Has anyone takend a drug holiday with a dopamine agonists and then gone back to using it or another dopamine agaonist?

[Stephenr]

[Stephenr]

I qks thismquestion because i have discovered that praximepole no longer works due to augmentation after 6-7 years. I stopped taking it 2 months ago (i was taking .5mg daily) and the withdrawal has benn hell. For the withdrawal I use Tramadol (2-3 50 mg per nite)

I wonder if anyone stopped one dopamine agaonist,when,augmentation set in and when back to the other after a few months (ropinerole to praximepole or praximepole to ropinerole)?

[nightdancer in reply to Stephenr]

That is how it is supposed to work, a drug holiday that is. You kind of "reset" the original med, by not taking it for a couple months, makes it work beter agian when you start it back up. A" drug holiday".

[Hidden]

yes, ive heard of this before, and it works for some people, thankfully ive not been in the position to have to try it yet, and fingers crossed i wont need to !!!

[Stephenr]

Hello and thank u for your quick reply! May i ask how long you were taking the dopamine agonist before you stopped for a drug holiday? Also how long was your holiday? And did you go back to the same drug?

[Hidden]

i said i hadnt Stephen, but im sure you will hear from someone soon that has done this, but you have to remember, we al react differently to our meds, what works for one doesnt allways work for the other

[Hidden]

Hi one of my friends on this site takes ropinerole same as myself. I have never taken a drug

holiday as Im to scared but she does every year for a week and goes through hell, but when she starts the ropinerole again, after the week off, its works fine. I really need to do this myself so lets know how you get on. x

[Hidden]

I havent tried it yet, but i do switch between the Neupro Patch and Pramipexole, not because of augmentation but because of side effects. i have a low tolerance to RLS meds.

Having said that, i do know that people do drug holidays with success. Someone i know from another support group has just done this recently. They stopped the Pramipexole for 2 weeks, using a strong pain killer to try to get through the lack of dopamine. Then gone back to the Pramipexole, and at a lower dose. So, its like anything else, its a matter of trying it and seeing if it works for you...

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Did they resort to taking the strong pain killer full time now?

It happened to me. I was given a taste of the narcotic and

sleep like I was dead... stopping the narcotic made the RLS

even worse than it was before. I'm hooked to sleep but my

doctor refuses to provide enough to go month to month without

any troubles. He prescribed occasional Vicodin. Nights without

it make me cry. Seems that I don't get one minute past 6pm and

the legs go nuts.

[Stephenr]

Thank you for your answers. The sleep specialist who chairs rlshelp.org argues that once dopamine agonists stop working it is best to switch to another class of drugs e.g. Anti-cconvulsants, benzos or opiates. He suggests never to go back to dopamine agonists as augmentation will return again

So i will try the drug holiday as I have been off dopamine for 2 months while using Tramadol and life without dopamine agonists has been miserable.

One horrible side affect after discontinuation of the dopamine was the extreme depression, panic attacks and suicidal thoughts. If dopamine is fed to your brain over a number of years and then you stop cold turkey depression sets in.

[Hidden]

Yes, i have seen Dr.B say that aswell, and he is right, even after the drug holiday, you will get augmentation again after a while. But if you have used up all the other options or cant take any of the other options, then its worth doing the drug holiday. The ones that do drug holidays, do them once a year before the augmentation gets hold. Its as always different for everyone.

Yes, getting off the dopamine can be a nightmare, some do manage to stop without to many problems. As Dr.B, says, when stopping the dopamine, your dopamine receptors go nuts because they dont like the dopamine being taken away.

Good luck with the drug holiday, hope it works for you when returning back to the Pramipexole. start back with the lowest dose at first, it might or might not work at that dose, but you can increase slowly til you are at the dose that works.

[Hidden]

I'm on a forced break with last night being the first night of going

from 4 to zero. It's morning. My legs did okay all night. Right now

they are doing horrible. They are jumping around, running, and

very uncomfortable.

What happened to me is that my doctor prescribed a max of 3

and told me that I could occasionally up the dose to 4 or 5.

I took 4 or 5 every night so I ran out of prescription. I went

to the pharmacy and they told me that I have to wait until

Monday.

I'm not worse without it. I'm not better by any means. I might just

quit taking it.

[m1946]

Hi Stephenr

i have just embarked on such an exercise two days ago. The first night i suffered RLS from around 12.30am. It was bad and because i need my sleep!!! I took a 50mg Tramadol at about 1.30am which kicked in at about 2.30am. I woke up at 7.30am and was able to have a full energetic day (I am 67). I decided to stop my Ropinirole prescription of 1mg per day (after nearly 3 months to see if a break would great again an effective Ropinirole prescription. The 50mg Tramadol works wonders but is not recommended for the long term. I am contemplating a break for ten days. We will wait and see!!!