jma
22 posts
Oct 14, 2007
8:48 PM
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Have to get off Mirapex due to excessive weight gain and edema. I am planning to replace with an equivalent doesage of Requip but am very worried about how my body will react. Has anybody made the switch this way? I have been on Mirapex for almost 6 years taking 1.5 mg. 3 x daily.
thanks,
jma
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pdkate
52 posts
Oct 15, 2007
7:30 PM
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Jma, I was taking Mirapex three times a day for about four months and was taken off of it about one month ago. For three days it was pretty rough. I felt like I was going thru withdrawal but after three days I felt alot better.
My foot was really dragging and hurt and now it seems to be better. It really helped me by going off Mirapex but everyone is different. It seems like once you get something under control the next thing you know something else is going on and different medicine is used. I think that is one of the hardest things to deal with this disease. Well take care and hopefully going off the Mirapex will help. Keep well, pdkate
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michelle
66 posts
Oct 18, 2007
10:18 PM
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I was taking mirapex 1 mg 3x day. I was losing a lot of weight and I wasn't sleeping very much. Plus, I was getting a little obsessive. Anyway, my neuro reduced me to .5 mg 3x day. The first 10 days were brutal. I was definitely in withdrawal. Headache, extreme fatigue, shakes. Part of the problem was that I was so exhausted. I think the mirapex was a little like speed - it increased my metabolism (or something) and I hadn't been sleeping very much for weeks. Anyway, after 10 days, the headaches, muscle pain, total exhaustion went away. Once I caught up on my sleep my symptoms calmed back down. It took about 2 weeks to look "normal" for me. I hope you don't go through it for that long, but in the end it was a good thing. I've kept the mirapex at .5 mg and added amantadine. I've never felt better. I'm not so weird and obsessive now. Good Luck.
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jma
23 posts
Oct 20, 2007
6:34 AM
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Hi,
Made the switch and so far so good. If anything, I feel slightly less symptomatic. Hoping now I can lose some of this weight. I am just glad to be off Mirapex. Thanks for your feedback.
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Izee
1 post
Oct 25, 2007
9:41 AM
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Hi,
I've taken Mirapex for a few months and before that Requip. On Mirapex two tabs a day at .25 mg. and Zoloft at 50 mg. a day and I've gained twenty pounds and still climbimg. I know Zoloft makes weight gain, too.I walk on the treadmill at 3.6 mph every day for an hour plus lifting free weights, doing abs, and legs three times a week and still have not lost weight. Plus I believe one or some of these meds also make me crave certain foods, unfortunately the ones that aren't good for me. Can't seem to convince my neuro and g.p. that it's not menopause. Not sure what to do. Does anyone out there have better success? I take Mirapex for my restless legs. I might still be able to go back to Requip but I was urpy sometimes on it.
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jma
25 posts
Oct 25, 2007
9:51 PM
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Wish I had some words of advice but I'm also having problems with weight gain. Can't seem to lose an ounce. I'm hoping that switching to Requip will help -- so far might have lost a pound -- but at least I'm not gaining!!! This is not our imagination or menopause. Check out the message board www.askapatient.com and type in "mirapex" and you will read one comment after the other about weight gains of 20 to 30 pounds and insomnia and carb/sweets cravings. Now that I have 30 pounds to lose, I'm concerned because the weight is not budging. Anyone have advice?
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jma
27 posts
Oct 30, 2007
11:36 AM
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Hi Mark,
Can't believe how bad I am feeling. I thought it was going to be easy getting off Mirapex -- no such luck. Symptoms started about 3 days after switching to Requip (I'm on a lower dose of Requip also). I feel weak, exhausted and shaky. My legs ache and it feels like I have a bad case of the flu. After 6 years on Mirapex at 4.5mg a day, not sure when I can expect to feel better. Is this a common reaction?
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MarkComes
Pharmacy Forum
203 posts
Jan 15, 2008
3:01 PM
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jma, This a normal reation. Your body gets used to a certain level of a substance to be there. When it is not, your body reacts in a way that is like rebellion. Did you taper off Mirapex and what doseage of requip are you on? Do not give up. When the medication gets to therapeutic dose, you should be doing fine. It seems that all of us, including me, take our benefit of our medication for granted and we don't see it until we are off of it. JMA, things will get better, don't give up. Best of health, mark
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david95819
1 post
Nov 21, 2009
4:03 AM
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Hi Mark, My Neurologist suggested switching from 4 mgm Mirapex to 12 mg Requip in 4 divided doses. I feel alwful! Headache, shaky, funny gait and terrrible constipation. I made the switch 5 days ago. How much longer? Should I go back to Mirapex? I tolerated it well except for some compusive behavior. (I switched because of cost.)
