 morning and then 3 at 9:00 before bed but then after 5 years they stopped working for me and now I use the neupro patch! It does work but I find if my back plays up I get the jiggy jiggy legs and I also have about 4 hrs sleep a night as my body is use to all these years of not much sleep so now I still can't sleep! Typical eh just can't win!!

[eileen49]

I stagger Ropinorole - I take half a 1 mg tablet at about 9pm and another half if I need it at about 3 am. Also I put on my eupro patches at about 6 pm. I do this with Ropinorole because I want to take as little as possible because they make me hyper the next day and I cant stop talking ! Do they have this effect on anyone else ?

[Hidden]

I also stagger the medication (pramipexole), taking one in mid afternoon and one before bedtime or around 8pm. If I don't take one in the afternoon I'm in big trouble! It seems like the symptoms have to be controlled before they start. At times I have forgotten to take the first one in mid afternoon. It can be hard to remember when the legs are calm! Anyhow, it backfires on me big time! Once it starts, it's really difficult to get under control again.

[sollie]

Hi to you all, I am new on this sight and I have never commented about anything to anyone yet, but, I read all your posts and the most surprising of them are the ones that are stating they are taking as many as 4 doses of (pramipexole) in 1 day, is this safe to do? I have been on this medication for 3 months now and at this moment it is working for me and I only take 1 tablet per day/night which is the recommended dose from my doctor, am I missing something here? or are you all taking a risk of overdosing?.

[Rish]

Hi when I use to be on 0.088mg pramipexole I use to take 4 at night then they stopped working so the doctor said I could take up to 6 a day but that was my limit , I should not have but when they stopped working and I had nothing else I did take more which I know I was not suppose to as it can damage parts of your body , but as I am sure like others you do anything when your tortured and want sleep!

I use the neupro patch now which is great but having RLS all these years has made me have a bit of insomnia

[Tpebop in reply to Rish]

Rish, thanks for the reply. You seem to have been in a similar situation to me. My fear is that I will have to increase the dose eventually. My experience of the Neupro patch was not good but I think I misunderstood the way it works... What dosage are you on that successfully treats the degree of RLS you suffer from? 1, 2 or 3mg/24 hours? If it is low I might ask my GP if I could try it again. Also how long did you have to use it before it worked as well as the pramipexole? Is it days, weeks? Kind regards, Tpebop.

[Rish]

Hi Tpebop I am on 2mg 24h neupro patch my doctor tried me on 1mg but it did not work so we tried 2mg and it works fine I take nothing else only the neupro patch! I change it at 12:30 every day at dinner time so it is sorted for night time, the only time it does not work for me is if I have back pain from doing to much at work!

The 2mg worked right away for me I also leave my old patch on for another 2hrs before taking it off and the best place it works for me is the top of my arms as the other places I tried did not work as good and I also put a plaster over to keep it on

All I have now is insomnia but I don't get the jiggly jiggly legs fingers crossed it will work for you Rish

[sollie]

Hi Romany,

I apologise for not responding to the answers on my question 16th Oct refering to the daily dosage of pramipexole, I take 0.088g which is what is prescribed, and whilst I agree somewhat with people takiing more when in pain I am also very wary of the damage drugs of any kind can do if taken over the prescribed dose, I was also told by a friend that her mother puts magnesium spray on her legs and rubs it in and it works wonders, has anyone else tried this?

[LoisTonya]

Yes, I do the same