Gabapentin for Restless Legs Syndrome User Reviews (Page 4)

• Sir...
• October 8, 2017

"I've been on 'Gabi' for about 10 years. I'm 52 years old. It was miraculous that my RLS calmed down and became nonexistent. My Rx is 2x300 mg at dinner and the same dose before bed (1200 mg total). These last few months, I've been experiencing breakthrough events. After reading many comments on here, I may look at bumping my dose up to 900 mg before bed and 300 mg at night. Has anyone here tried to do this, and if so, did you find it helpful?"

• JOB...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 20, 2020

"I am just going to offer a generic solution that may work for restless legs. I slanted my bed to around a 45-degree angle. I sleep with my head at the low end and my legs at the high end. This helps greatly with my restless legs. Of course, it only helps at night. During the day, I have bad restless legs. I am going to ask the doc for gabapentin for my daytime restless legs."

• Sgr...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 25, 2018

"Was on ropinirole, had severe anxiety, ended up in the hospital, put on 600 mg gabapentin. No problems, makes you very sleepy, so helps you sleep, but be careful if you get up to use the bathroom. Get up slowly. Also drinking apple cider vinegar with honey, read it helps RLS."

• Kir...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 24, 2019

"I was prescribed gabapentin for severe sciatica. I'm not sure if it helped with the pain, but after 2 months of taking it, my RLS became the worst it's ever been. Legs thrashing, back spasms, no sleep. Usually, magnesium malate helps, but it stopped working. Daytime symptoms, too."

• mar...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 14, 2017

"I've been taking Ropinirole HCL 1 mg 3 times daily, starting at 5:00 P.M., and another at around 7, and one more around 9 for years, but it wasn't doing much for my restless legs. I can't sit for very long if I don't have it in my system. Even when driving, I have the horrible jumping and restless legs. My doctor just recently put me on Gabapentin 300 mg, one pill at bedtime. The first night I took it was great, I finally had more than a few hours of sleep. But last night when I took one, I didn't feel it was doing anything, so I took another Gabapentin. Now I'm up after 2 hours of sleep, and my legs are driving me crazy. I just took another Ropinirole, so I hope I can calm down, I'm just so weary. Why is Gabapentin not doing anything? Right now I could just scream!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 21, 2020

"I just started taking the medication Gabapentin for RLS, but my legs are still very restless. I’m supposed to work up to 300 mg. I still have to take Requip, which I truly dislike. I don’t think this medication is going to help. I’m willing to try anything."

• Ban...
• November 10, 2018

"Took gabapentin 100 mg at 5 pm and 9 pm, and since I started, the RLS is so bad. I had tried everything, nothing stopped my legs from jerking, aching, you know how it is. I took 3 scalding hot baths, which finally helped. So my question is, I rarely get RLS, and I thought the gabapentin was supposed to stop or help it. It seemed to make mine worse, and it actually made me have RLS."

• Hap...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 10, 2019

"I’m 21 with slowly worsening RLS since my late teens. I have a strong family history of RLS for several generations. Began taking 200 mg of gabapentin every night, this did not help and increased to 400 mg. This dose helped for about half a year, however, either the RLS is getting worse or I have built up a tolerance to this dose. I’m hoping to increase to 600 mg. I like gabapentin, I have not experienced any significant side effects so far! Plus, it is covered by my insurance, unlike Lyrica. Although there is a generic Lyrica that just came to market, this drug will probably become a much cheaper option for people soon!"

• Ell...
• February 24, 2021

"On my first two weeks of 300 mg Neurontin for restless leg syndrome, I noticed an immediate effect. My legs stopped wanting to urgently move around in the middle of the night. The symptoms currently are not all gone, I still want to pace sometimes, but it is vastly improved. It helped with my pins and needles, too. The dose got raised to 400 mg, and I'm experiencing greater symptom relief. In the beginning, I didn't think it was great for insomnia, but with the higher dose, I'm experiencing more ease getting to sleep. I'm still waking up in the middle of the night. However, I'm willing to try higher doses to see if I can fall asleep, stay asleep, and sleep longer. I have tried Trazodone, and it did nothing for me, mixtures of melatonin, Benadryl, and cold medicine. I had Klonopin and Ativan for emergencies, but the doctor won't prescribe them. The doctor has no trouble prescribing Neurontin. I also experience no side effects, so I am hoping time with further treatment will help."

