Increased dose of Gabapentin.

[Ex-rugbyplayer]

I recently weaned myself off Pramipexole and onto Gabapentin. Must say it was horrendous, now I was taking Gabapentin, 200 in the morning, 200 at lunchtime and 600 at night. My RLS got worse, though I was going through the transition, and my doctor increased the Gabapentin to 900 at night.

So how has it been going….. well after10 days my wife or myself haven’t had a full nights sleep since the increased dose. I’m waking up after a “panic attack” which has me shouting and my legs jumping all over the place. My question is this, is this a normal reaction to an increase in dose? I’m going to reduce my dose to 800 with the hope my legs don’t start and I stop having these attacks.

Any advice would be welcome.

[SueJohnson]

Unfortunately a panic attack can be a rare side effect. If you decide to come off it do it slowly or you will have withdrawal effects. You might want to switch to pregabalin. Although they are basically the same drug except you don't need to divide the doses, and the side effects are basically the same, some people find that the side effects that bother them on one don't bother them on the other. Divide the gabapentin amount by 6 to get the correct dose. The panic attacks could also be a result of your coming off pramipexole.

[Joolsg]

It's very early days. It usually takes about 6 weeks after last dose of Pramipexole for RLS to settle.I had NEVER had a panic attack in my life until I went through withdrawal from Ropinirole, a similar drug. As you mention, it's horrendous. I couldn't sleep in the dark for a year.

It may not be the gabapentin but the withdrawal symptoms from the Pramipexole.

You could ask for a one month course if diazepam to take if you feel the anxiety/ panic coming on.

If the attacks continue, you could try switching to pregabalin, a similar drug but with slightly different side effects for some or consider a low dose opioid like codeine or tramadol BUT bear in mind opioids can also cause panic attacks.

I really hope they settle for you.

[Madillc]

Unfortunately probably the pramipexole withdrawal. I end up having to go on it at a low dose as I was having severe anxiety bouts. I'd go a week feeling great and then a few days of anxiety even though the restless legs had subsided. Terrible drug. Unsure of anything that can really help but would love to hear from others.

[Carlettejaque]

I would have thought the dosage would be much higher. Gradually increasing to 800mg 3 times a day would be more appropriate. Everyone experiences side effects in different ways. Dizziness, balance, brain fog and short term memory problems are most common.

[Truthsword]

I take the suppliment GABA 250 mg. Pharm grade. I am slowly going off Requip. Gabapentin was HORRIBLE! I also watch Glutamine intake...next to nothing...and lots if potassium. Last night i had a chicken leg...messed up everything. Oh and i also pray.

[CrusoeCortez]

I'm in a similar position. I came of Ropinerol two weeks ago. It has indeed been horrendous. Hardly any sleep and extreme RLS.I've started taking gabapentin 300mg at 6pm, 600 at 8pm and 600 at 10pm. The last few nights haven't been too bad. RLS much reduced, some sleep and some very vivid dreams but no panic attacks yet.

Very best of luck and keep updating this thread to let us know how you're doing.

[Anguished]

I am so sorry you're going through this. I tried Gabapentin for 3 weeks. Started with 100 mg for the first week and all it did was make me part of my recliner. I had no ambition to get up, in fact I was tired all the time. All the work I did to get more mobile since I had a full knee replacement in December was lost. I became completely immobile once again. I then per doctor's orders, up'd the dose another 100 mg. Did that for another week. During that week I I slept even more nothing got done around the house. Then the 3rd week per doctor's instruction the dose was up to 100 more milligrams so I was now up to 300 mg A-day. And I really don't remember much about that week just that I wasn't moving and I wasn't more pain than I ever was because of being non mobile. My arthritis pain was horrible due to that movie I was stiff as could be and when I did get up to do things that like used the bathroom I needed use the bathroom I needed assistance. I then decided to go off of it. Gabapentin IS not for me. Gabapentin was prescribed for my arthritis but I was hoping that it was gonna help me with my RLS. I did nothing for my error list I actually went up they went up 2 mgs on my methodone because my legs were worse than they ever were probably because I couldn't move out of my chair. I have been off of it for a month now and I finally am back to where I was right after I got my knee replacement. Having problems getting out of my bed, chair, in the rest room....EVERYWHERE! In my opinion all Gabapentin did for me was take me back 10 steps. Before I took that medication I was right my bike swimming and taking long walks. I went back to short walks. I'm sure this medication affects everyone differently it it must because I can't understand why anyone will take it if they felt the way I felt when taking it. Also, I swear I went through a withdrawal period. I craved it at night, all of the sudden I felt anxious when it came time to sleep and for me the only thing that medicine was good for, was putting me to sleep. The only problem is I don't want to sleep my life away I want to live and do things and enjoy whatever time I have left on this earth. I spoke to my primary care doctor about it and she said do not take it go back to your methodone and if that's what works that's what you do. But for me a low dose of methadone is what takes care of my RLS and I will not try any other medication any more. If its not broke, don't fix it is what she said. Unfortunately I still have chronic pain everyday, but honestly I'd rather be on pain than sleep my life away. 🙃 🙂

[KickininAz]

I had a similar response to gabapentin, insomnia, feeling of panic, increased RLS symptoms, plus dizziness. My doctor stopped the gabapentin for me.

[intermk]

I was on Gabapentin for a few months. I don't recall the dosages but the doctor kept upping the dose every month until I begged to try something else. It just didn't work at al for me. He tried Pregabalin next along with Clonazepam to help me sleep. The combination of the two worked for about 3-4 months then RLS symptoms returned. So once again I begged for something else. I knew that narcotic meds worked wonderfully because I'd had Demerol for about two weeks during a large kidney stone episode. That Demerol stopped all RLS symptoms and I felt like my old self once again. I was able to do everything well and felt good every day. But docs refused to extend the Rx for Demerol because "it's not supposed to be used for RLS. So I went without any meds for about 3 weeks and I thought I was going to die because the RLS came back with a vengeance. It was then that someone from this site referred me to Buprenorphine (sp?). After taking a first dose of this new med my RLS symptoms stopped within 5 minutes. That was about 3 years ago and I've been using this med ever since with only one interruption due to the pharmacy not having it in stock. That's a whole other story. Ask your doctor for Buprenorphine. And good luck.