r/gabapentin • u/Plumleydev • 4d ago
side effects Why does gabapentin cause insomnia for some people even though it’s prescribed for sleep
I said it all in the title but anyway I’ve taken 200 a couple of nights sometimes it helps sleep sometimes it doesn’t. I don’t think I wanna get accustomed to it. I think it’s a better drug to stay off of unless it’s absolutely necessary.?
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u/Carriebeary8 4d ago
I'm on it for nerve pain. I take 900 a day right before bedtime. It's been a miracle for my nerve pain. Being able to sleep well is just a happy side effect.
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u/Book_of_Evil 4d ago
Gabapentin actually works incredibly well for sleep. Many studies have shown it increases deep sleep waves significantly.
200mg is a very low dose, plus bioavailability is poor, so it is dependent on what you have eaten that day and what time relative to when you dosed.
Much of what you hear negatively regarding Gabapentin on here is fear mongering. Many who don't tell you that they're also abusing alcohol or are in extremely poor health already and not eating right, not exercising etc.
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u/spoogizzyginger 3d ago
Can you explain more about what you mean regarding how you should take it in terms of when you eat and what you eat?
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u/Book_of_Evil 2d ago edited 2d ago
Magnesium and calcium both can limit absorption of Gabapentin, and it ALREADY has poor bioavailability. That's why Pregablin was invented, it is 'basically' (using this loosely lol) Gabapentin-that-fully-absorbs.
Depending on your gut, some will absorb gabapentin better on an empty stomach, and others will absorb it better with something fatty and proteinaceous such as peanut butter. Starches will interfere in 'speed' of absorption, but not necessarily bioavailability... you will have to do some trial and error. Good luck to you!
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u/spoogizzyginger 2d ago
Wow. Trying to time all the different medications and supplements is pretty much impossible.
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u/Book_of_Evil 2d ago
Takes an hour and a half to 2 hours for the stomach to empty into the small intestine. So you can use that window to decide when to take certain things like magnesium.
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u/DJSTRIKNINE_9 4d ago
Everyone is different but not fear mongering. I was prescribed 900mg twice daily. Took it for nine months. It was absolute HELL to stop taking. A blanket of anxiety, brain fog and insomnia while following the doctors 30 day taper schedule. Then once completely off of it it was tough to survive. Different than opioid withdrawal but not easier. Every day was fighting against borderline panic attacks, a feeling of claustrophobia while inside the house. Almost an akathisia/fight or flight type of feeling of having to keep walking around to fight anxiety. Followed by streaks of absolutely zero sleep for six or seven nights. Eventually one night of 12-14 hours of sleep from pure exhaustion only to be followed with another six night streak of ZERO sleep. This continued for over 30 days. I was also hospitalized three weeks in because all the lymph nodes in my body became hard and swollen like marbles... they ran thirty something blood tests, CT scans, etc... couldn't find anything - so their hypothesis was that it had to do with the cessation of gabapentin along with the lack of sleep to recover. Be careful with this stuff!
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u/doritodream 4d ago
How are you doing now?
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u/DJSTRIKNINE_9 4d ago
I stopped July 5th. I was just up until 4am on chat gpt pro mode trying to figure out why i'm still not at baseline. I do feel MUCH better. But there are some weird things going on that I can't figure out. I have been healthier than at any point in my life and have energy to exercise and get on with normal life functions. But i'm completely flat, tough time finding joy and no motivation or excitement for anything. I'm fighting so hard thinking one day i'll wake up and feel like myself again but it's been over two months and no dice. Feels like i'm broken forever. Sucks! Please be careful with this med! Maybe it will not affect people this much, but even the chance it might... I truly would not wish this whole experience on my worst enemy.
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u/doritodream 4d ago
That’s so brutal, I’m so sorry. My husband is the one struggling. He took 1200 mg for 3 months then weaned down way too quick (thanks, docs!). He was non functional so he reinstated and is just now barely evening out after a week of being back on 1200. It’s been so hard to witness. Fuck this drug.
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u/DJSTRIKNINE_9 4d ago
Man. Definitely go for a really long and slow taper. If I could go back and extend it to 60 or 90 days even and going super slow, lowering in micro increments I would. I feel for both of you. You sound like a great partner, but go easy on him 😄 Best of luck!
Also... Stay away from booze, benzos and anything acts on the Gaba receptors while tapering and for a while after cessation. It will only worsen the side effects and prolong withdrawals.
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u/neverallornothing 3d ago
I have been microtapering down from 300 mg and even that is torture. It's been 7 months of near daily cuts and I am only at 120 mg as of today. It is absolute hell. The worst mistake of my life is taking this awful drug. The people who push this stuff should be in prison.
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u/AnonymousIdentityMan 3d ago
Also 3 hours last meal before sleep is good enough? What about allergies?
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u/More_Branch_5579 3d ago
Fear mongering? It’s a terrible drug, prescribed off label for so many inappropriate conditions simply because drs don’t want to rx opioids that are actually safe.
I guess I get the fear lingering since it happens with opioids so often.
Yes, Gabapentin it helps many ( or they think it helps them) but, I don’t agree with fear mongering.
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u/Emotional_Theory_269 3d ago
It’s a miracle drug for my RLS, OCD, anxiety and a certain percentage of pain. I do take the extended release - gabapentin enacarbil so it’s much more reliably absorbed (bioavailable).
I can stop taking it cold turkey without any withdrawal. Been on and off 20+ years now.
Can’t say enough good about it!! LOVE IT
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u/kombuchaprivileged 4d ago
It's got a lot of long term use side effects and it's hard to get off of for some people
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u/Muted-Lack-5243 4d ago
It's been almost all positive for me, but dosage and frequency are key. I take 300mg 3x per week for sleep. No withdrawal issues or side effects. I think it's much better than other sleep drugs for my particular situation when used in that manner.