• kdv...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 23, 2021

"I hope this helps someone. This is a very dangerous medication if taken for a long period of time that has withdrawals that will have you on your knees begging for mercy… vision loss, anger outbursts, burning, tingling brain skin, suicidal thoughts, inner restlessness that makes you want to crawl out of your skin - just to name a few of the fun side effects trying to come off this awful medication. Before you know it, you are constantly updosed to get the desired results… it helped for my restless legs, though, but to what cost? I’m seriously going to need some PTSD treatment after I finish this med taper!!"

• Kas...
• November 24, 2017

"I've been on gabapentin for a couple of years at bedtime. When it first started (8 years ago), I only got restless leg syndrome while sleeping. It would wake me up. For the past 5 years, I get it mainly once I sit down for the night. Now, as long as I can get up and walk or sway for a few minutes, it usually goes away. I'm not really sure if it's working or not. I still usually get it at least once every other day. Just glad it goes away once I get up now."

• Ann...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• October 12, 2023

"I suffered from RLS starting in my 40s and am now 77. It got progressively worse. Nothing worked well or for long. I'd be lucky to get 3 hours of sleep a night. My sleep doctor prescribed gabapentin 3 years ago, 300 mg. a few hours before bed. My RLS was gone immediately, and I slept 7 hours! The only problem was that I was a little groggy in the morning, so I cut down to 200 mg, and that's been fine. I have had serious thyroid issues, chronic kidney disease, kidney stones, long-haul COVID, and cancer. None of those negatively affected my quality of life as much as RLS did. I often wondered how I functioned at all. I worry about the day I might have to go off of it for whatever reason. Nothing else worked. I don't ever want to go back to RLS."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• July 5, 2022

"For almost a year, I suffered from lack of sleep because every night I had the incessant need to stretch my legs, and it literally kept me awake until I fell asleep from sheer exhaustion. My doctor put me on gabapentin, and it worked great, I could finally sleep like a normal person. It's been a lifesaver for me. My new doctor doesn't want to give it to me because she says it's considered a controlled substance. I don't know what I'm going to do."

• joj...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 28, 2022

"I was prescribed gabapentin for a couple of problems. Didn't help anything. Dr. kept upping the dosage, and I wasn't able to remember basic things. I was a waitress and couldn't figure out simple math problems. I would forget what orders went to what table. I forgot how to use the cash register. And so much more."

• ula...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 5, 2021

"For approximately 6 months, I was suffering from severe RLS. I tried every remedy, to include Epsom baths, a calf-compression wrap which I would plug in and it would squeeze my calves, then release, repeatedly for 20 minutes. (It's a wonderful treatment for tired legs in general too.) I bought various expensive creams which contained magnesium and other ingredients. Took supplements ... on and on. Sometimes I would pound my thighs, they ached so badly. Other times, I would take a walk around the block, even at 2 a.m.! I was prescribed 300 mg of gabapentin to take an hour or so before attempting to sleep. After a few days, I have not had one episode of RLS. It's been about 2 months, and I can't believe it. So now, what do I do with my big box filled with remedies?"

• shr...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 27, 2023

"I have noticed that this medication keeps me awake but also makes Latuda, another medication I take, much more tolerable. Latuda is the only medication that has been effective for me, so I am grateful that I can endure the unpleasant episodes of akathisia and restless legs that occasionally arise from it. Strangely, I feel well enough to begin tidying up and looking after the house."

• Ste...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 4, 2022

"I have been on pramipexole for almost 7 years now for RLS. Due to augmentation, GP suggested taking gabapentin in parallel while reducing the pramipexole dose. I have reached 300 mg of gabapentin and cut back on pramipexole only by a quarter. Planning to continue increasing gabapentin dose."

