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Mirapex or Requip

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Parkinson's Disease
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Posted 2/7/2006 10:03 PM (GMT 0)
Hello,

I was  was told I have Parkinson 2 years ago.   I am 54. I have hand tremors, and walking is becoming difficult I also have pain in my right hand and foot I do like a walk run to keep my balance. One Dr. gave me Requip another gave me Mirapex. I am afraid to try eithher one because of  side effects. I've tried talking to my Dr about my concerns but they seem to get upset and tell me nothing but take the medicine. I also read an article about tyrosin   an amino acid the body needs to help rebuild cells, has anyone heard of this? Can anyone tell me which on is milder...Requip or Mirapex?..Right now I take a muscle relaxer, a pain pill and asprin

Post Edited (starlight) : 2/7/2006 3:13:13 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/8/2006 1:13 AM (GMT 0)
I was on Mirapex for about a month and had trouble breathing and keeping my blood pressure up. I got off Mirapex and looked at Requip, but ement exercisise effects seemed worse so I did not try it.
I felt better but started having trouble sleeping and walking.
Now I take AmbienCR to sleep and Advair to breath better. I do small movment exercises in the AM and am still working.
I can't tell you which is worse, everyone is different. Good Luck
Posted 2/8/2006 1:29 AM (GMT 0)
Starlight,

Welcome to Healing well.Everyone reacts differently to the same medication.What works for you may not work for me .A lot is trial and error.Unfortunately PD is a progressive disease,and at some point you may need medication for this disease .When you get to this point give the med a fair trial and listen to your neuro.Stay well.,and again welcome.Ed
Posted 2/18/2006 9:32 AM (GMT 0)
Starlight,

Welcome!

I have been taking Requip - and only Requip - for almost 5 years. I have never taken Mirapex. I am still on a low dose of Requip (5 mg/day). Requip has met my needs. However, some people get along better with Requip and some with Mirapex. Everyone is different and no one can tell you which, if either, will work best for you.

 

What side effects are you concerned about? It seems every Parkinson's med has some side effect. You have to weigh the pros and cons in your situation. If you do have an undesirable side effect that bothers you significantly, talk to your neuro about it. There may be a way of making adjustments - either you or the script - or you may find you want to investigate altermatives.

 

Best of luck!

lizzy4451

Posted 3/4/2006 6:49 AM (GMT 0)

I have been diagnosed about 18 months.  I began taking Mirapex .75mg three times daily a few months ago.  I didn't experience much in the way of side effects. ( some sleepiness but not enough to disrupt my day) I work full-time.  I did however develop a serious internet shopping addiction.  Spending several hours at a time on ebay etc.  I told my MD specialist and he reacted with nothing short of alarm and insisted that I abandon this drug class altogether.  Instead I tried Requip.  My sypmptoms , tremor and fine motor were much worse on the Requip and I still spent a great deal of time online, so I went back to Mirapex.  I feel great and my symptoms are well controlled.  AS for the shopping issue, I am attempting some behavior modification techniques and seem to be making progress.  I mention this side effect because apparently some people have had serious gambling and other "addictive" or compulsive behavior problems associated with the dopamine agonist meds.

As has been wisely pointed out, everyone's reaction to the meds is different and it's largely trial and error.  One thing that is important though is to have an open and mutually respectful relationship with your PD specialist.  We're all in this for the long haul and it's critical that you can communicate your concerns with your MD.  

Good Luck!

Posted 3/4/2006 12:44 PM (GMT 0)
cardiacqueen

Welcome to Healing well,and thankyou for sharing your experiences with us . I wish you the best with your nursing career,and your control over PD.I am also taking .75 mirapex 2x.morning and mid afternoon.I am also on stalevo.these drugs have enabled me to work full time as well as part time for many years.Just this year I have decided to give up full time work ,and go part time only.Thus freeing up some fishing time.Stay in touch and again best to you.Ed
Posted 4/22/2006 8:31 PM (GMT 0)
hello everybody,I am wondering what is in store for me,I am just starting mirapex and my pdns said it will take 6 weeks to reach my full dose of 1mg tabs....1 tab 3 times each day. I have started with 0.88mg tabs...1 tab each day for 1 week, each change of dose lasts 1 week, she said it will ease any side effects i may suffer, i am also on madopar cr and sinamet plus but now experiencing peaks and troughs so perhaps the mirapex will smooth these out ( fingers crossed ). It will be interesting to see how other pd's get on with mirapex,i must admit though i am a little aprehensive. Grace L
Posted 7/3/2007 12:50 PM (GMT 0)
Hi my name is Dawn, I started taking reqiup about 2 weeks ago and it seems to help with the rls, but im bloated and i have gained a couple of pounds, has anyone had this happen to them, is there somehting better where you do not gain weight?


