Gabapentin Dosing

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HotLegs
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Sep 30, 2013 9:34 pm

Gabapentin Dosing

Post by HotLegs »

I just got prescribed gabapentin for RLS. I am supposed to take 300 mg 3 times a day. I took one pill and found it highly sedating, which is good for bed time but I don't want to be sleepy during the day. I am interested in other people's experience with this drug. Do you take it 3 times a day and just fall asleep during the day? Can you take all three pills or just one at night only and still be effective? Do you eventually habituate to the drug and stop feeling tired? If this issue has already been discussed, please direct me to the thread.

Rustsmith
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Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado

Re: Gabapentin Dosing

Post by Rustsmith »

Gabapentin is a tricky drug to predict. It is only adsorbed by a short section of the intestines, so everyone tends to react a bit differently and you can even sometimes see changes from day to day depending upon how quickly it transits that section.

When I was initially place on it, I took 300mg first thing in the morning and 600 at night. I had to plan the nighttime dose carefully because I found that I was going to be falling asleep in about 30 minutes. As for the morning dose, sometimes it would make me sleepy and other days I did not notice it (also caffeine did nothing if I felt sleepy). Now I am taking 1200mg at night and I still have to plan to be in bed and ready to fall asleep within 30 minutes. As for habituating, I have been on it for over a year and have not noticed that the PM effects have changed all that much. The reason that I now take more is an attempt to try to stay asleep longer and not wake up wide awake after about 4 hrs.
Steve

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

HotLegs
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Sep 30, 2013 9:34 pm

Re: Gabapentin Dosing

Post by HotLegs »

Thank you so much for your reply Rustsmith! I was afraid that I wouldn't get any feedback from anyone since it probably is not a hot topic.

So you do not do the 3 times a day dosing, just twice a day. I guess maybe the daytime doses are supposed to help the foot neuropathy (constant burning and tingling) that I have. I really don't want to be falling asleep during the day. I can't drink caffiene even because it is an RLS trigger for me. Well, since I am introducing the drug gradually, I have two more days until I am supposed to take the day time doses. So I have two more days to decide to go ahead with it. I'll let you know how it goes. Again, I really appreciate your gracious reply.

Rustsmith
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Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 9:31 pm
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado

Re: Gabapentin Dosing

Post by Rustsmith »

You are correct that you were probably given the 3x per day doses for your neuropathy. That is probably the most common reason for doctors to prescribe gabapentin. It just happens that it is also useful for treating the insomnia part of WED/RLS. The half life of gabapentin is only 5 to 7 hrs, which means that the only half (150mg) of the 300mg you took at breakfast is present by lunchtime and only half of that amount (75 mg) is present at dinner if you do not take anymore during the day.

As for me, I was taking 300mg in the AM and 900mg at night. The 300mg AM dose was for the prevention of migraines and the 900mg at night was for insomnia. I now take all 1200mg at night to try to improve the quality of my sleep and hopefully the higher nighttime dose helps me to sleep just a bit longer.

Lastly, all messages on this board get a reply. Occasionally the reply is a simple I do not know, but you will always get a reply from someone!
Steve

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

ViewsAskew
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Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 6:37 am
Location: Los Angeles

Re: Gabapentin Dosing

Post by ViewsAskew »

Another thought - at least for me, I eventually got "used" to gabapentin and it wasn't nearly as sedating. It still was to some extent, but not like initially. Some people find it goes away completely. Hope it does for you.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

HotLegs
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Sep 30, 2013 9:34 pm

Re: Gabapentin Dosing

Post by HotLegs »

Thaks for your replies. After 6 days it turns out I am habituating to gabapentin and it doesn't appear to affect me during the day. It also is working well for my RLS. I hope it lasts and doesn't augment like ropinerole. I got in a real bind with that stuff.

Polar Bear
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Joined: Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:34 pm
Location: United Kingdom

Re: Gabapentin Dosing

Post by Polar Bear »

Very happy to hear that after 6 days you can report positively on your medication swap.
Please do let us know how you get on.
Betty
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation

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