Gabapentin increase question

[YoghurtLover2]

I’m on 400mg Gabapentin atm . Have been totally off Pramipexole for 5 days now. Struggling with RLS a lot .. not getting sleep. I’m taking CBD oil with little THC which helps a bit but still awake every 1 to 2 hours . Dr advised to go up 100 mg Gabapentin per week. Should I increase Gabapentin faster? With CBD/THC I feel drugged the next day .Can this be because of Gabapentin as well?

[Zedz]

I started with 900 mg so I would assume you can increase faster but ask your doc. I felt drugged for the first 2 weeks then was fine

[SueJohnson]

Add 100 mg every couple of days up to 900 mg. Then wait until you have been off pramipexole for several weeks or the withdrawal symptoms have settled and then continue increasing

[Carlettejaque]

Hi, I take a total of 2,700 mg of gabapentin per day spread over 3 doses. It's not for RLS, it's for another neurological condition but I suffer with ERM which sometimes gives me RLS. I get a bit sleepy by early evening but it doesn't send me to sleep. My main side effect is loss of balance and a feeling of being drunk.

[YoghurtLover2 in reply to Carlettejaque]

Thanks Carlettejaque… my main complaint too … loss of balance and feeling drunk and the resulting brain fog 😳Hopefully my body will adjust. I slept well last night (first in a very long time ) and am at 500mg . I might try and keep it at that .

[Crafts60 in reply to YoghurtLover2]

Hi. I am taking 300 mg gabapentin 3 x aday and I had tried to go to 600 3 x a day, but I felt awfully dizzy and stumbling too. I have gone back to 300mg 3 xday but I still feel a little woozy with that.i hope that helps u.

[YoghurtLover2 in reply to Crafts60]

Thanks for your reply … all knowledge helps on this journey! Maybe ask why you take it during the day? If I’m not mistaking Sue suggested up to 600 mg 2 hours before bedtime and then if one needs more start taking some during the day .

I’m up to 500 mg at bedtime and it seems to work well … had a good sleep the first time in 10 days . Coming off Pramipexole was hell .. I’ll never touch another DA in my life again! So thankful for this forum …. Without it I would have had no idea of what was going on with my body and how to fix it!!’

[YoghurtLover2 in reply to Crafts60]

apologies … I meant to say ….

MAY I ASK …. not maybe 😉😳

[SueJohnson in reply to Carlettejaque]

I may have mentioned this before but you could probably take less total since taking more than 600 at a time is a waste, by taking 600 mg 4 times a day and then 300 for the fifth time separating them by at least 2 hours. That would be more inconvenient so you might want to switch to pregabalin and take 150 mg three times a day which is equivalent to the 2700 mg. And then if that has the same effectiveness you could try reducing by 25 mg a day every 2 weeks until you find the lowest dose that works.

[Carlettejaque in reply to SueJohnson]

I can't really do that because I now take other medications that can't be taken either 2 hours before or after the gabapentin. I have tried decreasing to 600mg with extra doses but for me it doesn't work. I guess we are all different. What works for some doesn't for others. My family say I must be half alien because drugs, medications affect me in a different way to everyone else. Thank you for your advice though. I do appreciate your input.

[SueJohnson in reply to Carlettejaque]

I certainly understand about the gabapentin. What about switching to pregabalin which could be taken in 3 doses.

[YoghurtLover2 in reply to Carlettejaque]

I had to smile at the “alien” part … maybe all of us who struggle with RLS are aliens 😉😂I read something somewhere that we have extra receptors in some part of our brains 😳

You are so right … we have to find what works for us. Good luck my fellow RLS alien😉🤗 . I’m just so grateful for this forum !