Taking Requip For Restless Legs Syndrome. Have Lymphatic Edema And Peripheral Neuropathy. Can I Take Sinemet?

Posted on Tue, 19 Nov 2013

Question: I am a 67 male and have RLS, and have been on Requip for 8 years. Started at .25 mg 2x day, now at 3 mg 3x day. My doctor is reducing the Requip, and switching me over Sinemet, which is Levodopa/Carbidopa. It will take a week to make the switch. I also have Lymphatic Edema and Peripheral Neuropathy for the past 8 years. Do you agree with my doctor's switching my medication, and are my symptoms all interrelated ? I belief a lot of this is being caused by the meds I am taking ( Bumex - 1-2 mg a day, Chlorthlidone -25 a day, Naproxen- 500 mg 2x a day, Ambien 5 mg a day and Potassium Chloride 10 MEQ 2x a day. My email is : YYYY@YYYY . Waiting for your answer.

Answered by Dr. David Okia (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Yes i agree with doctor switching

Detailed Answer:
Hi and thanks for your question.

Requip and sinement have the same mechanism of action.
Requip is definitely very effective for management of RLS however based on my experience its expensive compared to sinemet. Most of my patients tend to experience less side effects or tolerate sinement better than Requip. I would agree with doctor switching.
Yes the symptoms are interrelated.

Hope i answered your question, will be happy to help you if you have other queries.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj