Which one

[Memmy]

Are gabapentin and pregabalin the same. Which one is the best for rls. Which one has lesser side effects. Thanks

[Madlegs1]

They are essentially the same family.Pregabalin is more costly.

Gabapentin can be got as Horizant which makes it easier to ingest and lower doseage.

Both have various side effects- depending on a person's makeup.

Everybody has different experience with them, so really try one and see how it goes.

Good luck.

[Memmy in reply to Madlegs1]

Thanks you for helping

[SueJohnson]

They are basically the same and have the same side effects. The only real difference is that pregabalin does not have to have the doses split, which with you at 300 pregabalin equal to 1800 mg gabapentin is the best way to go and certainly if you decide to increase it.

[BAK524]

Hi Memmy I have experience with both medications. I used gabapentin for 5-6 years, and as my RLS worsened, I kept upping the dose. Eventually it no longer worked, and I was at 1,200mg, so I asked for pregabalin. Although the active ingredients are the same, for me the effects differed significantly. I started right away with 150mg of pregabalin, thinking this was a moderate dose for RLS. The pregabalin at this dose worked much better for me than the gabapentin. The problem for me is that the side effects are far more pronounced: daytime drowsiness, bad brain fog, tremors, shakiness, trouble initiating sentences, blurry vision. My neurologist prescribed me lowest dose ropinerole and we decided to lower the pregabablin to 75mg to see if the side effects ease. It's been about a week and they have lessened but they are still noticeable. I may try to reduce to 50 mg and see if that controls the RLS. I may go off it all together. I read on this forum that people take 300, 400, even 500mg of pregabalin a day, which seems like a crazy dose to me, but we are all different. I recommend that you be careful with pregabalin. It is a powerful drug and should not be discontinued abruptly. After being on it for only 11 weeks, and tapering down from 150 mg to 75 mg over a ten day period, I still experienced a few days of horrible anxiety and insomnia. But again, we are all different!

[Memmy in reply to BAK524]

Thank you. I hope that the pregabalin settles down and it works well for you