Is Ropineeole making me nod off?

[Scottie99]

After a recent visit to my Neurologist, he has increased my dose of Ropinerole to 3mg per day.

It seems to be working, but I find most evenings while watching tv, I am constantly nodding off. Could the drug be causing this ?

[ffrwdwin]

It is known that Ropinirole causes sleepiness. I have been on this drug for 7 years (3 mg). I try to lessen the effect by taking 1 mg during the day and 2 mg later. It's infuriating to keep dropping off but the alternative of RLS is much worse.

[arwyn]

Hi, i have just come off Ropinirole and it most certainly was making me fall asleep in the evening. I was on 2mg three times a day but when the condition was really bad i would take up to 6mg in early evening. At times this would make me hallucinate which was quite frightening. I now find that the Gaba works well and i do not fall asleep in the evenings.

[barried in reply to arwyn]

Hi Arwyn, just wondered what 'Gaba' is. Many Members have not been signed up for very long so may have missed any explanation which may have been given in an earlier post. Thanks.

[arwyn in reply to barried]

Hi. Barried

I was on ropinirole but the condition was getting so bad that i went back to my GP asking him to let me try Gabapeptin which i had for shingles some months previously. It was at that time that I read that Gaba is also used for treatment of rls which in my case is acute. My GP had not heard about gabapeptin but his research confirmed that it can help and i was prescribed 300mgthree times a day. I have been on the drug now for three weeks and the rls has almost totally gone and thank God i am sleeping well after years of bad nights. I am told by my GP that my dose is quite low and that he was amazed of the results after only three weeks. He told mr that he is going to tell his panel of doctors how good Gaba is for rls but ad he says it may not work on everyone. He is a sufferer of rls !! I hope that this helps you. Be warned that i did have. Bad dreams at the initial stage and also very suddenly dropping off to sleep. Good luck .

[barried in reply to arwyn]

Hi Arwyn

Thanks for the above explanation of 'Gaba'. Luckily the first medicine I tried was Tramadol, 150 mg two times a day and after three years it is still keeping my RLS at bay. If I miss one of the Tramadol I soon know about it and I will have about two hours of RLS before the next tablet takes effect, I have only forgotten twice in the three years. I also take an arthritis tablet once a day so my RLS may also be benefiting from this. I just have to hope that this medication of Tramadol and ART50 individually or as a combination continue to arrest the RLS in the years to come. It is frightening to be continually reading that many RLS sufferers have to be changing their medication on an ongoing basis. At the moment I am very lucky!

[arwyn]

Hi Tallula,

That is the strange thing about rls as some medication works for certain people whilst for others it appears not to. I have read on this site that certain people have been on Gaga for years and it still remains effective. The merry-go-round for me was loss of sleep which seemed to feed the rls which then fed more loss of sleep. I am sleeping very well now after years of bad nights. I pray that this medication continues to work and that one day soon there will be a drug that is effective on all sufferers.

[Pete-1]

Feeling sleepy is quite likely to be due to Ropinirole. This is a drug of the type Dopamine agonist. I take Pramipexole which is of the same type. Both these are also used in (generally) stronger doses to treat Parkinson's Disease and both may be used with RLS. When I first took Pramipexole I found myself feeling sleepy. After a few days the dopeyness diminished. But with each new increase in dose I would start feeling sleepy again.

So what I'm trying to say is that the dopey feeling should be less of a problem after you have got used to it.

I take Pramipexole primarily for PD but if I stop taking it I start with RLS symptoms.

[edwina4]

It does make me nod off and I have actually fallen because of it. My son said it also makes him feel sleepy too.