WEIGHT ON GABBAPENTIN

[Amy96]

So ive been struggling with my weight i recently came off the contriceptive pill due to mood swings & not being able to loose weight, but I recently looked up Gabbapentin side affects witch iam on for my RLS & the side effect of it is weight gain! Im like 10 stone 11 lbs im only 5'4 so overweight for my height i do eat good & work out but cant seem to budge the weight my ideal weight for my height is 8 stone 5lbs Has anyone struggled with there weight on Gabbapentin & thought it was maybe worth a change in medacation? My weight is up & down like a yoyo anyway but dont think the Gabbapentin is helping matters & its making me really depressed because i was always thin

[Hidden]

I found that while taking Gabapentin - for a short period - my weight started to balloon. I would have eaten my dinner be stuffed and still feel hungry! I lost the weight when I stopped them, (had to exercise and diet too mind ).

I assume that it was the false hunger that made me eat more and put on weight. SO working on that assumption a food diary, healthy diet and exercise regime should bring things back under control.

AND....before anyone says - I know that is easier said than done!

Also there may be a different mechanism at work with yourself. On the plus side there are other drugs available some with worse side-effects than weight gain though!

Take care

[Amy96 in reply to Hidden]

My weight seems to be going up i go the gym everyday and i hardly even eat i dont have a massive appetite! I also read reviews its all water weight it holds im definetly stopping taking them my weight gets me down so much

[Hidden in reply to Amy96]

Right, different mechanism. On the plus side you recognise the problem and can do something about it.

I have a friend that swears by the 5/2 diet might be worth a look.

For what it's worth I used to be over weight and for a long time I couldn't understand it as I never ate. My wife suggested a food diary - just a sheet and a pen stuck in my pocket - where I pit down EVERYTHING I ate or drank and at what time, eg 2 peanuts at 1.25pm. Yeah that strict! I discovered I ate a whole lot more than I realised.

Now I am not saying that is the case with you but 1 its worth a try to see if you haven't already done so if there is any snacking or other areas you can make an extra saving on calories and 2 it can be very helpful in sticking to a new diet to loose weight.

Weight can be a real sap on us it can prevent us form doing so much, good luck in getting it off.

[Amy96 in reply to Hidden]

I eat under 1000 callories most days i have 3 meals a day and dont eat after 6pm either i only drink water, i really dont know what im doing wrong i thought it was down to the pill but i never knew Gabba put massive ammounts of weight on people im really pissed off lol

[Hidden in reply to Amy96]

Damn! That's harsh! No wonder you're pissed off, I'm pissed off for you too

If the drugs are making you big and that is getting you down it would be worth a change imho - IF, and only IF I could felt a drug that worked well and didn't have worse side-effects.

You could always try a drug holiday if the legs will let you. IF you go down the route of the dopamine agonist be very careful and make sure you are well versed in the side-effects and Augmentation.

[Amy96 in reply to Hidden]

I think im gonna stop the pills for a month see if it may be them causing the weight gain, im only 20 my legs are really bad but id rather have bad RLS than be fat!! Haha

[Hidden in reply to Amy96]

Well when the legs are bad get them moving it'll help with the weight loss, good luck.

[Amy96 in reply to Hidden]

Yeah thats true lol thankyou

[johannasuar]

Amy, hi. When I was put on Gabapentin I gained 25 lbs. in a month and a half. I couldn't understand the gain because I've always been a slim person. I was feeling so frustrated and uncomfortable, like you I looked up the med, and there it was, side effects was weight gain. I got myself off right away and the weight came down super fast. I stopped going to that neurologist, I didn't care for him, and by mistake I found that tramadol that I was taking for something else, took the RLS away at night time. At that time I didn't know much about RLS. Went to my regular doctor, talked to him about it, and he has no problem prescribing the tramadol for me which works like a dream for me. Unfortunately, like all meds, what works for some, doesn't always work for others. Have you tried tramadol? Good luck.

[Amy96 in reply to johannasuar]

Hey, yeah i have tried tramadol for a number of years for my knee cap as i had major surgery on my leg in my early teens and when ive tried to take them now i dont sleep on them i toss and turn all night cant sleep at all on tramadol, Is it safe for me to come straight off the gabbapentin? I take them at night time so i sleep good but i cant take them anymore i get really depressed about my weight

[johannasuar in reply to Amy96]

You asked if it was safe to come off right away. It depends on how long you've been on the gabapentin. I weaned myself off by taking a dose off for a few days, I was on 1200 mg per day and only for the time it took for the weight gain. That being said, it took 1 1/2 months to get FAT, and I took 1 1/2 month for the loss, I did it on my own. I also eat little, low cal food, very healthy, no need for that weight gain.

[AranaNZL in reply to johannasuar]

You may wanna get off tramadol, in time you will experience nausea and dizzy spells accompanied by fevers that randomly happen, also in the end you will be addicted and death will be knocking at your door.

[johannasuar]

Ha, i just had torn meniscus surgery a week ago. Tramadol is one of the safest drugs to take long term for RLS. It's a non opiate though now they've changed that statistic so it has to be under prescription. Another great part about it is that the doses are low and causes the least augmentation, I've been on tramadol for 7 yrs now and had to up my dose another two years ago. About the sleeping problem, yes, unfortunately it's part of the deal, I've adjusted to having broken sleep, but I wouldn't trade it for having this horrid RLS feeling. Usually after 3-4 bad nights, I get a pretty good night in, I have no problem with that, like I said, I've adjusted, besides, I do have the privilege to take a 20 minute nap if I need to, that works for me too! Tramadol works so well for me, at times I forget I have this problem, though about 2-3 times a year, for some inexplicable reason, the tramadol doesn't work well, it's like it takes a brake, if the RLS us very bad, then I take an additional pill, 50 mg, and in a day everything is back to normal. By the way, I take one 50 mg pill at 5:30 pm, and another at 11:00 pm, that's my routine.