• Aly...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 23, 2022

"I have had RLS and subsequent insomnia for 20+ years. I had no idea I struggled this long in vain; all I can say is I wish someone would have told me about this 20 years ago! RLS affects your quality of life because you can’t sleep. I remember walking the hallways in tears at 3 a.m.... So exhausted, but my legs wouldn’t let me sleep. I did hot baths, stretching (so much stretching), supplements, nothing brought relief. I feel like I have stumbled upon a miracle. I have been taking 300 mg before bed, and not only are my legs relaxed as jello, my mind is calm. I used to have night sweats and agitated sleep, and those are gone too! I cannot express how HAPPY I am to have found this medication. There is nothing greater or more valuable in this world than a good night's sleep!"

• Lis...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 19, 2023

"I've had RLS since the age of 12, and I'm 62 now. My mom has it, and one of my daughters does too. Most of the time, mine occurs at night, but every now and then I get it during the day. I started on ropinirole 0.25 once a day and increased to 0.50. With that dose, I had to take it with food because it made me nauseous. I started researching Gabapentin and asked my PCP to prescribe 300 milligrams. I've been on it for one week, and my sleep has improved significantly. I've had two nights with slight RLS, but it subsided. I'll keep taking it to see how I progress. I'm curious to see if it keeps my RLS at bay during the day as well."

• Kar...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• March 26, 2023

"Gabapentin has been a lifesaver for RLS and sleep in general (insomnia). I try to keep my dose as low as possible while still taking as needed. I have 100 mg pills I can take to tweak the dose up and down without having to add or drop 300 mg at once. I wish I could know why it flares so badly at times, but I have been unable to really know. It seems that low magnesium plays a role, and adding that can certainly help, but once my body's magnesium levels are replenished, I get loose stools, so I also go up and down and even completely off magnesium. It is quite an effort to manage this difficult body of mine! Recently, I added skullcap tincture at night, which has helped significantly. With the addition of the skullcap, I have been able to half my gabapentin dose."

• mus...
• February 15, 2016

"Started taking gabapentin a couple months ago. Hate to take meds of any kind and am afraid of Augmentin, which I have had. I started on a low dose of gabapentin and increased it to 300 mg at noon and 300 mg after dinner. In the evening, I take ropinirole. After taking ropinirole, I am up for at least 2-3 hours wrestling with my legs. Tonight, I decided to skip ropinirole and take another 300 mg of gabapentin. Not sure yet if it will work. Going to bed soon. I am standing while writing this."

• MsP...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• March 28, 2022

"About 8 years ago, my husband said my tossing and turning, and scratching and twitching in my sleep were getting out of hand. Had a sleep study for sleep apnea, but the results showed RLS. Been on gabapentin since. Have had to go without it a few nights here and there, and man, I sure could tell! It is hell trying to fall asleep and even stay asleep with RLS. It is a miracle drug for me! Still on 600 mg/night."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 19, 2022

"My RLS (which I've had for years) had been getting increasingly worse, and I realized that the sertraline I was taking was affecting it, so my doctor prescribed gabapentin as a supplement to it. I've been on it at 300 mg at night for a month now, and there is no difference. My RLS is just as debilitating as before. I'm so disappointed (and exhausted). I need to keep taking the sertraline (which I am now at a reduced dose), so I'm kind of stuck right now."

• Dea...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 29, 2024

"I have been taking gabapentin (Neurontin), 300 mg at bedtime for the last 5 months. I had restlessness in my legs, arms, and back. I had to constantly move in order to calm down the restlessness. This medication is very helpful. I have less restlessness than before. I also noticed certain foods cause restless leg syndrome. I avoid those foods. This medication works like a miracle, except that I put on some weight, which I am worried about. Other than weight gain, it works pretty well."

• Ano...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 21, 2025

"Currently on 200 mg of gabapentin to take as needed when I get a flare-up. It works the majority of the time, but when the gabapentin 200 mg doesn't work, I take a very low dose of methadone, 3-5 mg, which obliterates the restless leg syndrome. There is plenty of research and studies that have been documented on the effects of low-dose methadone to treat restless leg syndrome. It works like an absolute charm for me. Hope this helps someone. Stay strong :)"