Weight Gain on Gabapentin?

[Wordsmith77]

Hi community friends,

For RLS and severe PLMD, Ive. been taking 1200mg of Gabapentin per night (300mg at 6p and 8p + 600mg at 10 p). It's been effective at controlling all evening discomfort and allows me to fall asleep, but it hasn't really hmeloed with the PLMD.

My quetion is about weight gain on Gabapentin. The literature says its reported in 15% of users and I seem to be in that 15%.

Ive seen a sudden, dismaying rise in visceral fat corresponding to increasing my dosage to try to address the PLMD. Eating habits? Well Ive never had much of a sweet tooth (unlike my bride) and Ive generally eaten a low-ish carb diet, but I now find myself craving (and frequently eating) sweets and pasta. and bread. I'm at my highest weight in nearly 30 years

Has anyone else had this experience or heard about it?. This weight gain is NOT good at a number levels. (obviously)

[SueJohnson]

Yes it does happen for some people. You might want to try switching 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. You can switch directly. If you take calcium don't take it within 2 hours. In your case that would mean 200 mg. Take it 1 to 2 hours before bedtime. If you decide to come off gabapentin or pregabalin, do so very slowly to avoid withdrawal effects. If you do so slowly you won't have any. Then what you will want is a low dose opioid usually buprenorphine.

[NJB71]

I’ve.had weight gain on Pregabalin. The list of side effects includes increase in appetite and that has certainly been the case for me. I’m trying to eat healthily and cut out snacks etc. I had lost a lot of weight due to my anxiety so I suppose I shouldn’t be too bothered yet. But I understand your concern as too much weight gain isn’t advisable for numerous reasons. Gabapentin and Pregabalin are much the same drug, you might find you weight gain remains the same as you may be predisposed to this side effect.

Good luck.