Herbal Spotlight
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 Using rotigotine (Neupro)
Dear Patient,
Your health care provider has prescribed rotigotine, a dopamine stimulator, to treat your Parkinson’s disease. This medication acts at dopamine receptors in your brain to help restore the balance between stimulating nerves and calming nerves to help you maintain control of movement. The brand name of this medication is Neupro.
How you’ll use Neupro
You’ll place a Neupro patch on clean, dry, unbroken skin on the front of your abdomen, thigh, hip, flank, shoulder or upper arm. You should remove the old patch and apply a new patch at about the same time every day. Rotate the application sites every day; don’t use the same site more often than once every 14 days.
What to do if you miss a dose
If you forget to put on a new patch, put it on as soon as you remember and then apply a new patch the next day at your usual time. Be sure to remove the old patch before putting on the new one.
What to do about side effects
Notify your health care provider if you experience side effects to this medication.
Common: sleepiness, falling asleep suddenly, dizziness (don’t drive a car or operate hazardous machinery or perform dangerous activities until you know how this medication will affect you), application-site reactions (changing application site daily will help).
Less common: nausea, vomiting, hallucinations, compulsive behaviors.
What you must know about other medications
The effectiveness of this medication may change if it’s combined with certain other medications. Taking antipsychotics with Neupro may lessen Neupro’s effectiveness. To avoid drowsiness and falling asleep suddenly, don’t drink alcohol while taking this medication. Tell all of your health care providers that you’re taking this medication.
Special directions
- Store this medication at room temperature in a dry place. Keep it out of the reach of children and pets.
- Apply the patch at about the same time every day. Rotate the site every day. Don’t use the same site more often than once every 14 days; keeping a chart of patch placements may help you keep track.
- Apply the patch to clean, dry, unbroken skin on the front of your abdomen, thigh, hip, flank, shoulder or upper arm. Be sure to remove the old patch before applying the new one.
- Remove the patch if you’re having an MRI; you could be burned where the patch is applied.
- Avoid situations that will increase absorption of the medication from the patch and cause too much medication to be in your system at one time: don’t apply a heating pad to the area, take a hot bath, use a sauna, or expose the applied patch to direct sunlight.
Keep in mind
- It isn’t known how this medication could affect an unborn baby. If you’re pregnant or want to become pregnant, consult your health care provider.
- It isn’t known how this medication could affect a breastfed baby. Because of risk for serious adverse effects on an infant, you should use another method of feeding the baby while you’re taking this medication.
- Tell your health care provider or a family member if unusual urges occur, such as gambling too much, increased sexual desire, repeating meaningless actions, or if you have hallucinations.
- There’s a risk for developing melanoma while taking this drug; your health care provider will do routine skin checks.
- Report hallucinations, falling asleep suddenly, weight gain, dizziness, fainting.
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