[Iamalioness]

I am wondering about you who are on gabapentin: did it/does it bring on episodes for you? I asked my pdoc about it for restless leg syndrome and for the shakes and she refused to put me on it because of that. But i've seen that a few of you are on it so I thought i'd ask. I am a really tired of the RLS and shaking all the time. What are other meds that you know of that are used for this?

[HALLIEBETH87]

I get like jerking in my limbs but idk if it's the gabapentin I take or not

[Iamalioness]

Oh, maybe I miscommunicated. I thought that you take gabapentin to get rid of the shakes and jerks.

[HALLIEBETH87]

Oh I take it for anxiety

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I'm on it because it's a weak mood stabilizer. I was first put on it because it aggressively treats akathesia when that becomes severe (In combination with another med). It was awful then because I had to take a lot of it for a while and I was barely awake for a month but I latter discovered that 400 mg had an effect on my mood and since it has few side effects at the lower dose we have gone with that. I can't tolerate any more of it though and hope this new AP I'm on will let me get off it.

[Crazy Hitch]

I'm not personally on this med. Just leaving you a quick note to say I hope you find the answers that you seek. Pretty insightful responses by members here

[ShantheArtist23]

I'm on 400 mg of Gabapentin twice a day for anxiety, and I've notice only a *teeny* bit of little spasms in my legs, but I don't know if that's what you're talking about or not. It doesn't happen hardly ever, so to me it's not a big thing. I do know that Gabapentin can be taken also for joint pain, but I'm not too sure about RLS or shaking all the time. That actually sounds like a side affect... but I could be mistaken.

[Angelique67]

I'm on 1800 mg per day and I take it for neuropathy which it does help with to an extent. It doesn't really help me for anxiety and I'm not sure whether or not it helps with RLS. I don't often get RLS anymore, so maybe it does. It might be the result of one of my other meds though.

[Iamalioness]

Yes, my shaking is a side effect of my meds. It's horrible. Sometimes it's not noticeable to others but I can still feel myself shaking on the inside. Other times it's completely noticeable (and embarrassing).

Just to clear up my question (cuz I wasn't very clear with my post), I thought that gabapentin was used to treat shaking and RLS (among other things); but has gabapentin brought on a manic episode for you? That's what my pdoc is worried about.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I can't see gabapentin bringing on a manic episode at least for me. It is numbing if anything. But everyone is different. I've never heard it used to treat tremors though; it is used mainly to treat nerve pain and off-label for mood stabilization and treatment of akathesia when it is severe and acute.

I've taken propanolol for tremors in the past but after stopping it once and then needing it again later I couldn't be on it because my blood pressure was too low. I think it did help back then (this was from lithium).

I once had a patient's family get upset with me and start screaming at me in a crowded therapy room. I sat and kept talking to them to try to get them to calm down and when they didn't I left the room. A co-worker told me that they proceeded to sit there and later in front of administrators they went on and on about how I was so angry I was shaking. The co-worker had to explain that I had tremors all the time and it had nothing to do with being upset. It was so embarrassing and I've never forgotten it and how much I wished I could cover the tremors at that moment.

I'm sorry you're stuck with this side effect. It's definitely unpleasant.

[jacky8807]

hmmmm i never heard of any one getting manic off it but i guess that dosent mean it hasnt happened before. But it's not in a high risk category for turning ppl manic. I have found out that ppl that abuse opiates like neurontin because it makes the opiate high better and i have also heard at really really really high doses no dr. would order it can cause someone to get high. i couldnt believe it when i heard about this because these pills are not much of anything in my opinion. They are OK

[BeyondtheRainbow]

When I went on it for akathesia I was put on a fairly high dose without any titration. The first 24 hours I acted drunk (never been drunk but that would be my best guess) until the dr. knocked my dose down because of my slurred speech and stumbly gait. So I can see how it could potentially get someone high. Although it wasn't much fun in my book but I hate feeling out of control so there's that.

[Crazy Hitch]

Thanks for the clarity on the meds and the physical side effects of the meds