Thanks BobsDream for posting this. Very interesting.

The side effects for pramipexole seem quite nasty, OCD , dizziness ,dowsyness ,hallucinations and insomnia. Lots of people are reporting that they have spent 1000's or 10's of 1000's of dollars gambeling while on this drug.

You left out my favorite, compulsive cross dressing .

I started on it about 25 days ago. The side effects have been minimal.

I've experienced a decent reduction in the volume of my tinnitus. I've come across other reports of this drug having no affect on tinnitus and at least one report where a person said their tinnitus went completely away. So as usual these drugs can be hit or miss.

Interesting article. Different people can react differently to drugs than others. One may have many side effects and others none. It is hit or miss with that and as well with whether or not it will control the tinnitus. I always wonder if or when a person will build up tolerance to the drug and it quits working. Then what?

Over 300 reports of people experiences of this drug on Daily Strength and while a large percentage of them are very positive some of the reported side effects are very strange indeed .

gintonik (Parkinson's Disease)
Lost $85,000 Gambling compulsively. I don't know why I thought it was a good idea at the time.

mulesal52 (Restless Legs Syndrome)
it works for the most part but i have the side effect of wanting to shop....most people want to gamble...i tried to give this up but then i dont sleep and the process continues...no sleep...more restless leg.

normac2 (Parkinson's Disease)
I started taking Mirapex approx. two years ago and was very reluctant to take it at first due to the potential side effects of falling asleep suddenly and compulsive disorders. I can say that it has been effective. I went without it for a short time and noticed a definite change in my mobility and other PD symptoms. I did not have any issues re falling asleep but question that I eat compulsively.
Mirapex discontinued... What a change! in a matter of weeks my cumpulsive behaviours are gone!!!

saz1885 (Parkinson's Disease)
did work, but side effect was severe gambling addiction. in debt by 12,000.

Labmom (Restless Legs Syndrome)
It usually works if I take it about an hour before bedtime but sometimes it takes about 23 hours to get to sleep.

Leejas (Parkinson's Disease)
mirapex has caused hallucinations. By reducing his presc. to 1/4 of lmg tablet, twice a day, it has reduced the hallucinations to mild periodic dreams while still stopping the tremors
Working / Worked

Rock1940 (Parkinson's Disease)
Gambled too much.

POOLSMOM (Parkinson's Disease)
1st diagnosed I was put on Mirapex. I didn't mind it. Side effects were constant eating. It was like a door opened and i couldn't get enough. When I became aware of the comlication it was difficult to stop

gnsgnsgns (Parkinson's Disease)
I became very addicted to gambling it took 6 months to wean me off the drug Iwas totaly wired

EllenAnn (Parkinson's Disease)
Worked well for first couple years with predictable severe drowsiness for 1/2 hr after 1/2 hr of dose so I had to plan activities like driving around that and caused dry mouth and insomnia; after about 2 years, insomnia got worse & had OCD/punding (couldn't stop projects like beading jewelry or putting puzzles together, etc. to sleep or eat), then had hallucinations (hearing voices) which went away as soon as I stopped Mirapex and switched to "Sinemet" & low dose Seroquel which aids sleep.

oldvet (Parkinson's Disease)
Working, watch out for complusive behaviors, mine was shopping.

lebowski (Parkinson's Disease)
worked just fine, alomost lost my family in major debt cuase of it and I would have either ended up in the psych ward jail or dead. ( I DON'T TAKE IT ANY MORE)

Sassafras (Parkinson's Disease)
I feel like it has given me addictions to eating and maybe gambling if I let it.

TheButterflyMan (Parkinson's Disease)
started buying things compulsively

BJcool (Parkinson's Disease)
I became victim of ICD or (Impulse Control Disorder)couldn't control my gambling on the internet,That was probable the worst experience I've had since I began medication

Im not trying to put anyone off taking it its just ive never seen abunch of side effects like this before on a prescription drug. You can see the full list of reports by clicking this link ( pramipexole )

That's bazaar but it does seem to bring out addictions in some people. I will of course be watching for signs of compulsive behavior. The only noticeable side effect I've had is increased labido and drowsiness. I try to take it around 6:00PM which makes me tired by 7 or 8. I'm at a relatively small dosage of .375mg a day. The drug description says up to 1.5mg for restless leg and 4.5mg for Parkinson's.

I don't mind experimenting with new drugs. I think my T is a lot worse than most medication side effects. If I don't like something I stop. So far I like this but I have doubts about its long term effectiveness. I'll try to post updates as time goes on.

Please keep us posted Bob. I think you were the one who tried gaba, and after you had luck with it I tried it. It seems to have run it's course so I'm always on the look out.
Sue

It does seem that the compulsive behavior is happening mostly to the people taking it for Parkinsons so with any luck your low dosage wont give you the same side effects. Im glad it seems to be helping you so far BobsDream :)

"It seems to have run it's course so I'm always on the look out.
Sue "

Thats been my experience with meds as well. I've tried a few that worked pretty well for a couple of weeks or months but then they stop working. I hope this one has some lasting power.

I hope so too Bob. Let us know.

The last audiologist I went to for generators said that with my T they would have to turn the volume up so loud it would be a distraction....told me to "watch a ballgame and get your mind off of it"....so you might want to try that too ;)

So nice to spend hard earned money for this great advice!
Sue

BobsDream, Please,please keep us up to date with this! I'm like you where you have to do what you have to do. Can I ask how you got this drug from a doctor? Did you convince him or her to let you give it a trial run strictly because of your tinnitus? Thanks!!

I'm very fortunate to have a great doctor. He'll let me try about anything I can think of as long as he feels it safe and doesn't make my life worse. As he put it, "I'd really be up poop creek if I could only take meds approved for tinnitus". Because as we all know, there is no medicine approved for tinnitus.

He's also teaching me self hypnosis. As he put it, "it's a tool that I can always take with me no matter where I'm at". He's seen it work for pain management but I'm his first tinnitus patient to try it.

I have a good doctor also. He's letting me try Neurontin to see if it will help. Been on it for a month now and no improvement . On a scale of 1-10 how much has pramipexole improved your tinnitus? Thanks!

Well the fist week I had minimal improvements but during the 2nd and 3rd weeks I probably never went above a 4 and never got the tea kettles. Those were two very good weeks. This week I'm bouncing between 4 and 6 and have had a few tea kettle moments.

Because of the big improvement I decided to come off of Trileptal which I had been taking for several months. I wanted to see if that would change anything. Maybe it has but it's difficult to say with so many variables. Trileptal has always been effective in lowering the pitch. I'll start back up if needed.

BobDreams how did your tinnitus start (noise, trama or a oxotoxic drug)? Are you still taking pramipexole? Is it still working for you if so?