Ropinirole (By mouth)

roe-PIN-i-role

Treats Parkinson disease and restless legs syndrome (RLS).

Drug classes

Antiparkinsonian (About this – PubMed Health)

Uses

Uses of This Medicine

Ropinirole is used alone or with other medicines to treat Parkinson’s disease.

Ropinirole tablets are also used to treat a condition called Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS). RLS is a neurologic disorder that affects sensation and movement in the legs and causes the legs to feel uncomfortable. This results in an overwhelming feeling of wanting to move your legs to make them comfortable.

This medicine is available only with your doctor’s prescription.

Other uses (PubMed Health)

How To Use

Tablet, Long Acting Tablet

Take your medicine as directed. Your dose may need to be changed several times to find what works best for you.

Swallow the extended-release tablet whole. Do not crush, break, or chew it.

Read and follow the patient instructions that come with this medicine. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions.

Missed dose:

Parkinson disease: Take a dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for your next dose, wait until then and take a regular dose. Do not take extra medicine to make up for a missed dose. RLS: Skip the missed dose, and take your next dose at the regular time. Do not use extra medicine to make up for a missed dose.

Store the medicine in a closed container at room temperature, away from heat, moisture, and direct light.

Drugs and Foods to Avoid

Ask your doctor or pharmacist before using any other medicine, including over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products.

Some foods and medicines can affect how ropinirole works. Tell your doctor knows if you are using any of the following:

Ciprofloxacin, levodopa, metoclopramide, thiothixene Birth control pills, or estrogen to treat menopausal symptoms Phenothiazine medicine (such as chlorpromazine, perphenazine, prochlorperazine, promethazine, thioridazine)

Tell your doctor if you use anything else that makes you sleepy. Some examples are allergy medicine, narcotic pain medicine, and alcohol.

When Not To Use

This medicine is not right for everyone. Do not use it if you had an allergic reaction to ropinirole.

Warnings

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you have kidney disease, liver disease, a sleep disorder, high or low blood pressure, heart disease, heart rhythm problems, lung disease, dyskinesia, or a history of skin cancer or mental health problems. Tell your doctor if you smoke or drink alcohol.

This medicine may cause the following problems:

Unusual changes in mood or behavior, compulsive behaviors, hallucinations Increased risk for skin cancer

This medicine may make you dizzy or drowsy. It may even cause you to fall asleep without warning. Tell your doctor right away if you learn that this has happened. Do not drive or do anything that could be dangerous until you know how this medicine affects you. Stand up slowly if you are dizzy.

Do not stop using this medicine suddenly. Your doctor will need to slowly decrease your dose before you stop it completely.

Your doctor will check your progress and the effects of this medicine at regular visits. Keep all appointments.

Call your doctor if your symptoms do not improve or if they get worse. For RLS, the symptoms might get worse in the early morning, start earlier in the afternoon, or spread to your arms.

Keep all medicine out of the reach of children. Never share your medicine with anyone.

Possible side effects

Summary More details

Call your doctor right away if you notice any of these side effects:

Allergic reaction: Itching or hives, swelling in your face or hands, swelling or tingling in your mouth or throat, chest tightness, trouble breathing

Chest pain, trouble breathing, fast or slow heartbeat

Confusion, unusual changes in mood or behavior, behaviors you cannot control

Extreme sleepiness or drowsiness

Fever, sweating, muscle stiffness

Lightheadedness, dizziness, fainting

Seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not really there

Skin changes or growths

Twitching or muscle movements you cannot control (either new or worse than usual)

If you notice these less serious side effects, talk with your doctor:

Headache

Nausea, vomiting, constipation, stomach upset

Tiredness

If you notice other side effects that you think are caused by this medicine, tell your doctor.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

More side effects of this drug

Brand names include

Requip, Requip XL

There may be other brand names for this medicine.