Gabapentin

[Mum007]

Hi all, I'm new to this forum but have had restless legs for over 30 years. I've never seen my doctor about it because I try to keep off drugs. For the past 5 years or so I have been using spatone iron and that has generally kept it at bay. That is until i went on omeprazole. At first I was ok but after a couple of months it was terrible and was in my arms too and then I started to get it during the day which I have never had before. I came off the omeprazole but the restless legs won't go away now even with the spatone. I don't get it every night but almost. For 40 years I have also been an insomniac averaging about 2 hours sleep a night. My mind won't shut down. I think I have idiopathic insomnia which has no known cause but now i am getting older my body can no longer cope with the lack of sleep. I have only ever used sleeping tablets on a couple of occasions and they did not work but occasionally I have used Sleep Aid by Kirkland but have now found out that antihistamines can cause restless legs. Can anyone confirm to me whether gabapentin is the same as GABA that you can buy over the internet as this looks like a possible help for both insomnia and rls. and what are the side effects and what is the best dose. I am going to my doctors on Monday to see if he can send me to a sleep clinic but i'm not holding my breath.

[Lindy14]

Hi Mum007, and welcome to the fold.

About the query you have with GABA and gabapentin for RLS (restless legs). Gabapentin is a generic name for a medicine that is used to treat RLS and I couldn't confirm whether GABA is the same stuff, I'd recommend that when you see your doctor you refer to it as gabapentin rather than GABA as in my experience, unless they are neurologists specialising in treating RLS they may not be as clear as to how to use it. My own neurologist specialises in treating RLS and has put me on gabapentin. As mine took a while to get to any level of effectiveness, my neurologist specified in the report she sent to my GP that when/if the present dose gets to a level that is known to be a high level (she specified 300mg per day for me) and there were signs of augmentation, then the GP was to refer me back to her so she could supervise a change in medication.

Luckily my GP has admitted that he doesn't know much about RLS and is glad to refer me back if necessary.

I'm sure I'm not the only one in such a situation.

Let us know how you get on,

Lindy

[Joolsg]

Gabapentin is prescribed for treatment of RLS and average dose is 900mg. Some take higher doses ( up to 3600mg), usually at night. I took 900mg with codeine as it didn't help me and later switched to pregabalin ( similar drug) with oxycontin.

GABA is a supplement that is helpful for insomnia and there have been posts on here about it. Use search engine above right and you'll find the posts.

Good luck

[Joolsg]

healthunlocked.com/rlsuk/po...

This is a recent post by Laura flora on GABA. It helps her RLS & aids sleep

[Mum007]

Thank you everyone. Full of helpful replies. I will certainly give the GABA a go and hope it helps my sleep . Funnily enough, over the last year or so I have been taking L-glutamine to help with my acid reflux. It is supposed to help repair the stomach lining. I will now give this a miss. I have also been eating a lot of ice cream over the summer on my apple and blackberry dessert and have read on here that this can make rls worse so I will cut this out also.

[Mum007]

Forgot to mention that I have dairy free ice cream so not sure if the same problems with ice cream arise when its soy based.