[Amy96 in reply to johannasuar]

I couldnt take tramadol they offered me everything because even with the gabba i wasnt sleeping & it is classed as opiate based according to my doctors but they are arseholes they say tramadol is very addictive, they have given me valium & everything i think i have a really high tollorance because not much seems to work for me

[johannasuar in reply to Amy96]

I have been fortunate that my GP was willing to prescribe the tramadol, another doctor was NOT. Addictive? Everything is addictive, Tramadol is considered the least of all evils. Find a doctor that WILL prescribe it on a long term basis, if it's what you want to take. I have cirrhosis of the liver, to say the least, and Tramadol is super safe, actually, whenever I have other problems that need some kind of pain killers, I'm always prescribed the tramadol.

[Amy96 in reply to johannasuar]

I wish my GP was as good as yours mines is not willing to try anything well saying that i have this one doctor who is really good she trys to see what i can take and what works for me & what does not i might go back to her and just say i cant take medication if its going to make me gain weight! Because then i get depressed and dont leave the house and that creates more problems for me i just cant take fat tablets anymore! 😂

[johannasuar in reply to Amy96]

Haha, I'm with ya, NOTHING that makes me FAT, no no way! Go back to that other doctor, she seems to want to help you like my doctor with me. He was so nice to even tell me that he wasn't very familiar with RLS, that tramadol wasn't for that, but he gave me the prescription, went back because he wanted to check how I was doing on the tramadol and told me he instructed himself on this desease. I LOVE him for that, now he's always asking how I am doing, if I need more scripts, what more can I ask for. I also had him do a FERRITIN blood test, everyone here says if our ferritin is low, that's what causes RLS. Ferritin is iron, but the test has to be for FERRITIN, not just iron level. Well, my ferritin level was perfect, I guess that test didn't prove anything for me with RLS.

[Hidden in reply to johannasuar]

We all end up dependant on the drugs we are using, if we didn't have to depend on them we wouldn't need them!

There is a very famous study on addiction looking at heroin use by US soldiers in Vietnam, well worth a read. Long story short Addiction is not just as simple as take this drug and you get addicted. In fact that is nonsense as many get diamophine, (read pharmaceutical heroin) after big operations long enough for them to be 'addicted' but they don't become addicted.

Drs have little to no knowledge of addiction and worse than that they have wrong ideas that cause more harm.

[johannasuar in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Raft. Very interesting.

[Hidden in reply to johannasuar]

No problem - I have a good interest and addiction.

If you want look into it I'd advise you to read some of Prof. Nutts stuff the link below will get you stared

profdavidnutt.wordpress.com...

And here is the Vietnam study:

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...

[johannasuar in reply to Amy96]

Hey, I forgot to say that I now take 400 mg capsule of pure MAGNESIUM, WOW, it makes you sleep like a baby. I take it with my last tramadol before SLEEPING time. Give it a try, at this point we have little to loose. Someone mentioned magnesium oil, here on this website, I tried it, loved it, still use it but not all the time, I'm lazy to do all the rubbing, LOL, but it does relax you, good for the joints, but doesn't really relieve the RLS completely , just soothing.

[Amy96 in reply to johannasuar]

Yeah i take magnesium aslong side my vitamins i take during the day with my healthy eating plan! I find i sleep good when i take them

[Hidden in reply to Amy96]

lol they warn you Tramadol is addictive and then give you a benzodiazepine that is very addictive!! And no Gabapentin is NOT opiate! Jesus what quack are you seeing? I'd change Dr ASAP because they know sweet F.A.

I'd advise a slow withdrawal off the Gabapentin if you have been on it a long time or on big doses. I had it for two months or so and stopped it dead but I have a bad habit of doing that, (the rationale being the sooner I am away from it the better and the quicker I get on something better) even though I was on top dose.

You are going to feel really shitty stopping cold turkey, but if you are able to go down that road you will get off it quicker. I'd have a chat to my Dr but not the one you were seeing that doesn't seem to know much about the drugs. Also it will be worthwhile having a replacement like Tramadol, you might not sleep but if it eases the RLS you can rest, you are unlikely to do so with nothing.

Tolerance is an issue with the drugs we use and I know I have to ramp up the dose too quickly.

Might be worth exploring Kratom or Cannabis as safer alternatives to the prescribed drugs.

[johannasuar]

Take it at NIGHT! It's been a life saver, I panick when I'm out. See if it helps with the Tramadol, should you decide to give tramadol a try again.

[Amy96 in reply to johannasuar]

I have a young kid so no sleep for me is really not an option, my GP (the one i like) she said she wasnt very clued up about RLS either gave me valium to help with my sleep at night and to go back the following week and when i went back she had bought books on rls & drugs for rls to educate herself really respected her for that

[johannasuar in reply to Amy96]

That's GREAT. I've comunicanted with Rafts that wrote to you. Very knowledgeable, also on Tramadol. Valium does, excuse the word, CRAP, for RLS, it's just for sleeping or a calmer if you're nervous. Go to her and see what she found in the books. Also, don't take anything that causes sleepiness, (ex) NyQuil, Benadryl, they will cause SEVERE RLS, and don't let her put you on drugs that cause augmentation, I hope Rafts can fill you in on those, I'm not too knowledgeable on those because I've never used them. I was lucky that the tramadol worked for me so well. ANY painkiller relieves RLS, but some ARE addictive, TRAMADOL Is not as addictive as some Doctors make you believe. Why would my doctor prescribe it for soooo many years?