Hi all, just looking for some advice. I have been taking 900mg of gabapentin for RLS, since about September 2024 after weaning myself off pramipexole..Although the gabapentin is controlling my RLS, I just haven't felt like myself. I have no energy, motivation or inclination to do any for of exercise or even socialise for that matter.. Any negative or emotional issue I have to deal with seems to be magnified to such an extent, that I can't even believe the way in which I feel..I don't want to go to work and would be happy just staying under the covers..I have a GP telephone appointment today but I don't know an alternative that will help with my RLS. There has been no other changes re medication so that has me focusing that gabapentin could maybe not agree with me..Has anyone else experienced this mood change..I would welcome any advice as suffering from RLS again causes me anxiety..just don't know what to do. Thank you lorraine
Side affects of gabapentin: Hi all... - Restless Legs Syn...
Side affects 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 then you will need a low dose opioid. I would recommend buprenorphine or methadone as they are long lasting. Most of the others last only 4 to 6 hours and need to be taken that often or you will have mini withdrawals. If you are prescribed one of the others be sure you are given enough to take them that often.
If you then need to come off gabapentin or pregabalin, reduce by 100 to 200 mg gabapentin or by 25 mg of pregabalin every 2 weeks. If you do so you will have very few or no withdrawal effects. If you do have any, slow down even further
Hi Sue, I was prescribed Buprenorthine by my neurologist before but I felt they didn't work, just made me feel really tired and not helping my RLS, maybe I didn't give it long enough..My GP prescribed setraline to help with my mood, doesn't want to change my gabapentin just now to see if that helps with this feeling of, basically despair..I didn't realise gabapentin had this side affect, well maybe just me. Thank you
Setraline is known to make RLS worse. And it is just an anti depressant and won't help your RLS.
Safe ones are Wellbutrin and trazodone. Trazodone also helps with anxiety.
You might also ask for adderall or ritalin to relieve your drowsiness. If you take it in the morning it will wear off by night
You might still be feeling low because you're off Pramipexole. Pramipexole floods your brain with dopamine ( the pleasure hormone) so taking it away can take months for your brain to readjust.Try increasing dopamine by doing something that gives you pleasure each day.
Do NOT let the GP prescribe a SSRI/SNRI/tri cyclical anti depressant as they all trigger/worsen RLS.
Safe anti depressants include trazodone and wellbutrin but some areas will only allow a specialist to prescribe those.
But, there are also reports that gabapentin causes depression.
mayoclinic.org/drugs-supple...
So you can try switching to pregabalin OR a low dose opioid.
I honestly can't see another way to improve my mood other than a low dose setraline..At this point, I would try anything to help with my mood. Fingers crossed that the setraine doesn't affect my RLS. I will maybe try and decrease my gabapentin slowly as I rake 900mg each evening.. thank you
I was on sertraline for many years. Went from 50mg to 100mg simply because the doctor thought 50mg was a kids dose. I was coping well on 50mg to be honest. I do wonder if that increase helped bring on the RLS. I’d get RLS occasionally as a kid but nothing like the misery I have now. However depression is terrible so I would take 25mg to 50mg maximum and see how you do. Good luck!
Also if you try buprenorphine again ask for adderall or ritalin to help your tiredness. You probably didn't take enough buprenorphine as I haven't heard of anyone it didn't help.
Maybe it didn't work due to still coming off pramipexole at that time..can't remember what dose I was on..Is buprenorphine a better drug than gabapentin? Just feeling so hopeless at the minute. I know this is a forum for RLS but my mood has severely been affected by gabapentin..but gp wants me to remain on them for now. Joolsg did say NOT to take an anti depressant but feel at this point, I have no choice. Even short term to stabilise my mood. Thank you
Wellbutrin or trazodone will work as well or better than sertraline and won't make your RLS worse. Your mood won't be improved if you are suffering from worse RLS. Call up your GP and ask for a prescription.
Both buprenorphine and gabapentin or pregabalin are good drugs and work well for RLS. Generally buprenorphine has more side effects than gabapentin but this is not the case with you.
Do you have studies on the Webutrin and trazadone working as well or better then sertraline for depression. I have not been able to find those comparisons. RLS put aside of course.
Sue, As you probably know I was taking 12 mg methodone. I didn't like the side effects and went off it onto oxycodone. When I went off it, I had terrible rls around the clock, now going into two weeks. Even tho I was taking methodone I still had rls pop up during the night. but not like it is now. Do you think I was not taking enough methodone. I am afraid to go back on it. My dr is coming back from vacation on Tuesday and I hope we can figure this out. tx.
According to the Mayo Algorithm the usual effective dose is between 5 to 20 mg. so if it was not completely controlling your RLS you probably weren't taking enough.
or could it be it was not working? im so scared to start it up again
First of all - congratulations on getting off the Prami! It is the hardest thing but the most worthwhile. I like Joolsg idea to increase dopamine. I would also suggest diet can be a big player w/mood. A popular book (Brain Energy, Dr. Chris Palmer) while not a self-help book, it does look at mental health issues as metabolic issues. His example of a patient in the book is extraordinary - completely reversing his mental health (including hearing voices!) with a ketogenic diet . It is so perplexing that we move from one pharma solution to another looking for relief. Simple iron supplements eliminated my severe RLS in less than a month. Sleep issues remain, but not the RLS. Docs waved DAs at me repeatedly - thanks to this forum I refused.