Dawn
Posted 7/3/2007 1:04 PM (GMT 0)
Im in Mirapex for 10 years and it helps me. It helps in the slow progression of the disease. It works well to me. I don't have the side effects of sleepiness, swellness of feet or gain weight. every individual has their own differences. Just try, usually there are more benefits than the side effect.
Posted 10/1/2007 11:30 PM (GMT 0)
For active people, a once daily patch called Neupro, Rotigotine is available.  Same class as Requip and Mirapex, the thought among Neurologist is continous delivery vs TID dosing, are side effects less?

Here is a site for info  www.neupro.com

hope this helps

Posted 10/15/2007 8:22 PM (GMT 0)
I have not posted for months and I was interested in this discussion.

I am on Mirapex 1.25 (starting this dose as soon as I am brave enough) on the one lower at the moment.

I am 54 diagnosed last year.  I feel tired ALL THE TIME.  Have put on weight and I see no benefit to Mirapex....just exhaustion and often a feeling of breathlessness.

I want to come off it! Not increase the dose.

What do people do with the gross tiredness.

Girlirish

Posted 10/19/2007 3:30 PM (GMT 0)
I'm on Mirapex 4 mg a day and it works good to me.  Every individual has different reaction to medications. For gross tiredness, supplement vitamin probably might help.I'm taking B complex and B-12 and it help me> I feel energetic everyday. You can consult your neurologist regarding this matter.
Posted 10/24/2007 6:30 PM (GMT 0)
Neither mirapex or requip seemed to help me.  Side effects of requip were extreme sleepiness, mild hallucinations (I saw some bugs which probably were not there) and when the doctor's nurse told me to stop taking the requip I took my first ambulance ride.  Approximately two days after I stopped taking the requip I "froze".  I forget the medical term for this but I was completely awake, my eyes were open and I knew exactly what was going on, but I was unable to even wiggle a finger.  From reading the forum you will see that different medications affect people very differently, but I will never take requip again.  The only medication that has helped my tremor has been sinemet.
Posted 12/7/2007 3:34 AM (GMT 0)
I take 24 mg of Requip per day, which sounds like an awful lot compared to most of you here. No Mirapex experience, but my dad took it for about 5 yrs, and he had a problem with hallucinations and sleep problems. He died last year, BUT NOT FROM PARKINSON'S. I read a couple of people here saying their relative, or friend, died from Parkinson's. This is incorrect. PARKINSON'S DOES NOT KILL YOU. It may make your life really suck at times, but you won't die from it
Posted 12/8/2007 1:29 PM (GMT 0)
Yes you won't die of Parkinsons Disease itself but the complications might end your life. In Parkinsons there is always the danger of falling. Don;t walk when you don't have your balance, you might fall down and hit your head, it's dangerous. In the later stage of Parkinsons, you are very stiff, your totally dependent, you can't move by yourself, there come the danger of bed sores, it might become gangreene  and kill you. Because of the rigidity of the throat muscle you have diffficulty of swallowing and you might be choked. But most often, Parkinsons die of pneumonia due to rigidity, non movement, the weather and nedligence.
Posted 12/15/2007 1:45 AM (GMT 0)

Dx'd 6-01 with PD, I am now 60 and doing well. Bowl twice a week, do volunteer work at the hospital, and do a good bit of walking at the gym, go fishing whenever I can. I was started on Requip by my Neuro when dx'd. Prior to Requip, I had visited a Casino with a friend, and hated it. Hated the noise, the whole environment thing, and knew this wasn't something I'd like to do again.

After starting the Requip, I developed some expensive compulsive behavioural problems-gambling, casinos,gaming machines, etc. I did not do the online gambling thing...I knew that could dig a hole for me I couldn't get out of. I was also compulsive about being online-day and night, holiday or regular day. The red flag was out, and I didn't take heed.

I know that every person has meds that work for them, while at the same time, the same med might not agree with the next person. After being on Requip for about 4 years, my Neuro and I made a change to Sinemet. I no longer have the gambling urges, and for that I am grateful. Although I had talked to my Neuro about the compulsiveness a few times, I finally told her I really had a problem with it, and felt it was vital to make a change. My marriage was also in jeopardy because of it. Depression walks hand in hand with PD, and this whole experience with Requip put me in a greater depression because of the guilt I felt.

The day my Neuro switched me to Sinemet, she asked how much I thought I might have lost to gambling. She said she had another patient on Requip with the same problem, and it was estimated she'd lost around $10,000.  She also mentioned a couple other patients had the same problem. I can't blame my Neuro, she would have switched me to another med had I been up front with her about the gambling being such a problem.

