Safe to take Gabapentin with Obstructive Sleep Apnea?

[Nightbird11]

Hello, I’m posting on behalf of my husband who has suffered off and on with PLMD for 20 years. He has been so against taking pharmaceuticals for it but it’s gotten to the point nothing else is helping I think he’s ready to try. His primary care Dr recommends Gabapentin and to start with 100mg a day at first, since he is so nervous about it. However, my husband also has untreated mild obstructive sleep apnea and cannot tolerate the cpap or bipap masks/treatment. So he deals with the OSA which doesn’t bother him too much so long as he doesn’t sleep on his back.My question is is it safe to take the amt of gabapentin necessary to treat PLMD knowing it is well documented to cause depressed breathing? Does anyone else have any knowledge or experience of this? What would be the alternative meds that don’t cause depressed breathing? My understanding is that opioids all cause it and well, basically any drugs to treat PLMD. Thanks for reading and for any guidance. Wish you all well.

[SueJohnson]

It can increase the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), which measures the severity of sleep apnea, and lead to more frequent breathing interruptions during sleep12. He really need to discuss this with his doctor.

Another one to try is dipyridamole. He might want to discuss this with your doctor. It has helped some people on this forum and another forum I am on and has completely eliminated RLS in some. In the winter 2022 edition of Night Walkers, the publication of RLS.org there is an article by Sergi Ferre about dipyridamole discussing the effectiveness of it in a 2 week double blind placebo controlled study showing it completely ameliorated all symptoms. The study was by Dr. Garcia Borreguero movementdisorders.onlinelib... sciencedirect.com/science/a...

Take it on an empty stomach. (fats inhibit absorption) about 1-1/2 to 2 hours before bed. If you have headaches they tend to disappear or lessen after around 5 days.

[Nightbird11 in reply to SueJohnson]

Thank you for your reply Sue. You are such a wealth of knowledge- I appreciate it. Will look into your recommendations most definitely.