david95819
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bsw
1 post
Dec 09, 2009
8:43 AM
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New to the forum. Been on Mirapex since 1/00 for PD. dose @ 1mg x 4. Also take carbidopa/lev 25/100 5 tmes pd with an occasional kicker & comton 4 t pd. Approx 2 mths ago I suddenly begab to freeze & take baby steps, and lose balance. I thought it could be the mirapex so dr took me off and switched me to requip at 12mg x 4. its now day 3 an withdrawl is hell, still walking issues, pus trembling, on times shortend, and off hits lke a brick wall fast & hard. Should I have stepped down rather then full switch & when does iot get better
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mckelfresh
1 post
Dec 14, 2009
11:56 PM
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Where do I begin. I have been on Mirapex for 1 1/2 years. I had no symptoms until 1 year after I began using the product, 6 months ago. Since last August I have been very ill. Nauseated on a daily basis combined with hot flashes from time to time and passing out in my bathroom. I had originally thought this was all due to premenopause, considering I just turned 50. I take Mirapex everynight, .75. I take Mirapex every night before going to be and occasionally within an hour I am awakened with my legs "going to down" as I describe to my friends. This past Friday evening after taking Mirapex, .075 at night my legs began twitching uncontrollably and I took another .50. I feel asleep and within 1 hour I was awaken from being very nauseated and my body was sweating. I realized this was not the first time this has happened. I have had several blood tests which show that I am very healthy along with going to a gastroenterologist. I have had symptoms of acid reflux prior to takeing the Mirapex so I and my doctors assumed that there could be something wrong upper GI or lower GI. After reading all of your information I stopped cold "turkey" this past Saturday. I have not been nauseated or have had the feeling of being weak all of the time. I workout on a daily basis, am in good shape but lost approximatedly 5-8 pounds which is a lot form me considering I weigh 120 and am 5' 6" tall. I have not slept since Saturday morning, almost 72 hours. I have read some of your posts and am curious going off of the meds cold turkey, how long it take to feel better. I am OK during the day. Come night time, my legs feel as if they are going to fall off! I started taking B50 3xday starting yesterday. Please advise what else I can do! I'm going on 72 hours of no sleep and this is a girl who needs 8 hours a night of sleep! Getting more and more frustrated! Thank you for any fedback
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ThePharmacist
466 posts
Dec 18, 2009
7:20 PM
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Looking back, cold turkey was not the way to go. That being said, it may take 10 to 14 days to get it all out of your system. When you stop cold turkey your symptoms will come back back worse and more frequent.
Your main issue is sleep. First try benadryl. It is an allergy med but has a side effect of drowsiness. Try it for a few days. If no relief, try melatonin. It is natural product that we already have in our system. The older we get, the less we have. If those 2 don't work, a product called sleepmd works well. It is a mixture of natural products the help you get to sleep and stay asleep. If all of that fails, contact your dr. You may want to contact him first to see what he may recommend for your specific medical history.Best of health, Mark
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meplusmy3
1 post
Jan 21, 2010
7:40 PM
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I am new to the forum. A little embarassed but feel like I can be open here. I was diagnosed with RLS in 8/09 and began Mirapex. I thought this was my wonder drug. I was FINALLY able to sleep after years of not sleeping through the night. I have had a bout of about 3 months of absolutely no sexual desire whatsoever. I used to have the sex drive of a man. (Obviously by that I am a female...40 years of age.) I have noticed an increase in my weight & while dieting and exercising I can't seem to do anything to lose weight. I have gained about 15 lbs a month since September. Last night it dawned on me that it all started when I started Mirapex. I googled and found this has happened to several people. I now want to stop taking the medication all together but have read that stopping cold turkey could be dangerous. I have also had blurry vision, forgetting what I was saying in the middle of the conversation, and stuttering of words. Is there any other medication to help RLS that does not have the side effect of weight gain? or the compulsive shopping? You cannot believe the amount of money I have spent in the past 3 months as well! Please help or is it going to be restless nights again so I can discontinue gaining so much weight? Thank you in advance :)
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donR
39 posts
Jan 22, 2010
12:24 AM
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meplusmy3, welcome to the site/ everyone here is very supportive so don't be embarrassed to "vent"
RLS and PD is very frustrating to all of us and lots of good info is shared here
DonR
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mdavis5231
443 posts
Jan 22, 2010
7:41 AM
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hi meplusmy3, and welcome. your post touches on a lot of issues; I personally would put it on the Message Board as well. Mark "not the pharmacist" D (the other Mark)
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meplusmy3
3 posts
Jan 22, 2010
9:57 PM
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Hi DonR and Mark "not the pharmacist" Thank you both for your support. I have posted my message on the board as well. I can't get away from reading about everyone's side effects and saying "aha, I have that too!" I would never have associated it with the medication. I have already had an appointment scheduled and I will pretty much demand him to change my medication (I have already struggled with weight for the last 5 years so increasing by nearly 40 lbs already is not good) so I started cutting my pills in half last night. Today I have noticed that my right arm has been 50% numb most of the day. Normal? I don't know but definitely noticeable. The really crappy part about all of this is that the medicine REALLY helps me sleep. I went so many years without it that I'm hoping another medication without the dramatic side effects will be able to work similar. Ugh......
