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new member looking for helpful input regarding Mirapex

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Posted 6/12/2007 12:39 AM (GMT 0)

Hi.  I am a new member looking for anyone who has had any good or bad experiences while taking Mirapex.  I was dx with SLE, AIED, and  Indifferentiated Connective Tissue Disorder.  I have been on a lot of different meds. i.e. methotrexate, plaquinel, immuran and several others, and it seems as though Pred is the only effective one to keep my condition relatively suppressed of major flares too often.  I am currently on 10 mg pred and have been on higher dosages during times of flares for over the past 12 years. 

about a year ago, my Rheumy put me on Mirapex, which seems to help me sleep more "effectively" - reaching the slow-wave delta deep stages of sleep which is suppose to assist the body to rejuvenate or heal and prep for the next day.  Anyways, this seems to work, as I was sleeping better, and feel much better during the day - - - - - for awhile- - - -  but eventually over time I was not able to sleep at all.  Like insomia. I would fall asleep deeply so fast that it was like my brain told my body to get up and go even though I was only asleep for a couple of hours.  

I quit taking Mirapex about three months ago  Slept great and felt great again,---for while and now recently it seems as though I am having trouble 'getting' to sleep. 

As I am falling asleep, I all of a sudden (within 20 min or so) wake up, plastered in sweat with my heart beating harder than normal.  It is almost as if I might have stopped breathing to a point where my blood pressure goes up and I sweat as my body is waking back up.

This has been happening almost every night , on an off all night, and I am wondering if the discontinuing of Mirapex is the cause ? Any input would be helpful.

I am seeing my Rhuemy in a couple of days and plan to discuss this also with them.

Posted 6/12/2007 1:36 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Jacki,

  Welcome to the forum. I'm sorry your having a hard time. I'm glad you are seeing the Rheumy soon about this. I have been taking Mirapex for 3 months for Restless Leg Syndrome. It works well for that, but doesn't affect my sleep much at all. I'm only taking .25mgs though. I have been having problems with sleep patterns for a long time. I go through cycles where I either can't sleep, sleep too much, or fall asleep fast and wake up several times a night.

  I take the Mirapex about 9pm, then 1mg of Xanax about an hour before going to bed then take 3mgs of Lunesta just a few minutes before going to bed and I still don't sleep well. I have found that if I cut out caffiene and fatty foods 3 to 4 hours before going to bed I sleep better, but that is hard for me... :-) .

  I hope you get some relief soon and start sleeping and feeling alot better. Please keep us updated and good luck with your appt. You will be in my thoughts and prayers.

                                                                   Babs

Posted 6/12/2007 3:45 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Jacki, I just wanted to welcome you to the group. I won't be any help regarding the particular medicine. I've never taken it. I do have breathing problems and sometimes I awake with the racing heart and soaking wet. I have heard many people on here talk about sleep problems.
Mostly I just wanted to say hi and I hope you keep us posted on what your rhuemy has to say
hugs
carol
Posted 6/12/2007 4:32 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Jackie. I'm glad you are here at the forum. Sleep problems can be a real pain. Have you ever had an overnight sleep study done? They can be very beneficial in diagnosing one's sleep difficulties. In my case it's RLS. I take Neurontin 1200 mg at night and it helps to relax me and sleep better. It doesn't help me actually fall asleep anymore so now I also take 6 mg Lunesta to help me fall asleep. Together they help real well.

I don't have any experience with Mirapex and although my sleep doctor gave me the choice of Neurontin or Mirapex, whichever worked better for me I never tried the Mirapex. And they do have different active ingredients. Nor have I ever stopped the neurontin. Have you called your pharmacist to ask if your sweating and strong heart beat could be as a result of having stopped the mirapex suddenly? My memory is not what it used to be but I remember being told to not stop the neurontin all at once.

Waking up plastered in sweat brings back memories of menopause, but the sweating was not accompanied by a stronger heart beat or any changes in my breathing.

I'd be sure to check this out with my pharmacist and/or doctor. I hope you can find something else that helps you sleep. High levels of prednisone caused me to have terrible insomnia to the point that the insomnia was making me feel worse than lupus. I know what you're going through and it's awful.

Let us know what your rheumy tells you.

Pat
Posted 6/12/2007 3:34 PM (GMT 0)

thanks for all of your comments.  To reply on a few of your thoughts: 

I have had a sleep study done, which is what brought on the prescription of the Mirapex a year ago.  The study indicated at the time, that I was never reaching the deep sleep healing or REM stages of sleep, which in theory Mirapex basically forces you to this stage.  And it did work well, for awhile.  However, it seems that my body became use to it and adjusted to a poor sleeping stage again over time.  I plan to ask for another sleep study with my Rheumy tomorrow.

I had my husband watch me last night as I was falling asleep and we don't think I actually ever stopped breathing (like in sleep apnea).  And the sweats did happen even when I lied there wide awake. 

I have a question for Okie - did you every figure out what your sleep/sweat problem was?  And has it stopped and gone away?  Since you were never on Mirapex, that makes me believe that discontinuing Mirapex may not be the cause.

It also brings another question regarding the menonpause which PattyLatty mentioned.

I am approaching 40 this year and had a hysterectomy 10 years ago because of endometriosis.  They took my ovaries and all.  I was on hormone treatment for a long time, but had to get off because of I developed pain in that area again, and the docs believe there might be a small amount endometriosis that might have been missed and the hormones are aggravating it; possibly causing it to grow again.  THAT pain did stop altogether once I stopped hormones 8 months ago.  The night sweat problem just started two weeks ago.

Here's the question; IF it is menopause, do the night sweats EVER stop and if so, do you remember about how long they lasted?

Thanks again for everybody's input. It's nice to share common situations with people who truly know what you are going through.

enjoy your day!

Posted 6/12/2007 3:44 PM (GMT 0)
Jacki,

Your last line about how nice it is to share common situations with people who truly know what you're going through is what I love the most about this forum! I'm so glad you are here.

My hysterectomy was six or seven years ago and I've been in tri-est ever since. It's a natural compounded estrogen and helps me more than I realized until I stopped it a few weeks ago when I ran out. The night sweats started again within a couple of weeks. It also works as a mood stabilizer for me and my mood swings started up at the same time. So I'm back on it and the night sweats are gone. In other words, the benefits come on rather fast and leave just as quickly when I stop taking it. I'm 58. Neither my mother nor my mother-in-law ever took any hormone replacement therapy and neither ever had night sweats. We are all so different! I hope you get to the bottom of what's going on with you.

Pat
Posted 6/14/2007 7:20 PM (GMT 0)
I don't know a whole lot about the variety of meds available for sleeping problems, but I do know that different meds are for different circumstances. When I complain of not sleeping, my rhuemy asks a lot of questions - are you having trouble falling asleep? trouble staying asleep? if you wake in the night, can you go back to sleep or not? do you sleep better at the beginning, middle, or end of the night? The answers seem to make a difference as to what and how much of something is prescribed. Lupus varies so much that it's so very hard to tell if you've adapted to a med or if it's lupus changing things -- good luck, not sleeping well is the worst!
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