Horizant causing insomnia?

[ethan]

Hi,

I just found this group. I have severe PLMD and have been taking .375 of Mirapex for the past 7 years. Over the past year it hasn't been working very well. I had a kidney stone and was given dilautid and this helped my sleep- I took it for a few months- it was helpful at first and then stopped helping.

My sleep doc suggested 600mg of Horizant. I took it with Mirapex .375 for the past 4 nights. I am finding that it seems to be causing insomia. I also wake up pretty groggy but after an hour or so I wake up. It does seem to be improving the quality of the sleep I am getting.

Anyone else had similar issues? I am going to try adding in 2mg of dilautid to see if it helps. My sleep doc wants to get me off mirapex (and I really want to as well).

Thanks for any input!

[stjohnh]

Sounds like you may be augmenting on the Mirapex. See the augmentation topic. Likely sleep will be a problem for you, regardless of what you do (assuming you have RLS, which is different from PLMD). People with RLS-related insomnia usually don't respond well to any type of prescription sleep meds, though Horizant (which is related to gabapentin) usually helps rather than hurts. It may be that the insomnia worsening on Horizant is actually insomnia caused by RLS that is worsening since you got off Dilaudid.

Your comments about Horizant helping sleep quality is common amongst RLS insomnia sufferers. Also the groggy feeling on awakening is common with Horizant, Lyrica, and gabapentin.

[ethan]

Thanks. I should have been a bit more specific in what i did. I got off the dilautid for a week or so. I was just using mirapex. I then added in the Horizant and noticed insomnia. I have also read that side effects with Horizant often subside after a couple of weeks. I am going to try it with the dilautid and see what happens.

[stjohnh]

... I got off the dilautid for a week or so. I was just using mirapex. I then added in the Horizant and noticed insomnia. I have also read that side effects with Horizant often subside after a couple of weeks. I am going to try it with the dilautid and see what happens.

Sounds like a good plan. For many people, using any med for RLS, slow escalation of dosing and patience will reduce side effect problems.

Holland

[ethan]

Thanks Holland!

[Sojourner]

I think that, for many, medications which often carry the side-effect of "sleepiness" do just the opposite. I think there is a name for it…paradoxical effect I think. Of couse there could be many other reasons but that is just one possibility.


Wishing all who visit here some peace this night

[ethan]

I think that, for many, medications which often carry the side-effect of "sleepiness" do just the opposite. I think there is a name for it…paradoxical effect I think. Of couse there could be many other reasons but that is just one possibility.


Wishing all who visit here some peace this night

Funny, I was thinking the same thing. Last night I took 2mg of dilautid along with the mirapax and horizant and slept through the night (first time in months). My plan is to wean off mirapex.

[ViewsAskew]

yeah, I'm wide awake tonight, legs quiet...while some of notice the paradoxical effect, some of us simply notice that when our symptoms are gone, we are awake. The researchers have talked about this for awhile - it's a bit weird.

That said, I do find some meds work better than others for me. All opioids wire me initially - takes at least 3-4 hours after dosing before I can sleep. Pramipexole starts by knocking me out about 90 minutes after I take it, but as I get used to it, it starts waking me up starting about 4 hours after I take it and no longer knocks me out at all. Gabapentin family drugs knock me out for up to 14 hours - not helpful. Trazedone I get used to very quickly, so need to increase doses - when it works, it can knock me out for 14-16 hours.

Point? It's hit or miss and highly individual - experimentation is likely needed.

[ethan]

So I saw my sleep doc and he lowered the dose of Horizant from 600 to 300. Last night it was better in terms of being less awake. Time will tell...plus I will be mixing in kratom when it arrives.

[lhoff12085]

I take zolpidem (generic Ambient) to help me sleep. Is that something you've tried? It works well for me. I take half a pill (1/2 of 10mg) when I go to bed then if I can't get back to sleep in the middle of the night I take the other half.

[veldon75]

I am taking 300 mg at lunch 300 at bedtime at first get sleepy then wake up after a couple hours use to melatonin was helping with sleep not lately, but also taking Topamax 50 mg at night not sure about it.

[ethan]

I found that even at 300 I felt pretty bad the next day. As I have noted in other threads, I have been able to completely control my PLMD with kratom (and cannabis to help me fall asleep)