gabapentin and fatigue

Posted by chemist1 @chemist1, May 14 1:47pm

I have been taking 200 mg gabapentin to sleep for about one year. If I try to back off to 100 mg, I have insomnia, which I try to avoid because insomnia lowers my seizure threshold. To complicate matters, I had an extremely bad case of shingles that lasted 7 weeks; in February and March. Lately I have been extremely fatigued and uncoordinated in the morning. I'm trying to figure out if this is a long lasting side effect of shingles or gabapentin. Any insights out there?

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andyjustin | @andyjustin | May 16 9:03am

I take 1500 mg a day. I’ve been doing so far quite a while doesn’t make me drowsy certainly masks majority of symptoms from my AN and I’ve never had a problem with it but can’t imagine the pain I’d be in without it. My original dose is 900 and over the course of 2 1/2 years it’s gone up to 1500 and I imagine during the next two years it will continue to take more to my symptoms.

chemist1 | @chemist1 | May 16 10:57am

In reply to @andyjustin "I take 1500 mg a day. I’ve been doing so far quite a while doesn’t make..." + (show)

That's a lot of gabapentin. Glad it helps.
Even with large doses, no one else seems to have extreme leg fatigue. I'm gonna conclude that my leg fatigue is not due to my tiny dose of 200 mg gabapentin before bed.
could be due to neuropathy, I suppose. But nerve conduction studies indicated only mild neuropathy, though, so I'm kinda stumped. Hoping neuromuscular specialist can help me understand, when I finally get an appointment.

gregd1956 | @gregd1956 | May 16 11:35am

Dear @chemist1 & all,

You are talking the use of gabapertin meds. For 3 times a day, I take the anti-seizure cause I had a bicycle accidents 12+ years ago. And some people take the end-pain of this med. And I’ve seen to help your sleeping. And there’s places of feeling sleep more. Yes, in the next morning,I need to sleep 2 hrs later, cause I have to wake up for my doggy andmy wife when she goes as a teacher. But, right here, I woke up 8:15 am.

My meds are way bigger than yours. For me, it’s nothing for “pain”; it helps my brain-injury. For me: no sleeping & no pain BUT my loss of my life has changed…

Thx,
Greg D. @greg1956

andyjustin | @andyjustin | May 16 12:02pm

I just read right I’ve had no side effects from gabapentin. I don’t believe gabapentin causes leg pain as a side effect. In fact without it the pain in my legs and rest of my body would be unbearable to be clear about three months ago four months ago I added 100 mg of pregabalin a day. I am under no illusion. That overtime I will have to increase dosage of both. On further note one of the new symptoms I am experienced is that when I wake up in the morning, it feels like every tendon in my body is tight and usually takes about a minute or two slow stretching to mitigate that situation over and all there are many different cocktails of medicine when use properly help relieve autonomic neuropathy symptoms at least for me