Gabapentin for Restless Legs Syndrome User Reviews (Page 3)

• Leg...
• November 5, 2016

"Good drug, but watch out for withdrawal. 4 days in bed, awful. Talk to your doc to get low doses to taper off. This is an unpredictable drug. I swear, DO not run out or you're in trouble, and get magnesium (nothing relaxes this drug...nothing). Good luck."

• Kay...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 22, 2018

"I began experiencing severe leg cramps at night about 2 hours after I was asleep, and then they'd come back every hour or so until daybreak. It was horrible pain, but more so, the lack of quality sleep to go to work the next day was the worst. Was on Requip, which stopped the cramps but did nothing for waking up in the night 2-3 times. Was prescribed gabapentin and WOW, what it is amazing! Finally, after a long time of sleep with interruptions with leg cramps, now gabapentin allowed me to get a good night's rest to wake up the next morning feeling like a human being and not a zombie."

• Max...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 18, 2017

"I originally got Gabapentin for nerve pain in my neck and down my arm due to arthritis damaging my spine. But I noticed that my restless leg problem I had for many years was also going away. That's when I read the drug was given specifically for restless leg syndrome. I mentioned this to my doctor, and she said, 'Yes, it does.' But what made me angry was when I specifically asked for something years earlier for the same thing, she wouldn't give me anything. Duh..."

• Fie...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 15, 2017

"I have had RLS for most of my life. Gabapentin has been the only medication that has helped me with a good night's sleep. 600 mg about an hour before bedtime, and my legs calm down, and I drift off to sleep. No next-day aftereffects to report."

• Jon...
• September 29, 2019

"Was on gabapentin for a while for bipolar and felt like it wasn't doing anything! In the past, I also suffered from extreme RLS, which keeps me up for hours. While on gabapentin for bipolar, I never had RLS. As soon as I quit taking it, about a week later, the RLS started up again! Never knew gabapentin treated RLS."

• mll...
• May 29, 2008

"Before taking Neurontin, there were 4 to 5 nights a week that I was unable to sleep. I started taking Neurontin regularly, and I no longer have Restless Legs Syndrome. It has helped me tremendously and made a big difference in my quality of sleep."

• Dav...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 25, 2019

"Had RLS for 33 years now. Was prescribed gabapentin 30 years ago but didn't take them as it sort of scared me, being a Parkinson's med. Started on them 2 years ago due to paresthesia in my face (tingling/numbness), and it worked like a charm, but also fixed my RLS totally! I never had one single RLS episode for 22 months till last month, and it's back with a vengeance after a hip replacement op. Daytime also, both legs and both arms. I threw my phone by accident the other day. I'm hoping it's just a passing phase again, and I'm persisting with the gabapentin, but adding one extra tab in the afternoons to see if I can control it, as I could chop off my legs (metaphorically) sometimes. Ah well... I must have been a right one in a previous life."

• Jog...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 15, 2017

"I have had RLS and insomnia since around age nine. I was first prescribed gabapentin after herniating a disc three years ago. Didn't notice any effect on my RLS, but I was so drugged up, I wouldn't have. I was prescribed it again as a sleep aid two months ago. I have been taking lorazepam for sleep for years and wasn't thrilled about taking 2 mg of a benzo every night. It works great for sleep, but I feel hung over the next day -- can't seem to clear the fog. I ran out of gabapentin and noticed, holy cow, my legs are driving me crazy. Only then did it occur to me -- I hadn't had any RLS symptoms since I started taking it. I thought I had made a major discovery. LOL. This is the only drug that has ever touched my RLS."

• pai...
• August 29, 2015

"I'm a recovering drug addict (all opiates), and I have restless leg, degenerative disk disease, and severe nerve damage for almost 20 years now. My RLS has kept me up for 5 days at a time. Nighttime and early in the morning, I would be going absolutely insane, crying and screaming and hallucinating from lack of sleep. I know a lot of you have been through it too, and my heart goes out to you. Anyway, I know this is a real problem for the recovering addicts out there and a major cause of relapses. I've been to the rodeo a few times myself. My gabapentin stopped working a few months ago, gradually. I'm already on a high dose at 1800, can't go up. Any ideas? Thanks."