One other thing that I'd like to say, I had a friend who did not have PD. She had a brain tumor, and was given Requip for whatever reason. (to slow the progression down I guess) But guess what, she developed obsessive gambling traits. And now she's doing well with the help of GA (gamblers anonymous) and having d/c'd the Requip.

This is just my side of the story. I know there's tons of people out there with absolutely nothing but praises for Requip. Like I said, what works for one, may not work for another. My best suggestion, be vigilant in what you take. Keep records. And if you feel something isn't exactly right, reevaluate the situation. Talk to your partner for their feedback, and get in touch with your Neuro.

God bless.

Posted 12/18/2007 1:59 AM (GMT 0)
Sandi,T.Y. for your input on requip,mirapex has the same affect on many.In fact my mirapex prescription now comes with a warning to contact my Dr.if I experience any compulsive behavior.So much we don't know about these.meds.One thing I know in my individual case is how well the stalevo mirapex combo works for me.Better in the pm for some reason,and infact makes my PD symptoms disappear for up to 3 hrs at a time.before wearing off.What you say is so true individually meds affect each of us differently,and we got to stay on top of them,and in contact with our neuro.Taking all the different possibilities of med varieties ,timing,and dosage into account we can come up with a daunting task.Makes record keeping ,as you suggest, very helpfull.Stay well,and God Bless.Ed
Posted 12/18/2007 2:16 AM (GMT 0)
I have been struggling with my dad's meds and their side effects for a couple of years.  A week ago I convinced his neuro to take him off Mirapex because his gambling addiction (scratch tickets) got out of control.  In addition to gambling addiction he acquired poor judgement, poor impulse control, and poor insight into his condition.  He did not think there was anything wrong with him, and since Mirapex made him feel great he continuously overdosed on it.  Now he is only on Sinemet and he does not like it.  I am curious as to whether his body will reset itself after all this Mirapex abuse?  Also I wonder if there is any optimal way of taking Sinemet to reduce peaks and troughs.  He is on 25/250 and he takes it 5 times a day every 2 hours from 8am to 5 pm.   Would not it be better to stretch it a little bit, say every 3 hours from 8am to 8pm.  Any thoughts?     

Posted 12/18/2007 2:14 PM (GMT 0)

It's a trial and error sort of thing when it comes to most any medicines you take. I am on Sinemet 25/100, and my schedule is this: 1 1/2 tab in a.m., 1 1/2 tab @ 1 p.m., 1 1/2 for p.m. dose, then 1 at bedtime. I think staggering the times helps me because it stays in my system more consistently than if I take it all during the course of the day. But that's me.

Actually I have 2 doctors, one treating my depression and one my PD. The have my written consent to compare notes to make sure meds each give me is in no way interferring with the other. Since depression and parkinsons are bosom buddies, I also take Prozac (small dose-once a day), but I was taking that before dx'd with PD. I've heard people say one of the first things a doctor does after dx'ing PD is prescribe a small dose anti-depressant along with PD med, but I already took Prozac, so there was no big change there.

My depression doc also gave me a small dose anti-anxiety pill that I take PRN, and I take it seldom. My PD doctor is aware of all my meds, as is my depression doc.

And I got busy doing hospital volunteer work, bowling twice a week, going to the gym, working with the babies at my Church. People are surprised when they hear of my PD, because the signs are not so conspicuous. I have slight tremble in right hand, micrographia, and restless leg syndrome. And of course stiffness is a problem when I get too lazy. I have been dx'd with PD since 6/01, but feel blessed to be able to do what I do now, and thank goodness we got the compulsive behavior problem dealt with before I lost a good husband.

Good luck with your Dad. Vigilance, record keeping, and having someone close to the person with PD to give objective views on how the patient appears to be doing is important, in my opinion. Especially when there is any kind of medicine change.

Lots of good meds, so don't despair. Trial and error. Keep a journal, for sure, so if a physician change is made, you can tell the new physician why the patient can't take a particular medicine and another medicine is warranted.

Pd might slow me down, but I'm still able to finish the race.

God bless.

Posted 12/18/2007 10:32 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you Sandi
Posted 12/19/2007 1:09 PM (GMT 0)
I have heard a lot about complusive behavior and urged t o gambling for those who are taking Mirapex or Requip. I'm on Mirapex for more than ten years now and I don't have this urged. Maybe it depends to the individual.You can be addicted to gambling without this medication.

Yes you can try to stretch the time in taking sinemet. 25/250 is a lot for e very two hours. You can even try to make it every four hours. Try it first to three hours and if doesnt make it any diffference to your dad try to make it four hours. The less dosage of sinemet you take the less side effect you get and the longer the efficacy of the medicine.
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