Gabapentin for Insomnia User Reviews (Page 5)

• Iss...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 3, 2024

"I have tried Gabapentin for insomnia on multiple occasions in my life. Pros: - initially, this drug works very well. I can fall asleep easily and soundly sleep through the night. Cons: - I feel groggy the next day. To the point where it can be somewhat difficult to type - your fine motor skills are affected. Cognitive function also suffers. Ambien has much milder side effects. - It brings my sleep apnea back to life. I had multiple surgeries for apnea, after which I achieved a surgical cure. My wife never reported me snoring again.... except when I'm taking Gabapentin. - I am not 100% sure, but it seems the tolerance builds fairly quickly. After 3 days, 300 mg dose doesn't work anymore, at least doesn't work reliably. Didn't take it longer due to the side effects above. Bottom line: you may be willing to try it - it may work for you. Unfortunately, I can't take this drug due to side effects."

• fai...
• April 10, 2016

"Just took this for the first time. I am used to taking Ambien, and my new doctor wouldn't prescribe that. Took it about 2 hours ago when I got off work. It is now past 4 am, and I am still sleepless. The only thing I feel is a little bit of reflux, and my throat feels a little swollen."

• ded...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 19, 2018

"I've tried everything for insomnia. The doctor wanted me to try gabapentin. First night I slept 3 hrs., and then a couple 2 hr. times. Next day by 5 o'clock I was very restless. I couldn't do anything till after 2 a.m. I took the 100 mg. at 9 and didn't get to sleep until about 2 and then awake every hour or two. Last night was also horrible. I was taking trazodone. I'm going to call the doctor and tell her I don't want to take gabapentin anymore. I think I want to try Elavil or just stay on the trazodone. I've got to get some sleep somehow! I can take a quarter of Tylenol with codeine, which I cut into quarters and take one of those a couple nights till I get rested, then I don't have to take it anymore. I don't want to be hooked on drugs!!!"

• ety...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 6, 2021

"I have taken all kinds of sleep meds for my insomnia. So, first night, 300 mg gabapentin plus 1/4 (7.5 mg) zopiclone, I slept most of the night but felt fuzzy the next day. Since then, I did the same the next night with less fuzziness the next day. It seems to me your body gets used to it, and the fuzziness goes away. I find I need a bit of zopiclone to put me to sleep, but the gabapentin keeps me asleep."

• joh...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 17, 2017

"I was prescribed gabapentin for insomnia. It works, but I'm hungover the next day. I mentioned it to my pain doctor, and she said when my body adjusts to it, that will stop. She's thinking about pain -- I'm thinking about sleep. I haven't taken it long enough to see if it helps my pain."

• Tom...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 1, 2021

"Took one 300 mg capsule for the first time tonight for insomnia, and while it helped me fall asleep fast, it certainly didn't keep me asleep, and I only slept a couple of hours at best. I awoke several times throughout the night but was able to fall back asleep quickly. Sleep was deeper, dreams were lucid, slight grogginess after waking. I'd say this medication is no better than Trazodone, Hydroxyzine, or any OTC sleep aid. Kind of disappointing."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 6, 2015

"I was prescribed gabapentin for sleep, 200 mg. This is my first week giving it a go, I will post back after one week. I have been ultra-sensitive to other medications given, I am hopeful this one will work. My sister takes it for nerve pain with success."

• Kat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 7, 2022

"Twelve years ago, my grandpa died, and that was a huge trigger for me. I started to have anxiety and later insomnia and depression. I tried many meds and was also addicted and created a tolerance. I have also bipolar type 2 and am taking lamotrigine in the morning. Today, I begged my doctor to prescribe me GABA after many good reviews here. He said that I will not sleep and was very skeptical. :( But I hope it’s not true. Even if it will need a bit of time to find the right dosing, I will sleep one day. Fingers crossed! Does somebody have the same experience? Would be helpful!"

• kab...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 24, 2017

"For me, it had a lot of hallucinogenic properties that lasted for 3 days. The sleep was solid, though. It was when you woke up that the hallucinations began. There were closed-eyed and open-eyed hallucinations. In terms of strength, the closed-eyed hallucinations were vivid and clear, like watching TV. The open-eyed ones were very subtle. They decreased rapidly as you got up. The open-eyed hallucinations were still visible well into the third day. If you concentrated, you could make them out. I only took the drug twice: 600 mg and 300 mg. No difference in intensity between the two, but at 300 mg, the residual effects did not last as long."

• Jay...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 19, 2022

"After having COVID in mid-January this year, I developed insomnia out of nowhere. Prior, I would hit the pillow and sleep like a rock for 7 or 8 hours, no problem. This started about a week after getting better. It came out of nowhere, and after 5 months of 5 good nights, 5 to 6 hours of sleep, then 2 nights back to up until 5 am without getting better, I started using 100 mg gabapentin per night, then up to 300 mg gabapentin per night. It seems to work fine at 300 mg before bed, I dream, which is what was missing, getting into deep sleep with REM. My prescription is up to 600 mg per day, my doctor wrote me the prescription for a nerve injury I currently have. It helps with both. I am okay using it for the rest of my life as it helps with both my nerve injury issues and sleep."

• Ann...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• October 26, 2021

"Up to 1200 mg, the most prescribed. Doesn't work alone at all. I take it with 40 mg melatonin and 1 Benadryl. I can still be awake all night. To get a sleeping pill is like an act of Congress, taking forever."