Perhaps additional help here...
Both gabapentin and pregabalin can cause low mood. It's most definitely not just you.
On a gabapentinoid (pregabalin and gabapentin) forum, many people report this side effect.
In my case, my mood is better the less pregabalin i take.
hi, I have had the same issues , my mood dropped drastically, and my anxiety was so bad , I do suffer from anxiety occasionally , but I’m 100% sure Gabapentin was the cause , I have tried taking them twice ,and on both occasions same thing happened ( even tho my GP said it wasn’t the meds) , I have also tried Pregablin and it was awful I had suicidal thoughts while taking them 😢 . Good luck
I am on between 1800 to 2700 - i find 1800 ok and no side effects - I have a different reason to take this than you - maybe 2700 i felt some issues
Yes, it could totally be the gabapentin. I thought my life was coming apart too on gabapentin. I was angry and unhappy all the time and couldn't function at all and felt super depressed. Once I quit taking it, I was immediately back to my normal, in control, happy person. Like, within a day! So, yes, for me it was an evil drug and I would NEVER take it again. I know lots of people who seem to function well on it but not me. Methadone seems to work well at 10mg. and a small dose of propranolol keeps the side effects down.
That's good you're off them now and the methadone working for you. My concern is if I come off gabapentin, what in it's place? Unless I try the buprenorphine again..its that whole, coming off one medication with possible side affects and starting another .
that has not been my experience with gabapentin. I too take 900 mg, but only in the evening and at bedtime. it has done a really great job of eliminating my evening, restless legs, but hasn't really impacted the PLMD symptoms while I'm sleeping.
you probably have a bit of DAWS after coming off the Prami. Gabapentin also can cause depression, so you have 2 reasons for the depression. Buproprion is a better alternative to Sertraline. I was immensely improved by TMS/TBS it got me over the hump. Helped for about 6 months, then returned. Lasted about 4 months, and now is much improved. I believe I had DAWS and it took about 18 months to resolve.
What dose of Buprenorphine were you on? Average dose for RLS IS .5 to 1.2 mg. I’ve had great results with that. I had tiredness with that, but it gradually resolved. I found a cup of espresso helped in the AM. I’d avoid stimulant medications as they have their own issues and may be hard to get off label, especially if on Medicare. Gabapentin made me a zombie and after 3 months I gave up on it. I was at 1800 mg. With about 50% reduction. Pregabalin wasn’t much different.
I was on .5 mcgm per day, possibly not enough and was still withdrawing from pramipexole. Maybe didn't give them enough time but just felt tired with them and still had RLS n
You are on the patches? The patches should release . 5 mcg/ hour. If it is not covering your symptoms, it probably isn’t enough for you, especially during Prami withdrawal. Have you discussed with your Dr.? It can take a while for the tiredness to resolve.
I tried Gabapentin, Pregabalin and Horizant but they all had the same side effects. I was on gabapentin as high as 3000 mg. None of them really helped the RLS. My side effects were similar to yours plus additional side effects. (scratchy eyes, alternating blurry vision, lethargic, always tired, no motivation, antisocial, word searching, jittery hand writing. I have been off all the gabapentinoids for 3 months and all the side effects have gradually gone away. I am currently taking .5 mg of Suboxone (buprenorfine). The RLS stopped immediately but I get occasional break through episodes of RLS. So I might increase the Suboxone a little. I continue to feel much better each day I’m off the gabapentinoids and I feel like I’m finally getting my life back. I hope you find your answer soon so you too can get your life back.
How long did it take you to reduce the gabapentinoids? And what was your highest dose (from which you titrated doemwn)?
I was on Gabapentin for 2 years. As high as 3200 mg.
I was on Horizant for 8 months. As high as 600 mg.
I was on pregabalin (Lyrica) for 7 months. As high as 200 mg.
After I started the Suboxone I started reducing the Lyrica and started feeling better right away. I reduced very slowly by 25 mg every 7-10 days until I was down to the last 25 mg dose. I took the 25 mg dose for about a month. I was probably too cautious but wanted to avoid any possible chance of withdrawals like the hellish withdrawals I had after I took my last pramipexol. And thankfully, I don’t recall any negative withdrawals from the Lyrica.
I am very glad to report that the longer I’m off the gabapentinoids, the better I feel.
That's good the buprenorphine is working for you. Interesting that there are a few folk on here that have had the same experience as me. I'm not sure I took enough of the buprenorphine or for enough time, as possibly still withdrawing from pramipexole. I just remember feeling really sleep and terrible RLS
Yes, you might still be experiencing some of the pramipexole withdrawal side effects. And it will probably take some experimenting with the buprenorphine dosage to find your magic dose.
I had been off pramipexole for about 2 years by the time I started the buprenorphine. I started with .5 mg and it worked immediately. The side effects of nausea, headaches, sweating and itching have pretty much stopped. But I still have some insomnia and constipation issues that I have to deal with.
Insomnia on Gabapentin.
Gabapentin 
Gabapentin
Horizant and Gabapentin
