Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

I'm going to give Gabapentin a try and my doctor wants me to split the 100mg capsule into a quarter dose because I'm usually sensitive to medications. I took a look at the capsule...it's very small and consistently splitting up the powder by eye will be a challenge. Any ideas? Thanks

Wow. That is a challenge. I have 300mg capsules and use a milligram scale ($17 Amazon) to weigh the 50mg doses I take.

Perhaps empty a capsule onto a flat glass plate and use a razor blade to divide it into 4 equal piles. 25 mg is a very small dose. Don't cough or sneeze while you are working!!

I find that the 50mg I take 2 hours before bed, with an additional 50mg 4 hours after the first dose improves my sleep quality. By that I mean it doesn't help much to fall asleep or stay asleep (the marijuana does that fairly well), but I feel less sleep deprived the next day.

I also have a scale. Bought it for such things. I didn't care if it was extremely accurate,as long as I could weigh the total and then split it equally. I think I spent about 10 dollars (US) on it.

Thanks so much Holland and Ann...I will try all of these things. I have a scale, a plate, and a razor...I'm looking forward to living my Scarface fantasy. It's just never too late in life.

I wish I'd had a scale that would handle small amounts when I had to stop clonazepam. My withdrawal took many months and I'd literally have to shave off bits each week to lower the dose because cutting more than that put me in the classic vomiting/sweats/body pain withdrawal. Now that I have one, it makes things so much easier.

I know what you mean, I have a 1 gram scale and it wasn't doing the job, the small job, so I took your and Holland's suggestion and bought a 1 mg scale on Amazon. I couldn't find one with a sneeze guard though.

Yawny, be aware that your 100mg capsules probably have more than 100mg powder in them. There will be 100mg gabapentin plus 10-50mg of binders, anticaking agents, etc. If you decide to weigh the 25mg doses you will need to weigh the contents of a capsule and divide by four. Likely the 25mg of gabapentin will be 30-35 mg of powder.

Thanks Holland...this is all new to me and I appreciate everyone's help.

I was reviewing treatment options at Dr Buchfuhrer's website (http://www.rlshelp.org/rlsrx.htm#Anti-seizure) and under Neurontin/Gabapentin noticed the statement "The effectiveness of this medication often diminishes after 1-2 years." That surprised me. Has anyone experienced this?

I used a folded card (very thin cardboard) that I emptied the capsule onto (the fold crease made it easier to pour into containers later). I used another card as Holland suggested a razor blade be used, to spread the pile out into a long pile of even thickness, I had about 10 equal divisions marked out on the folded card, so I could separate the long pile into fourths. It was crude but it worked. A scale would be better.

Before I had a scale, I just guessed!

My scale (milligram precision jewelry scale) arrived and wow it made a huge difference in dividing up a capsule! If anyone else needs to do this, I'd suggest not hesitating because the cost ($17) was worth it for the convenience and accuracy. I used small squares of parchment paper to move the medicine around and made a scoop out of a straw (trim the top half off one end about 1/2 inch long)...my husband just asked, "do you really need to give such details?" And I said, "these are my peeps and they're sleep deprived, so yeah I need to give details."

Details are so helpful - thank you, Yawny - you could let your husband know that your efforts are appreciated!

legsbe - where did you order it from? I have been wanting one for years. I have all these old 18mg and 12mg pills from before I got assertive and demanded it be prescribed in smaller doses so I could spread it out. I have consumed all the backup I had, other those than big pills, what with all the travelling and being late filling prescriptions lately.

Here's where I got my scale...it's such a breeze to split pills now. And I'm confident I'm getting the same amount night to night which lessens my anxiety...one less drop in the bucket but I'll take it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ES ... UTF8&psc=1

thanks - I've ordered one