@rjjb Augmentation is more than just needing higher dosage. It also means the dopamine agonist drug just doesn't work. And, it messes with a person's own dopamine system. All of us have natural dopamine in our bodies and having it function properly is important to our wellness. Augmentation messes our dopamine "system" (as I understand it) and makes one feel awful--as well as unable to sleep, I believe.

Google "augmentation from dopamine agonist drug" for a better description.

Also, in the United Kingdom (England, Scotland etc etc) they no longer allow these drugs to be prescribed for restless leg because they cause problematic loss of inhibitions about having sex and spending money. Someone who was rational can become sexually promiscuous and running up debt. Google this--it was in newspaper reporting a while back. Also, someone on our forum wrote about that being her exact experience.

Most dopamine agonist drugs have been prescribed by our primary doctors (internists and family practice doctors) who treat the gambit of conditions, not just RLS. It took sleep medicine to take off and doctors within sleep medicine to become specialized in RLS for augmentation to be recognized. These RLS experts saw these patients with RLS who began to have symptoms of augmentation (suffering terribly) and figured it out--that the dopamine agonist drugs were the cause.

Do look at the RLS Foundation website for explanations that are better than mine. Search on the home page of our forum for "augmentation" and you can read descriptions from posters here about how terrible augmentation was for them.

Your question is very important. Many people were put on dopamine agonist drugs years ago and have had no problems yet--making them mystified why these drugs are considered "bad."