Requip
 

Anyone taking Requip for the Parkinson .I've been on Requip for three years now i'm taking 5mg pills x 4 times a day .I'm starting to get annoyed by the side effects .Falling asleep ,hallucination (rarely)sleep disorder "I wan't to know if there's another medication with less side effect or are they the same Thank's Richard:grouphug:

Some meds work better for some people than others, you're Dr should be able to rx something different if your side effects are becoming to problematic.
You will only be able to tell what works for you by trying it and noting any side effects then report to Dr.

One of my sis in laws was taking requip for restless legs for years and she ended up having quite a few side effects, some stayed or caused other problems:confused:- but she ended up with other health issues and other meds - so no one is sure what caused what.... one of those confusing things that you can't pin down as to cause/effect..

I took Requip for several years (5mg 5X daily) the side effects were terrible. My Neuro switched me to Segeline. I think it works just as good and no side effects.

Segiline is a good one to try, you might ask your MDS about Provigil for your sleeping episodes. hallucinations , unless they are really intense, are just part of the "agonist experience" in my opinion.

Charlie

Just to be different, I've been on requip for 7 years and do well with it. 24 mg daily too.
About selegiline, don't try alternative supplements if you take it as interactions can potentially run your blood pressure up to fatal levels. Ditto for SSRIs too.

Yes, we are all different. My experience with Requip has not been to bad. I titrated up to 14 mgs. My MDS introduced Sinemet after I was on the Requip for about 18 months. This was due to the dystonia I was having at end of dose. About 6 months later I started to feel restless and anxious, I couldn't seem to sit still. So the Dr. reduced the Requip and things settled down. I now take 10 mgs a day and I feel quite comfortable at that dose. It has been 5 years now that I have been taking Requip. In the beginning I had a hard time getting used to it, I have never had hallucinations or fallen asleep though.

Requip Withdrawal
 

Dx 2000. Age 50. I started on Requip. Year 2 added sinemet. I aggressively pushed my drugs to get performance. In hindsight, which is supposed to be perfect but regarding PD is far less than perfect, I'm thankful for the extended quality time sinemet and Requip gave me. I also knew I was doing serious damage to my body by taking drugs that treated symptoms and not the cause of PD. I dumbed myself down by trusting in doctors, researchers, drug companies, my fellow parkies, and myself to find a way back to health through modern medicine before my time ran out. I dug in and pursued alternative medicine but drugs worked so well with seemingly endless possibilities.

It was easy to get caught up in the cult of drugs. One belief commonly held by many on this forum is that we should go with the smallest dose of any med that gives us relief of symptoms and increase our dosage as slowly as possible. We speculated that we will get "more mileage" from a given med with fewer side effects and that side effects are dose related. Another belief was that the need to increase our dosages was due to the progressive nature of PD. We preferred to think that new symptoms were due to the progression of our disease and that we could mix and match drugs endlessly. We had a designer disease and we we're all "special." We had an "extra special fear" of sinemet because we were told it works so fabulously well and then for some poorly understood but "unique" reason quits working. It seemed to inevitably and irreversibly led to dyskinesia; the dark, black, horrific outer boundary of life with PD. Many of us, when finally experiencing mild dyskinesia, persist in thinking that we can adjust our drugs and keep on medicating. For those die hards who persist, it gets worse, much worse. When you are squirming on the ground with your arms wrapped around your own neck struggling to constrain yourself to not break your neck or dislocate your shoulders again or more severely with every muscle in your body spastically cramping and feeling like it has been beaten with a baseball bat, then you have a slightly clearer view of the development and nature of the "side effects" of drugs.

I am attempting to provide the background of experience I have with PD drugs and Requip in particular. I hit the dead end described above not because I abused drugs or was reckless or didn't try to take care of myself. The 5-10 year limit of sinemet working nicely goes by quickly. It doesn't matter how you get there. Requip and the rest of the drugs you can mix and match hold little if any special magic. Looking back I see the million dollar sales hype about possible neuron protection, extended on time, delaying the need for sinemet, less side effects, decreased off time, more sex, more sleep.
Give me a break. Folks, we're choosing between a Pepsi or a Coke. It's like the presidential race. We have a one party system, the Republicrats. Requip Mirapex in a tight battle for most popular agonist of the year. The "five years away" from a miracle drug nonsense has been going on for 20 years.

Requip was my fave. I had problems with sleep attacks etc. in the beginning but went to 30 mg/day Requip combined with Stalevo 150 every three hours 24/7 and did just peachy. The real problem is the progressive global damage to our brains that Requip and Sinemet confuse and distract our attention from. When off time does not respond to drugs, I believe we are well into simple drug addiction and we have lost sight of PD.

I would not pretend to have the understanding or knowledge to be able to tell someone else what to do. Myself, I'm trying to find my way back. I quite Requip and Cymbalta August 1st of this year. I'm taking plain Sinemet. I can't escape a lot of off time no matter how much sinemet I take. I have no problem with dyskinesia. Depression was devastating for two months and is finally showing improvement. The psychiatric side of things is tough with loss of emotion and drive and I'm unsure how much improvement I've made and am fighting off doubts about recovery. The psychiatric problems that I thought could be from Requip are gone. I'm virtually pain free with no muscle problems for the first time in 8 years. All that's left of physical symptoms beside on/off time is a little bit of tingling in my feet and occasional numbness in my toes.