• Chi...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 31, 2018

"Ironically, my doctor prescribed this medication, and I was so thrilled to have relief from the RLS, which increased after a surgery pain nerve block; unfortunately, as the dose was increased [100 mg to 300 mg 3x a day], so did the RLS intensity, and as my doctor then lowered the dose back to 100 mg, I noticed the RLS intensity decrease, but the RLS remained nightly. I stopped gabapentin, and my RLS stopped. I have slept through the night for 2 nights now, and it is a total relief - you cannot imagine the prior intensity I had for 2 months. I have had RLS all my life - usually, prior, it had occurred maybe 1x a week. I hope this sharing helps others."

• Jay...
• May 7, 2020

"Even though I have been on 900 mg of gabapentin twice daily at night, I still felt as if bugs were walking on my legs as I sat up. Laying down, my legs went crazy till I'd get up to walk every single night. Sadly, I found gabapentin did not help my RLS symptoms at all."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 2, 2015

"I just took my first dose of Gabapentin. I experienced severe reactions from tongue and throat swelling, slurring of words, headache, swollen glands and face, blurred and double vision. My Dr. is trying to wean me off Mirapax and Neupro patch as they have augmented. Now on a steroid and Benadryl to counteract that, still have blurred vision, and it is 24 hours later."

• gar...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 10, 2019

"58 y/o post-menopause woman - been on gabapentin for 1 month at 300 mg (but currently only taking 100 mg at night) - originally prescribed for RLS but see that it helps in other ways too. It helps with night sweats, neuropathy in toes, helps with knee and shoulder aches, and I haven't had interruptions in sleep since I started it. Getting 6-7 hrs sleep straight through, rather than 4-5. Will continue gabapentin up to 300 mg (if needed, and no bad side effects show up) and wean off once I lose 50 lbs and get back to exercising regularly."

• Non...
• August 2, 2019

"I had taken Mirapex for about 12 years, and though my RLS symptoms had abated, there were a few problems: I had to annually get a higher dosage (which should have been a red flag for my doctors and myself), and there were severe behavioral side effects which started insidiously and ended up terribly. As a result, I discontinued taking Mirapex and took no drug whatsoever for RLS for 3 years. It was a miserable 3 years, but I did discover within that time that RLS seems to somehow be a dopamine issue, so I did whatever I could right before bed to trump up my dopamine levels: vigorous exercise, sex, and chocolate/sweets. If it was a really bad night, then all three methods were employed! I have a new physician, and she suggested I try gabapentin at only 100 mg to start. Within 5 nights, my RLS was much worse, with one leg jerking so badly it flew up in the air. Gabapentin doesn't seem to work for me, so I guess I'm back to vigorous exercise, sex, and chocolate."

• Wab...
• February 15, 2021

"Great information and feedback from taking gabapentin. I've been taking gaba since 11/20 and had bad side effects at first. My doctors advised me to take 100 mg, a low dose, up to 600 mg. It worked great for a few weeks... then my legs were driving me crazy again. The doctor told me to increase to 300 mg after dinner and 900 mg at bedtime. Again, I was not able to function during the daytime because of a bad side effect. So last night, I skipped 300 mg, only took 900 mg at bedtime, but I still had the same side effect today. Gabapentin is supposed to help sleep deprivation, but in my case, it's not working at all. I take combinations of CBD, CBN, and THC at night, and it's working well for sleep. By the way, I'm a 75-year-old female who never thought about taking cannabis in my life ever!! Finally, I want to let people who have RLS know to please join the RLS Foundation."

• Don...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 29, 2017

"My many years of RLS stopped immediately with gabapentin. I'm not crazy about the side effects (I feel like a dizzy zombie). Was prescribed for back pain, hasn't helped that at all, but OMG, a good night's sleep every night for the few weeks since I started taking it. 300 mg, 3 times a day. Probably needs to be much higher for the back/nerve pain."

• Hel...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 15, 2022

"I'm 76 years old, and I have been suffering from RLS for 35 years. The last 10 years were horrible. I couldn’t tolerate all the usual meds that were prescribed. I would go to bed at midnight, lie awake for an hour, doze off, and be awakened by the horrible RLS symptoms, causing me to have to get into a hot bath for 20-30 minutes. Back to bed, dozing on and off until I’d get out of bed around 7:30. I went through this routine EVERY NIGHT. Even when I was dozing, I was thrashing around often. I had a sleep study done, and the doctor couldn’t believe I never slept- a frequent occurrence. He put me on 300 mg of gabapentin (3 one hundred mg pills). I awoke woozy in the morning, so I cut back to 2 pills after supper. Suddenly, 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep, then 5, then 6- one time even 8! With NO RLS symptoms! I couldn’t believe it. I was so afraid it would wear off or I would need ever-increasing dosages. It’s been 14 months with no RLS symptoms."

