gabapentin and leg cramps

[BAB97TIE]

I recently started taking gabapentin. 300 mg at bedtime. I have been experiencing painful leg cramps. Does anyone know if leg cramps can be caused by gabapentin?

[SueJohnson]

It's possible although gabapentin is used to treat leg cramps. You might want to try switching to pregabalin. Although it is 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.

[BAB97TIE in reply to SueJohnson]

THANK YOU

[BAB97TIE in reply to SueJohnson]

I INCREASED GABAPENTIN TO 400 MG LAST NIGHT AND IT SEEMED TO HELP MY RLS. HOWEVER, I AM HAVING SOME BREATHING DIFFICULTIES TODAY.

IS THIS BREATHING PROBLEM LIKELY TO IMPROVE WITH TIME OR SHOULD I STOP TAKING THE GABAPENTIN?

THANK YOU

[SueJohnson in reply to BAB97TIE]

It may improve but if it doesn't then go back down to a dose that doesn't cause that or switch to pregabalin and see if you don't have it then.

[BAB97TIE in reply to SueJohnson]

Thank you Sue.

I am going to continue taking the gabapentin for a while and hope for improvement in my breathing.

If I decide to stop taking gabapentin and not switch to pregabalin, can I stop the gabapentin abruptly or do I need to decrease it slowly?

Thank you again for your help. It is greatly appreciated.

[SueJohnson in reply to BAB97TIE]

You need to decrease it slowly or you will suffer withdrawal symptoms. Normally you would decrease by 100 to 200 mg every couple of weeks but since you recently started it, you can decrease it faster.

[BAB97TIE in reply to SueJohnson]

THANK YOU

[SueJohnson in reply to BAB97TIE]

I meant decrease slowly - I accidently wrote increase but have now edited it.

[BAB97TIE in reply to SueJohnson]

Sue

If I decide to switch from gabapentin to pregabalin, will I need to completely reduce the gabapentin to zero before beginning pregabalin?

Do you take gabapentin or pregabalin? Why did you choose one over the other?

Thank you

[SueJohnson in reply to BAB97TIE]

You can switch directly by dividing the gabapentin dose by 6 as I mentioned. In your case 400/6 gives 67 mg so I would make that 50 mg. If you don't have breathing difficulties nor leg cramps you can increase it by 25 mg every couple of days until you find the dose that works for you. The max is 450 mg pregabalin.

I take gabapentin. That was the one my doctor started me on and although I have used pregabalin occasionally when it would have been inconvenient to divide the doses.

[BAB97TIE in reply to SueJohnson]

I looked at the Mayo clinic algorithm and it looks like they have the ratio as 4 to 1 rather than 6 to 1. It says to start with 300 mg of gabapentin or 75 mg of pregabalin. Am I understanding that correctly?

[SueJohnson in reply to BAB97TIE]

That's the starting dose and if you look at the one for over 65 it is 2 to 1. However the real equivalency is 6 to 1.

From one article (medicalnewstoday.com/articl... and there are many "There are currently no direct dose conversions between Lyrica and gabapentin. But because Lyrica is more potent, some studies Trusted Source have used one-sixth of the dose of Lyrica when converting from the dose of gabapentin."

[BAB97TIE in reply to SueJohnson]

Understood. Thank you for the clarification.

[BAB97TIE in reply to BAB97TIE]

Hi Sue

I have a few questions for you please:

1. I am currently taking 1200 mg of Gabapentin in (2) 600mg doses 2 hours apart. My sleeping has greatly improved. Before starting the Gabapentin it would take me 3 to 5 showers to get through the night. I am down to 1 shower which occurs about 2 hours after I fall asleep. When I wake at that time I feel very restless and a shower is the only thing that helps me get back to sleep. The rest of the night is very peaceful. My questions are:

a. Should I take the Gabapentin earlier. I now take the first dose 4 hours before bed and the second 2 hours before bed.

b. Should I increase the amount of Gabapentin that I am taking. I don't want to get to a very high level which might cause side effects which I have not had at all to this date. I am also concerned about withdraw symptoms if I need to reduce or eliminate the Gabapentin.

2. How long have you been taking Gabapentin? Have you had to increase the amount that you take over time?

Thank you