Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

I've been taking Gabapentin for about a year. 300mg to start - now 1800mg. It helps me a great deal. Aside from the increase in dosage, no problems for the most part. The groggy stuff lessens over time or maybe I just got used to it.

What drugs did you switch to? I'm sometimes taking 1800 mg throughout the night.

Urge to Move: I find this one so hard to answer. I guess I feel the urge to move mainly because... A. I feel my calf muscles getting tight and I feel the need to stretch them, especially out of what I admit is probably an irrational level fear that they are going to cramp/spasm if I don't keep them...

Late night up out of bed and popping another gabbie. It's funny how it can hit you so hard and so suddenly. I'll have a glass a wine with that thank you very much.

Good. I suspect that some of whether or not you may have difficulty depends on how many medications you were exposed to and taken off quickly before. Sometimes the brain just gets to the point of being done with transitions. I think that's part of why this happened to me. This is my first rodeo (ha...

OK, hope you find something that helps! Gabapentin withdrawal, if one is unlucky enough like me to have an issue with it, is one of the worst. If one falls into that category, you have to go incredibly slow to get off and it takes months. MDs don't know how to advise; mine put me on a fast taper th...

Doc put me on a dopamine agonist (ropinirole) at first. It did nothing. For real? One of the ways a doctor can confirm a diagnosis of WED/RLS is if the patient responds, at least initially, to a dopamine agonist. Did it have any effect in the very beginning? Zero. The symptoms weren't lessened at a...

leggo_my_legs wrote:If gabapentin stops working for you, I'd consider switching to another class of drug.

Doc put me on a dopamine agonist (ropinirole) at first. It did nothing.

johnmarg wrote:Hi Bry;

I had read somewhere that Gabapentin is only effective up to a dose of 900 MG. After that, added dosage has no effect of RLS.

Hey John,
I can't agree with that. I'm living proof to the contrary. If I stuck to 900mg I'd have some uncomfortable nights at this stage of this disease.

Apparently all or most of these drugs used to treat RLS have bad withdraw symptoms. We are not swimming in friendly waters.

It's great coming here and reading all your comments. Knowledge makes for better living. Many thanks.

Most likely without opioids I would not be able to live. RLS untreated I would not want to live. It's a little after 1 am and I'm poppin' another 300 mg of Gabapentin after just waking up with symptoms. Were you on gabapentin before going on opioids? I'm wondering what my options are if this drug e...

Try increasing the dose. I started out at 300 mg of gabapentin a night but gradually increased to 1200 - 1500 mg a night. 95% of the time I sleep very well.

I was late this evening taking my usual dose which may be why I woke up with symptoms.

Most likely without opioids I would not be able to live. RLS untreated I would not want to live. It's a little after 1 am and I'm poppin' another 300 mg of Gabapentin after just waking up with symptoms. Were you on gabapentin before going on opioids? I'm wondering what my options are if this drug e...