Gabapentin

[Shumbah]

Has anyone had success with gabapentin and weee there any downsides to the medication.

I plan on trying when I get back to Australia. They did say that low does of Methadone definitely works

[Lapsedrunner]

I’ve had no problems and generally sleep pretty well on 200mg per night!

[Madlegs1]

Gabapentin works for many people, but at high doses, can have unwelcome side effects.900 seems to be an acceptable upper limit. Avoid magnesium within 3 hrs of your Gaba dose.

Methadone would be the drug of choice for many, but is not available for rls in many countries.

Dr Buchfuhrer lists it as his first choice. At low dose.

[Hidden in reply to Madlegs1]

Gabapentin made my hair fall out! Seriously ...

[Hidden]

I started on Gabapentin last year and was prescribed it for nerve pain. Amazingly, I didn't know at the time that is is also used for RLS!

The nerve pain was bad, but improved over 2 months during which time I didn't notice its effect on my RLS, I wasn't sleeping because of the pain.

I read about the possible side effects and was horrified!!!!

However, at one point I was on 900mg a day. This was in 3 doses as it was for the nerve pain. I didn't notice any side effects.

I am now only on 300mg a day with minimal nerve pain and no apparent side effects.

This is only my experience, everybody's different.

[thoughtful12]

I've been taking Gabapentin for four years - 300mg at bedtime. It works well for me with a minimum of side effects. But remember that it works differently for different people at different doses. Good luck!

[Oscarsaurus]

I have taken gabapentin for almost 6 years now and my dose was increased to 1800mg a day 5 years ago. This was prescribed for my chronic lower back pain. When my RLS was at its worse , gabapentin did not make any difference but most people on here swear by it . I think that you should try different drugs to see what helps you because we are all different. I take Mirapex and codeine and paracetamol which helps my RLS . I do not drink alcohol, no caffeine and i have learnt that sugar is the worst culprit for triggering my legs so none for me any later than about 3 or 4 in the afternoon. I also have my ferritin levels checked. Good luck

[Joolsg]

I used it for about 3 months after Augmentation on Ropinirole and I had severe diarrhoea as a side effect. It didn’t seem to help my RLS either.

However, I switched to a similar drug, pregabalin, and that has helped , together with OxyContin.

Everyone responds differently so you may not have any side effects and it may work very well for you.

[Spudvar]

My experience is same as Manerva reply. Started 900mg per day in 3 doses, now 300mg, one dose in evening. No side effects. Does not work for everybody.

[RosieRow]

I've switched from Ropinirole to Pregabalin which seemed to have unacceptable side-effects and have been on Gabapentin (Neurontin - a total of 500mg per day) since mid-February. I now have no bad attacks of RLS but I do get significant tiredness, especially in the afternoon/evening unless I keep moving and busy, and have put on some weight despite eating less. The tiredness is the biggest problem but that side-effect seemed to be worse on Pregabalin which also gave me most of the weight gain. I also take 5mg Oxycodone and 45mg codeine. I'd like to reduce the Gabapentin to see if the tiredness eases but have decided to stick with the same medication for a while rather than continuing to tweak it.

I wish you well but, as others have said, we're all different and so have to find what works for each of us as individuals.

RosieRow

[Hidden]

I have been on Gabapentin for about 10 years, no noticeable side effects. It works as a sleep aid but doesn’t do much for RLS, although I tried to stop it after reading some bad press about it and my RLS got worse. As almost everyone has experienced, things seem to work for a while and then don’t.

[BJamn]

After weening off on Mirapex, or while weening off of Mirapex I took gabapentin. Can’t remember the dose I was on at the time but now I take a slow release gabapentin called Horizant. I supplement this with 200 mg of gabapentin at noon, 400 mg in the early evening and 200 mg at bedtime. Most nights I sleep pretty well.

BJ