HI list,
Paul Lauer wrote about ReQuip:
" Only adverse effect that I can gauge thus far is that I get sleepy in
the early
afternoon and perversely, I don't get tired until 1 or 2 in the morning
and
then get up a 6 to start the cycle all over again. Don't know if it's
requip
related, PD related, or some other phenomenon."
Paul,
I've been taking ReQuip - also 9 mg/day for over a year - and have
noticed the same strange pattern. Especially during the first few months
- I would get drowsy about an hour after the morning and afternoon dose,
but if I take it too close to bedtime, I have a lot of difficulty falling
asleep. I don't get the drowsiness anymore, but still feel the night time
effects. It seems to bring on nervous energy - feel like I can't sit
still. I usually try to take that dose before 8 PM. - and that helps. I
also take 1/2 tab of Sinemet CR with the ReQuip. I was able to cut back
the Sinemt dose after starting ReQuip, but not to elimate it completely.
In relation to this - an article in the new PDF news quotes Dr.
Stanley Fahn saying that due to reports of sudden sleep attacks in people
using ReQuip and Mirapex, "Because it is impossible to ascertain in
advance which patients will experience this side-effect, it is preferable
that users of these medications avoid driivng altogeether." For those who
need to drive, he suggests discussing it with their doctor to determine
the "prudent and appropriate course of action."
Has anyone been advised to stop driving or to stop taking these
medications by their doctors?
Linda Herman
