Gabapentin and ED

[Thebarber]

Hello, I have been moved onto Gabpentin. I am male 65yrs. I now find I have recently developed ED and have very low libido. I do think this is due to the gabapentin. Have any of the men on site had the same problem. I would appreciate any advice. Thanks

[SueJohnson]

It is a rare possible side effect of gabapentin. 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.

If that doesn't work you need to come off the pregabalin slowly to avoid withdrawal effects. Reduce by 25 mg every 2 weeks. And then post back here for what to try next.

[Thebarber in reply to SueJohnson]

Hi Sue, pregabllin does not work for me, for restless leg. Without gabapentin I have restless leg 24/7. Is there anything else I can take apart from these two drugs. Thanks.

[SueJohnson in reply to Thebarber]

If gabapentin worked then pregabalin should as they are virtually interchangeable. I switch between them all the time. You took it shortly after you came off pramipexole while you were still having withdrawal symptoms which may be why it didn't work or maybe you didn't give it 3 weeks to be fully effective and you only took 150 mg which is equal to 900 mg gabapentin. My suggestion is to try 300 mg which is equal to your 1800 gabapentin. It doesn't hurt to try it.

The next one to try is dipyridamole. You might want to discuss this with your doctor. It has helped some people on this forum and another forum I was 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. Coffee can counteract its effects by blocking the same receptors that dipyridamole aims to enhance.so the advice is to avoid it 12 to 24 hours before taking the dipyridamole. It is possible you could take it in the morning or it is possible you can't take it at all.

After that it is low dose opioids.

[Thebarber in reply to SueJohnson]

Thank you once again, Don't know what I would do without you. I will have a word with my doctor.

[amrob123]

I think this is not an uncommon complaint with psychotropic medications. On another forum that I'm on, people report reduced libido on pregabalin also.