ratio of Pregabalin for Gabapentin.

[Theonlypetied]

I just off to see my GP to see if I can switch to Gaba. I have a new job that is more sedentary than the last and I keep falling asleep in meetings, training and whilst doing computer work. Please can anyone tell me what dose of Gaba I should take instead of 350mg of Pregab? TIA

[SueJohnson]

It's 2100 mg but the problem is you have to take 600 mg 1 to 2 hours before bed, then 600 mg 2 hours before that then 600 mg before that and then 300 me before that as it is not absorbed well above 600 mg.

If you take magnesium even in a multivitamin, don't take it within 3 hours of taking gabapentin ( as it will interfere with the absorption of gabapentin and don't take calcium within 2 hours for the same reason.

[Theonlypetied in reply to SueJohnson]

Dr wouldn’t entertain moving from Pregab to Gaba without weaning completely off Pregab first. She said Gaba would make me even more drowsy so no point. I got her to ‘agree’ to let me try coming off Neproxin and Omeprazole in the hope that in a couple of weeks I could try taking less Pregab and therefore be less drowsy.

[SueJohnson in reply to Theonlypetied]

That is ridiculous as you can switch directly. And both can cause drowsiness but pregabalin is more likely to do so. I may have mentioned this to you before but gaviscon advance (not the other formulations of gaviscon) is a safe antacid to take in place of omeprazole.

[Theonlypetied in reply to SueJohnson]

Thanks Sue. I tried Gaviscon Advance but could’t stand the taste or consistency. Made me want to 🤮

[SueJohnson in reply to Theonlypetied]

There's always Tums.

[Sleepless82 in reply to Theonlypetied]

Sorry for my late reply.

Interesting! It’s pretty obvious that most Dr’s have little or no knowledge of RLS and/or the drugs they prescribe. My experience was almost the opposite of yours. My neurologist Dr wouldn’t entertain moving from Gaba to Pregab without weaning off Gaba while starting the Pregabalin. So I decided to accommodate him without arguing the point. He said Pregab (not Gaba) would make me more drowsy. I did complete the transition and the Pregab does make me more drowsy.

But I guess that’s a good thing for me because I have a new Dr for my RLS. I am very fortunate to be seeing the famous Dr B who has prescribed Buprenorphine (It is Suboxone, a sublingual patch that desolves under my tongue.) And, the Bup has completely stopped my RLS. But one of the Bup side effects is insomnia. He said the Pregab will probably help to minimize the insomnia.

(By the way, for me, the insomnia is much better than suffering with the RLS. With insomnia I’m awake but can relax, read, watch TV, etc. But with RLS attacks, I have to walk and walk and walk most of every night. It’s very exhausting.)

[SueJohnson]

You might want to stay on pregabalin and take ritalin or adderal in the morning which will wear off by night.

[Sylviet]

what is the consensus on Ritalin? Good? Bad? Can it be prescribed for depression as well?

[Theonlypetied]

Update. A month on from when I stopped taking Neproxin and Omeprazole and was meant to reduce Pregabalin to help with too much sleep and day time drowsiness.

I have not yet reduced the Pregabalin dose I was on. However, the interesting things are that I am not a drowsy as I was in the day time but I also don’t sleep as well as I was. I now wake around midnight and squirm around with onset of RLS until about 2 am. I’ll sit and watch tv for up to 2 hrs and then go back to sleep ok until 7am on work days or anything up to 10 am weekends. This makes no sense to me but then little of my medical history does!