• Wol...
• April 22, 2016

"I could no longer tolerate Requip for my RLS, so my NP put me on gabapentin. Gabapentin nearly halted the RLS totally but also caused my peripheral neuropathy to diminish greatly. Another doctor said that result would be expected. Getting only 4 hours of sleep before I get up for some coffee. Two hours later—about dawn—I can get another hour of sleep easily. (Another hour of nap after lunch). So I can't speak to sleeplessness, as I'm taking a bunch of other medications (stent installed)."

• Apo...
• August 13, 2022

"I have tried so many things for sleep: Xanax, Klonopin, trazodone, Ambien, and several others. On week 3 of 800 mg of gabapentin and cannot sleep at all. No side effects to speak of. The only thing from my list that works is Ambien, but doctors won't prescribe it long-term. I am a walking zombie. Forced to drink coffee in the day, which perpetuates the sleeping problem. Guess I'm doomed to sleepless nights."

• sco...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 25, 2024

"Tried trazodone and nothing. Tried Ambien and nothing. My body fights off drugs really well. Moved to 30 mg temazepam and it works so-so, but not on all days. My doctor gave me 300 mg of gabapentin, and it did nothing. I then tried gabapentin 2.5 hours before bedtime and 15 mg of temazepam 30 minutes before bedtime, and suddenly I could fall asleep within 15 minutes. I also spend 90 minutes in bed in a dark room playing on my phone. The gabapentin seems to work better if taken a couple of hours before bed. Now if I could get my alarm cats to stop waking me up at 4:30 am."

• sam...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 27, 2022

"Tried for a few days 50-100 mg gabapentin as a low dose add-on to 12.5 mg zolpidem for insomnia. I took zolpidem and gabapentin 30 mins before bed. Gabapentin improved the deepness and satisfaction of sleep at 100 mg, muted quite effectively my daily headaches after meals, but made reaching orgasm completely impossible even at those low doses. I'm a middle-aged male and have difficulty reaching orgasm, but gabapentin took that to a complete impossibility. The anorgasmic effect is described in the medical literature, but I was hoping it wouldn't spill over during the day since gabapentin is alleged to have a short half-life of 7 hours. Its effect on the nervous system seems to last the whole day - I've read somewhere that it boosts the production of GABA in the brain, in which case, the 7 hour half-life does not apply."

• El ...
• March 20, 2016

"I have been prescribed gabapentin for insomnia. For the last 2 years, I have taken it nightly at bedtime: 2000 mg + 12.5 mg zolpidem ER + 0.25 mg of alprazolam. I find the zolpidem + alprazolam put me to sleep and the gabapentin keeps me there... most of the time. I feel as though I have forgotten how to 'fall' asleep, but now knock myself out. After taking this handful of pills nightly at 9 PM, I can be awake at 2 am or 4 am. It has been a lot of drugs for a long period of time. Since the drugs' labeled use is for nerve pain, which I didn't have, I worry that the neuroma in my foot that developed 15 months ago might be related. Neuroma, foot injections, foot surgery... pain unresolved. How effective do you think it is?"

• Ali...
• September 3, 2021

"I take 900 mg of gabapentin at night with other meds due to sleep issues after a traumatic event in 2016, which caused me to be hospitalized for 7 weeks of insomnia. I am so scared to sleep on my own and am followed by a psychiatrist, but I can’t function. Does anyone think that is too much? I think I have to slowly try to detox from it."

• blu...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 1, 2016

"My hubby has been on the med since Sept 2015. It is not working. They put him on the Gaba to remove the morphine. In the last 4 weeks, by 11 pm, he is wide awake in pain and in tears. In the last 2 weeks, the heavy pressure on his right side just below the shoulder is worse each time. He has developed a cold that will not go away, starting in Nov. We see the doc on Feb 3rd. He is taking a sleep aid and med for really bad headaches. I am so afraid of what will happen when the next dose falls. We have been married for 24 years. He has had problems with drugs and drink all his life from 9 years of age on. Yep, people, 9 years of age. Started smoking pot and drinking."

• Mim...
• September 21, 2009

Gabapentin "I sleep deeper and wake up refreshed. It doesn't knock me out or stop anxious thoughts, but once I get to sleep, I sleep so well and with fewer awakenings."

• Wal...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 28, 2019

"Gabapentin helps me sleep even after four hours of taking it, but I take a heavy dose at night. It helps with my anxiety too."

• Anonymous
• December 1, 2016

"I find this odd. I came across this thread while looking up if gabapentin causes insomnia. Since I started taking it for nerve pain, I haven't slept in days."

• hsc...
• November 26, 2011

Gabapentin "Initially took it for shingles pain but found it to be great for sleeping and for settling down my occasional restless legs syndrome."

• J...
• December 30, 2015

"This was the miracle drug to help get me through the hot flashes and insomnia associated with menopause. It also helped my anxious insomniac daughter. I take 300 mg every night before bed."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 29, 2016

"I take 300 mg of gabapentin along with 10 mg of melatonin, and it works great for me. I fall asleep about 30 to 40 minutes after taking them and sleep throughout the night."

• Cam...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 12, 2016

"I've been taking gabapentin 300 mg for 2 nights, and I've slept like a baby. No side effects in the morning."