Requip XL

Requip XL is a prescription medication used to treat Parkinson's disease. Requip XL belongs to a group of drugs called dopamine agonists, which help the brain to control body movement.

This medication comes in an exteneded release tablet. It is taken once a day , with or without food. Swallow extended release tablets whole. Do not chew, crush, or divide extended release tablets.

Common side effects of Requip XL include nausea, dizziness, and drowsiness.  Do not drive or operate machinery until you know how Requip XL affects you.

Requip XL is a prescription medicine to treat the signs and symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Take this medication exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully.

Parkinson’s Disease:

The recommended starting dose is 2 mg taken once daily for 1 to 2 weeks. The dose should be increased by 2 mg/day at 1 week or longer intervals. 

The maximum daily dose is 24 mg/day. 

Kidney Impairment: The maximum recommended dose is 18 mg/day in patients with end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis
 

• Patients with Parkinson's disease should take Requip XL differently than patients with Restless Legs Syndrome. For Parkinson's disease, a higher dose is generally needed.
• There are known side effects of Requip XL.
• If you fall asleep or feel very sleepy while doing normal activities such as driving, faint, feel dizzy, nauseated, or sweaty when you stand up from sitting or lying down, you should talk with your doctor.
• Hallucinations (unreal visions, sounds, or sensations) have been reported in patients taking Requip XL. The risk is greater in patients with Parkinson's disease who are elderly, taking Requip XL with L-dopa or taking higher doses of Requip XL. If these occur, you should discuss them with your doctor.
• Requip XL may make some of the side effects of L-dopa worse. Requip XL may cause uncontrolled sudden movements or make such movements you already have worse or more frequent. You should notify your doctor in such a case as dosage adjustments to your anti-Parkinson’s medications may be necessary.
• Studies of people with Parkinson’s disease show that they may be at an increased risk of developing melanoma, a form of skin cancer, when compared to people without Parkinson’s disease. It is not known if this problem is associated with Parkinson’s disease or the medicines used to treat Parkinson’s disease. Requip XL is one of the medicines used to treat Parkinson’s disease, therefore, patients being treated with Requip XL should have periodic skin examinations.
• Before starting Requip XL, be sure to tell your doctor if you are taking any medicines that make you drowsy.

Unusual urges: Some patients taking Requip XL get urges to behave in a way unusual for them. Examples of this are an unusual urge to gamble or increased sexual urges and behaviors. If you notice or your family notices that you are developing any unusual behaviors, talk to your healthcare provider.

You should not take Requip XL if you are allergic to the active ingredient ropinirole or to any of the inactive ingredients.

• Most people who take Requip XL tolerate it well. The most commonly reported side effects in people taking Requip XL are nausea, headache, dizziness, drowsiness or sleepiness.
• You should be careful until you know if Requip XL affects your ability to remain alert while doing normal daily activities, and you should watch for the development of significant daytime sleepiness or episodes of falling asleep. It is possible that you could fall asleep while doing normal activities such as driving a car, doing physical tasks, or using hazardous machinery while taking Requip XL. Your chances of falling asleep while doing normal activities while taking Requip XL are greater if you are taking other medicines that cause drowsiness.
• When you start taking Requip XL or when you increase your dose, you may feel dizzy, nauseated, sweaty or faint, when first standing up from sitting or lying down. Therefore, do not stand up quickly after sitting or lying down, particularly if you have been sitting or lying down for a long period of time. Take a minute sitting on the edge of the bed or chair before you get up.
• Hallucinations (unreal visions, sounds, or sensations) have been reported in patients taking Requip XL. The risk is greater in patients with Parkinson's disease who are elderly, taking Requip XL with L-dopa, or taking higher amounts of Requip XL.
• If you are taking L-dopa for Parkinson's disease, Requip XL may make some of the side effects of L-dopa worse. Requip XL may cause uncontrolled sudden movements or make such movements you already have worse or more frequent.

Some patients taking Requip XL get urges to behave in a way unusual for them. Examples of this are an unusual urge to gamble or increased sexual urges and behaviors. If you notice or your family notices that you are developing any unusual behaviors, talk to your healthcare provider.

This is not a complete list of side effects and should not take the place of discussions with your healthcare providers. Your doctor or pharmacist can give you a more complete list of possible side effects.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Especially tell your doctor if you take:

• other dopamine antagonists (such as phenothiazines, butyrophenones, thioxanthenes and metoclopramide)
• estrogens
• ciprofloxacin

This is not a complete list of Requip XL drug interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

The FDA categorizes medications based on safety for use during pregnancy. Five categories - A, B, C, D, and X, are used to classify the possible risks to an unborn baby when a medication is taken during pregnancy.

This medication falls into category C. In animal studies, pregnant animals were given this medication and had some babies born with problems. No well-controlled studies have been done in humans. Therefore, this medication may be used if the potential benefits to the mother outweigh the potential risks to the unborn child.

Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if Requip XL is excreted in human breast milk or if it will harm your nursing baby.

To decrease the chances of feeling nauseated, take ropinirole with food.

When you start taking ropinirole or when you increase your dose, you may feel dizzy, nauseated, sweaty or faint, when first standing up from sitting or lying down.

• Do not stand up quickly after sitting or lying down, particularly if you have been sitting or lying down for a long period of time.
• Take a minute sitting on the edge of the bed or chair before you get up.

Ropinirole has caused hallucinations (unreal visions, sounds, or sensations) in some patients. The risk is greater in patients with Parkinson's disease who are elderly, taking ropinirole with L-dopa, or taking higher amounts of ropinirole.