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
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.
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...
Insomnia on Gabapentin.
Gabapentin 
Gabapentin
Horizant and Gabapentin
