Ropinirole and Drowsiness: What Users Say

• lbf...
• September 2, 2008

Requip (ropinirole) for Restless Legs Syndrome "I have been on Requip for over a year now and it is a godsend. Requip has saved my life. I don't have any of the side effects (sleepiness, etc.) associated with Requip, thank goodness, but it does let me sleep at night. I asked my doctor to prescribe it for me, and she had never heard of Requip until I told her about it. Surprise! I will be on Requip forever until science figures out what causes RLS. I highly recommend Requip to anybody who has RLS. Side effects for me - none whatsoever, just a good night's sleep for a change."

• Jer...
• November 8, 2014

Requip (ropinirole) for Restless Legs Syndrome "I have been on Requip for about 8 years now. My RLS is severe, and I believe started as a child but became worse after childbearing. I take Requip 2-4 mg at night. Guess what? I am out of town and forgot the Requip. It is 3 AM, and I have not slept a wink. My sister has milder RLS, my grandfather had signs of it and then developed Parkinson's. I have seen signs in my daughter, who is a teen, and now have spoken to a cousin who also suffers. Thankfully, my only side effect is sleepiness, because I do not know what I would do without my Requip."

• EPH...
• October 31, 2016

Requip (ropinirole) for Restless Legs Syndrome "Have been taking this for years, and it definitely works for me, although it makes me very drowsy if I take two 1 mg at a time. In the past 18 months or so, my RLS has gradually become more frequent during the day, therefore, unable to sit in the afternoons, or if I'm on holiday, particularly in a hot country, they are a nightmare. Have recently been to the doctor and got 500 mcg, and when it's really bad, I'm going to try it and see if it helps during the day. On my last holiday, I took 1 mg about 3 o'clock, and it helped, but that only left 1 mg for the evening, and this meant it didn't last till morning. But to be honest, I think I need to up my dose, but am scared that my RLS is only going to get worse, so don't want to up my dose by too much."

• bea...
• August 14, 2008

Requip (ropinirole) for Parkinson's Disease "I've been using Requip since 2005, started with the progression dose. Now I take 16 mg per day. Today, I saw my neurologist raise it to 20 mg per day, because the effect starts to decrease before my next dose. Drowsiness and sleeping are some of the side effects I have."

• Sto...
• October 2, 2015

Requip (ropinirole) for Restless Legs Syndrome "Initially, the medication was very helpful, but the longer I'm on it, the less it helps. Now experiencing more daytime sleepiness, and I'm not able to stay asleep at night. Some nights it seems to help a lot, and then other nights nothing, it doesn't seem to help at all. Getting harder and harder to rest and feel rested. Going to my doctor within the next 2 weeks to discuss different medication. RLS is very frustrating."

• Lin...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• November 1, 2016

For Restless Legs Syndrome "I have had RLS for perhaps 35 years or so. It would start and stop. But about 5 years ago, I started on 0.25 mg of ropinirole. It takes an hour to work, so I took it at about 8 PM. But over the years, the dosage crept up to 0.50 mg once at 4:30 PM and once at 6:30 PM, and I was good for the night. Some nausea and some sleepiness, which were okay. Then the two pills turned into an additional pill of 0.5 mg in the middle of the night. Still okay. But then, about 6 months ago, my doctor sent me to an RLS sleep specialist. What a nightmare this began. The specialist tells me that I will just continue to take more and more, and eventually augmentation would start. This site will not let me finish my story."

• Anonymous
• September 7, 2012

For Restless Legs Syndrome "I've suffered with restless legs syndrome since long before they came out with a name for it. Requip for me has been a wonder, and the only side effect I've ever noticed is drowsiness. But unfortunately, it seems like either the symptoms are getting worse with age or else my body is increasingly becoming immune to the medication, as for many years now, I experience daytime symptoms as bad as nighttime symptoms and am now up to taking a total of 4 mg/day (1 mg every 4-6 hrs), and it takes over an hour to produce results after taking, during which time I am standing at my desk at work working on my computer. Long drives, movie theaters, seminars, and flights are all things I can't do without loading up on the medication beforehand."

