gabapentin and old fool

[auldreekie18]

Hi good people need some advice on taking GABAPENTN ,4 days ago I was prescribed Gabapentin for RLS ,1st night took 300mg 2 hours before bed with 2 tramadol went to bed first night took 300mg Gabapentin with 2 Tramadol stopped the Pramipexole slepted for 6 hours woke with RLS . so 2nd night took 600mg Gabapentin and 2 Tramadol and had a terrible night so third night took 900mg Gabapentin and no tramadol and had a horrendous night RLS all over sweat pouring off me dizzy funny eyes worst RLS I have had , so how do you take it ,how long in between doses .been off Pramipexole since starting Gabapentin but maybe I should have slowly come off Tramadol 100mg not just cut it out right away , grateful for any advice before I kill myself with a high dose , God Bless you all you are in my prayers .

[Madlegs1]

How much Pramipexol were you on before stopping?

Gaba dose is ok up to 1800. So no worry bout that.

Others will come on with more help

Good luck.

[auldreekie18 in reply to Madlegs1]

Hi , o88mg Pramipexole down from o5oomg ,have bad muscle pain can hardly walk Paracetamol no use or up the dose of Tramadol from 100mg at night along with 300mg Gabapentin .determined to stay off Pramipexole for good nearly a week now , thanks for reply this site is a godsend .

[Madlegs1 in reply to auldreekie18]

That's far too much of a drop.You would need to go down by 0.088 each week to have any comfort.

I suggest you go back up to one tablet below 0.5mg and start again from there .

That will give the gabapentin time to start helping,. Although it will be no help with the withdrawal feelings.

[ookla]

They say it takes at least 3 weeks for gabapentin to start working. So you'll need to continue the tramadol until then. After 3 weeks, start slowly tapering off on the tramadol. Once you're off the tramadol, you can start adjusting your gabapentin dose to find the amount that's effective for you. Take it two hours before bed. If you need more than 600 mg, take the additional amount 4 hours before bed. Sue will explain it better.

[auldreekie18 in reply to ookla]

Thanks for that will take your advice ,God Bless.

[Carlettejaque]

Gabapentin takes about 2 to 3 months to build up in the body and work properly. It should be gradually introduced. Taking 900mg after only a couple of days could be dangerous and it would make you very dizzy. I would advice going back down to 300mg and upping the dose by 100mg every week until you get to 900mg. You should consult with your doctor as you will need something else to help while your body gets used to the gabapentin. I take 800mg 3 times a day and it makes me feel drunk. I take it for a neuropathic pain condition. I also have erythromalalgia (hot feet syndrome) and the gabapentin has little effect on it. You may well be suffering from pramaxipel withdrawal as well. You should come off it very gradually.

[auldreekie18 in reply to Carlettejaque]

Hi, Been off Pramipexole for a week and have bad muscle pain in legs buttocks and joints ,have reduced Gabapentin back to 300 mg but still bad at nights, but I will give it time and see what happens ,thanks for your input ,GodBless

[Tanker1]

From what I've read on this forum it looks like you need to taper off of the pramipexol and the Tramadol much more slowly. Perhaps something on the order of weeks instead of a couple of days. Also, you need to allow much more time (weeks) for the gabapentin to start working and for your body to adjust to the side effects. My guess is that the sweating ect. effects you had on the 3rd night was due to the abrupt withdrawal from the Tramadol.

[joepublic]

To be honest since I stopped using Ropinirole I am not sure I need Gaba & am weaning off it. Saying that I still take 2 x 300 a day & sleeping is awful.

[ircam2112]

Yes, wow! That is way, way, way too fast for titration up on Gabapentin and discontinuing Tramadol and Pramipexole. You’re likely experiencing severe withdrawal (sweating) from the tramadol and Pramipexole and likely the dizziness and blurred vision is the rapid increase in Gabapentin. Are you under/following doctor’s orders? If so, get a new doctor quickly!

Btw, I didn’t have any significant improvement until I reached 1200mg Gabapentin so encourage you not to give up on it until 1500-1800mg. And, side effects will wane after 2-3 weeks in my experience.