Gabapentin and anxiety

So met with my pdoc and mentioned gaba to her. I told her about my missing Kung fu and all thoughts that raises in my head. She said klonopin doesn't seem to work. So she prescribed gaba as a prn for anxiety. Anyone ever use this and any comments

I really like it. I actually prefer it to klonopin but have to hit a stable period to be able to start the 2 year process to get off klonopin safely. I was on quite a bit in the hospital last year and now just take it for sleep and PRN. I choose it as my PRN over klonopin pretty consistently.

I have a diagnosis of Bipolar I. I was initially given 900mgs/gabapentin as a second "mood-stabilizer," but..it hit me like a ton of bricks. I don't do well with hydroxyzine and benzodiazepines are out (its a community/public mental health clinic...), so the doctor changed the prescription to 100mgs capsules as needed for anxiety+agitation.

Its not ideal, but I don't think most anti-anxiety drugs are, really. It slows me down enough to get me to simmer down a couple notches. When I'm extra agitated, I take a couple 100mgs capsules with my other as-needed psych drug, low dose risperidone. The combination is sedating enough to lull me to sleep, and then I wake up remarkably...less agitated, less troubled, etc.

so...yeah. I think it depends on the person. I find that when I take it regularly my mood improves a bit. For me, that's better than Klonopin, which I found dampened my mood a bit over time.

Have you tried Lyrica? I think its somewhat controlled (Schedule V, maybe...), but its like uber-neurontin or something. I dunno. the dosing is only 2x daily, vs 3x daily for gabapentin. Just a thought...

Gabapentin has definitely made a positive difference. I get very severe anxiety, and this has helped me cut down on needing Klonopin as much, plus it doesn't make me sleepy at all. I still worry a whole lot about things, but when I get a feeling of panic in my chest, it will help me physically return to baseline much easier than without the Gabapentin. I was skeptical at first when my pdoc recommended it, but after sticking with it a good 1-2 weeks, I noticed it being helpful. She informed me she especially likes to prescribe it for anxiety in Bipolar 1 patients since there's no risk of it inducing mania, unlike SSRIs (I must avoid all antidepressants at all costs with my history).

BTW: If it doesn't work at first, it might be due to needing to go up on a higher dose. My pdoc started me at 300 mg, then added 600 mg daily. Now, I take a total of 900 mg (600 in the AM, 300 in the PM), which to my understanding, is an average dose.

Yea she has me on 300 mg prn. Took it yesterday made me sleepy.

Many people like gabapentin.
It makes me sleep, at even just 100 mg.
Too sedating for me.

I hope you find it helpful.


WC

My psychiatrist just upped my gabapentin to 900 mg on top of my klonopin. I was taking 300mg. The only difference is I tend to stay in bed a little later than usual. It helps me a lot with the anxiety though.

How long does gabapentin take to work?

Anybody that uses it for anxiety, did pdoc up the dose when wasn't working. Not that it isn't still trying to get a feel for it and she only gave me 20 for two months.

I take 800mg at night. Doesn't seem to help anxiety that much anymore, but it does still help with sleep. At least I notice if I miss it. Sleep like crap. Built up tolerance, I think.

Bump and question

I'm feeling a little anxious now about working out. Can feel butterflies in my stomach. Should I try a second dose. First dose I took around noon.

I felt similarly when I first started. My pdoc had me try taking it different times to see what was most helpful for me. I've tried in the AM and in the PM back when I was getting started on just 300 mg (1 pill). It takes some getting used to, but it doesn't take too long to adjust. Keep in mind it can take a little bit of time to get used to before determining if it is helpful. I noticed a slight effect on 300 mg, but 600 mg was when it started to take the edge off more (to a point).

I'm taking 400mg three times a day. For me it's lightly sedating. (I have to take a lot of sedating meds to calm down.) I still have some anxiety (from Latuda I think) so I also take 50mg of Vistaril. That calms me down but it also dries me out, so I drink a lot of fluids.

My husband made the mistake of taking a 300mg pill and it sent him off to la-la land for a good six hours. He didn't want to do that again, lol.

I would be careful with taking a second dose. You may end up sleeping instead of working out.

I love gabapentin. To me it feels like a weaker clonazepam. I take 600mg four times a day. I hope it continues helping you.

It didn't help much with so,e bad anxiety. I was anxious all day and felt my throats closing up. Luckily had a couple of klonopin that helped.

I called my pdoc on Monday about gabapentin not working. I'm still waiting to hear back from her. (We had a snow storm, so her office was prolly closed today).

Should I ask for higher dose of klonopin?

Hmm...you have me thinking. I have been feeling at night that it's hard to breathe through my nose, and my throat gets dry and almost like it is closing up. I've been trying to pinpoint the cause for this. Granted, I do have sinus issues, but I am wonder if Gabapentin is exacerbating these symptoms.

I am on Klonopin and BuSpar for anxiety. While I want to save some Klonopin for prn (such as long car trips or flights), I'd like to totally get off of it. I don't think I am addicted but have been taking it a while on and off.
I have only been on the BuSpar two weeks and haven't really noticed any break in the anxiety. Thanks for this thread...I may ask for gabapentin.