• Jwr...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 15, 2017

For Restless Legs Syndrome "Unfortunately, I couldn't handle this medication for even a week. I was on 0.25 mg once a day (at night). I was plagued by nausea that would last ALL day. I developed moderate muscle cramping, and I had extreme daytime sleepiness that not even caffeine could help with (400 mg of caffeine not helping fatigue is more than unusual). I fell asleep in the bathtub while taking a bath. When I woke up, my head was nearly fully submerged, the water line was literally at my mouth. Unfortunately, I had to discontinue. The nausea was the worst part. Feeling like I want to puke all day long is terrible. It might work for other people, but this med is definitely NOT for me."

• Eca...
• October 11, 2017

For Restless Legs Syndrome "This medication made me very, very ill. Nausea to the point of vomiting -- within a half hour of taking it -- completely congested sinuses, watery eyes, extreme sleepiness (had to nap for three hours), and an overall horrible flu-like malaise. It did stop my RLS; however, the side effects are not worth the horrendous illness I feel. I was to take 2 mg, 3X a day, when needed. Tried this therapy for a month or more. Cannot tolerate the illness. Going back to clonazepam, as needed. No side effects, except a little fatigue, but better that than this miserable, sickening feeling."

• Anonymous
• August 14, 2010

For Restless Legs Syndrome "I have been on ropinirole for about 4 months. I started at the lowest dosage and am now up to 3 mg, 1 hour before bedtime. It does a great job in making me sleepy, and I can sleep for about 5 hours, then I wake up. But I am usually able to fall back asleep. I have suffered from the symptoms returning in the early morning hours and in the afternoon. Also, if I am driving or sitting for a while, they come back too. I have found if I cut in half the 2 mg pills and keep some on my nightstand and in my purse, if I get symptoms again, I will take a half pill, and this will hold me over till bedtime. There have been times I have had to do this twice in one day. But I notice with only taking 1 mg to alleviate the rebound, the sleepiness is minimal."

• pat...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• April 21, 2023

For Restless Legs Syndrome "Started at 1 mg and gradually increased to 2 mg. I had to increase the dosage every 3-4 months because of breakthrough symptoms. I found I had to take ropinirole a couple of hours before dinner or I'd have RLS all night. At 2.5 mg, I'm going off this medication because of side effects: somnolence (falling asleep all the time), paresthesia (burning, prickling, tingling, itching), rebound of RLS in the morning and evening, headaches, orthostatic hypotension (increased blood pressure, lightheadedness, dizziness when standing), compulsion/gambling, dry mouth, sinus congestion, rhinitis, syncope (fainting). These symptoms presented at the lower dosages but worsened as the dosage increased. I'm going to go back on gabapentin, even though I need to increase the dosage from time to time and often have breakthrough symptoms. I'm currently on 1200 mg daily."

• Don...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 6, 2022

Requip (ropinirole) for Periodic Limb Movement Disorder "It did reduce my tremors the first day. However, it made me a little nauseous. I would have to lay down because of the drowsiness. It put me in a depressed mood. I will only take it on occasion for disabling tremor episodes. Because the side effects prevent me from being active, I don't consider this treatment a success."

• Ext...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• March 24, 2025

For Restless Legs Syndrome "I have had RLS for 25-30 years. Ropinirole is the medication I settled on after trying the usual similar things! I started on 4 a day, and it works great for me, except for the side effects. When I take a dose, it can make me very sleepy or seem to have no effect at all. I got down to 3 a day but had to go back to 4 a day. I am now on a schedule that works for me: take 1 at 9:30 AM, 1 at 2:00 PM, 1 at 7:00 PM, and 1 before bedtime. The biggest problem I have with ropinirole is that if I get late or forget to take my pill on time, I will get RLS at any time of the day. Once RLS starts, taking the next pill doesn't stop it immediately, and it may be an hour or more before I get relief. I guess it takes about 30-60 minutes to get back in my system, so it is important to me to take ropinirole on time. I had gone to a couple of doctors before being diagnosed with RLS and found a neurologist who saved my life. RLS is misery! You can't function when it is active. The right doctor saved my life!"

• rma...
• April 27, 2009

Requip (ropinirole) for Parkinson's Disease "Taking Requip from the very beginning caused drowsiness, which after 3 years has developed into sleep attacks and edema in my feet. Also, an allergic reaction with a rash over most of my body."