Ch-Ch-Changes! Goodbye Pramipexole, Hello Pregabalin
"Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!"
If my pramipexole pills were yellow and square, I would have gone with "Goodbye Yellow Brick Pill" as a nod to Elton John, but they aren’t; so I went with David Bowie.
"Changes" works for this title not only because I am changing medications for my RLS, but because of the changes I went through coming off of one medication and starting another — plus, an overall change to what my quality of life was starting to become.
Acknowledging that my dose was no longer effective
In October I finally came to the conclusion — or, more like admitted to myself — that the current dose of pramipexole I had been taking was no longer effective enough in providing relief from my RLS symptoms.
I was starting to experience daytime symptoms as well as worsening nighttime symptoms. I knew I couldn't increase the dose again because I was already struggling with impulse control issues, and an increased dose would mean I would lose all control.
The switch from pramipexole to pregabalin
I made an appointment with my doctor, and we talked about what I was going through and my concerns about increasing the dose. I was happy that she agreed to switch me to a different medication, and we decided on pregabalin.
She instructed me on how she wanted me to taper off of the pramipexole before starting pregabalin. This was fairly easy to do because I was still on a low dose.
Thankfully, I didn't suffer too many withdrawal symptoms or side effects coming off of pramipexole. It did make me more emotionally sensitive; I would get irritated very easily or become really sad over some things that would normally not bother me at all.
Testing out the new medication on a car ride
On one of my husband's days off from work, we decided to go for a drive. I wanted to compare what it was like going for a drive while coming off of pramipexole. I thought it would be a good way to tell how much the medication had helped me.
It ended up being pretty rough; I am glad we decided to do only an hour and a half each way. I had to massage my legs and move them around a lot to music because the pains were so intense.
I no longer have daytime RLS symptoms
Altogether, it took about a week to taper off, and as soon as it was done, I started pregabalin.
It has been almost a month since starting it, but I have already noticed that it is helping. It does make me feel sleepy before bed, and I no longer have daytime RLS symptoms. I still have RLS symptoms at night, but they aren't as bad as what they were on pramipexole when it was working at its best.
Hoping I can avoid experiencing side effects
I'm taking 75mg about 2 to 3 hours before I go to bed and hoping it stays this way for a long time. I am keeping an eye out for possible side effects — unfortunately, there are a ton of them. I had only heard positive things about this medication up until 3 days ago, so that is why I picked it.
Fingers crossed I have no side effects and it keeps working for me. I hope this is the only time I have to change medications and go through the ch-ch-ch-ch-changes.
Have you gone through any periods of switching medications for your RLS? Did the switch improve your symptoms? Was the transition easy or difficult? Share with us in the comments below!
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