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K
1 post
Jan 26, 2010
1:49 PM
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I am new to the forum. I just recently started on Mirapex and thought I had found the wonder drug because I have suffered for years with RLS. However one week after starting the drug I woke one morning with the onset of vertigo. I have seen an ENT and went for treatment but they cannot get rid of the dizziness only the spinning sensation. After checking the side effects I noticed dizziness is one of them and wonder if the Mirapex could have brought this on. I have had it for 5 weeks now and unable to do anything. Has anyone else had this problem?
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brooksie
347 posts
Jan 28, 2010
5:20 PM
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Meplymy3, I read your posts and wonder if you could try the other dopamine agonist which is called Requip? Many here who cannot tolerate Mirapex do well with Requip - they are the same class of drug, but we're all different, so who knows? Mark of course can confirm or deny this as an alternative.
K- It is essentially a withdrawal effect of the drug...yes, when you fully metabolize it after 4-6 hours later, I ended up with disabling dizziness. I would sometimes not be able to do anything but lied down for sometimes close to an hour. I take 2 drugs to treat PD, and the only one that took care of the dizziness was the Mirapex. Do you now feel like this s all the time? If so, my heart goes out to you. I have since changed to Requip and may at times experience a litle vertigo- btw, how would you describe the sensation? For me, it's like there is an invisible hand or force pushing my head and neck forward ortoo my right. It was really an odd feelng- like you have a forcefield against gravity holding you down. Am I crazy? How doea it feel? I have changed to Requip and it really helped and little to no more vertigo.
HTH -Laura
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ThePharmacist
512 posts
Feb 01, 2010
6:06 AM
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K, Dizziness is very common with Mirapex, and this group of meds for that matter. It is true what laura states about requip and mirapex. These two medications are in the same class of medications, but people do react differently to one than the other. I have seen people have side effects with mirapex and not with requip. I have also seen people have side effects with requip and not with mirapex.
The side effects are decreasing tour quality of life so, I think it is a good idea to talk with your dr about a change. A good alternative, and about the only alternative, is requip. It is in the same class but, as I said, people do react differently to it.
The main key with this class of medication is when you start taking it, it is start low and to slow. The same works for going off the medication. You should taper down in dose when going off of it. An abrupt stop in this medication will cause more harm than your actual issue. Follow your dr's instructions exactly. Because you have not been on the medication too long, it may not take as long as others to taper off. Beat of health, Mark
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Bill46
8 posts
Feb 01, 2010
7:08 PM
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Mark (the Pharmacist): In your practice do you see many folks who have had a good experience with Mirapex? I started it about 3 weeks ago with no problem, but about all I read is negative. Sure would like to hear from some folks with positive experiences. So far, it seems to be helpful for me. Bill
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ThePharmacist
515 posts
Feb 07, 2010
9:49 PM
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bill,
Good news rarely gets alot of press. I have seen people do very well with mirapex. Unfortunately, I have seen, and know, a few that have not. The best advise I can give you is this:
1- If it works on controlling your symptoms, don't change
2- make sure you come to an agreement with you spouse, significant other, friend, etc. that if you start acting out of character that they are to contact your dr and they take you in. I always recommend that you take a caregiver, spouse, etc with you to EVERY dr appt. They can see you from the outside. You need to allow them to be honest with your dr about how you are doing. I recommend this for all pd patients, not just those on mirapex. Other people can see things and changes, even small ones, about us that we cannot see. Many times if you get to a problem early enough it can be treated mor effectively.
I think most people will agree that if you find a med that works, it is gold. Many of us hope someday we will.Best of health, Mark
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add
5 posts
Feb 25, 2010
12:17 AM
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Last Edited on 25-Feb-2010 1:30 AM
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