• Jim...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• September 7, 2017

"800 mg an hour before bed have eliminated my RLS. I had it bad, sleep was difficult, and the desire to move and contract my leg muscles was maddening. Gabapentin at 800 mg cleared it up. I worked with my doctor and started at 300 and increased over time to 800. This works great for me."

• Mik...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 6, 2017

"I've been on gabapentin for 2 years. The first 12 months, I was on 4x 300 mg/day for nerve pain; it worked. It was around the end of that first year that I 'developed' RLS. I was prescribed pramipexole, and the RLS went away. Over the next 12 months, my gabapentin dose was increased from 4 to 8/day due to worse nerve pain. Sadly, due to side effects, I had to come off gabapentin; but the RLS returned! So, at first glance, it appears I need pramipexole and gabapentin to stop the RLS, but due to the aforementioned side effects, that's not possible! So, a larger dose of pramipexole is on the cards. Sorry, this is a long-winded way of saying that I believe gabapentin will help a huge number of people in keeping RLS at bay or at least reducing it."

• Lin...
• September 27, 2017

"I've been on 600 mg gabapentin for RLS for a few years. Very effective. Cut back to 300 mg 5 days ago. No RLS, but OMG! Major crying spells! Horrible withdrawals! Sweating, intestinal issues, fatigue. Not going to increase at this point, but advise a slower taper to those who plan to cut back."

• Sam...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 27, 2024

"I have been on this drug for a little more than a month, and there are days when I feel a little weak. I started off at 300 mg, and it took the RLS away completely, and then within five days, the RLS came back. So my doctor upped it to 600 mg. It has completely taken away the RLS, and I take it at about 8 o'clock at night in order for it to kick in. I can feel that it makes me groggy, and I sleep at night better. I wear an Apple Watch, and it tells me that even my deep sleep has improved. I also have fibromyalgia, and I tend to be a light sleeper. If this weakness would go away, it would really be helpful. Other than that, I would completely recommend this drug."

• Alp...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 9, 2019

"I've had issues with RLS and chronic insomnia since I was 4, until finally a (new) doctor many decades later put me on Ambien as part of my depression treatment regimen. I still had RLS from time to time but would take my Ambien (and years later, an earlier dose of Klonopin for anxiety) and it didn't matter. Fast forward many years and kids later, after a cervical disk injury, I was put on gabapentin (later, Gralise) for nerve pain. It didn't occur to me that my RLS had faded away too, until I phased out the Gralise because of the side effects and my RLS came back with a vengeance. I've restarted a smaller dose of Gralise and it has helped tremendously. Be forewarned-on high doses of gaba (about 1200 mg 3x/d or 1800 mg Gralise 1/d), I had weight gain, bloating, forgetfulness, psychological numbness/foggy thinking. Still, it was worth it for the nerve pain. For RLS, gabapentin is shorter-acting, so try to be on the lowest dose possible. Gralise is a long-acting version."

• Lau...
• March 30, 2017

"I've suffered with restless legs as long as I can remember. This has been life-changing for me. Still get them occasionally, but nowhere near as bad. The tablets also do not make me sleepy, although I take them at bedtime."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 21, 2017

"I am male, white, 92 years old, very healthy, little exercise. Have had RLS for ~30 years when sedentary - reading, TV, trying to go to sleep. Six weeks ago, our GP prescribed 300 mg gabapentin. I take one in the early afternoon, and it has worked like a charm. No side effects so far."

• Roc...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• June 16, 2024

"I was prescribed gabapentin for restless leg syndrome in 2005. I’m currently still on gabapentin. My doctor started me off with 100 mg once a day. After two months, it was increased to 300 mg three times a day. I found it helps tremendously. I am able to finally rest without having sudden kicking or jerking movements of my legs. However, I began to notice I was feeling extremely drowsy. I couldn’t sit up without falling immediately back to sleep. After others noticed the effect it was having on me, I stopped taking them three times a day and with my doctor's advice, I started taking them as needed. Other side effects I experienced are dry mouth, swelling in my feet and ankles. In all of that, the pill does work!"