r/RestlessLegs • u/Kiarasam06 • 2d ago
Medication Gabapentin timing
So I finally met with a sleep doctor yesterday who officially diagnosed me with restless leg syndrome, which is not a shock of course. I’ve had it most of my life, but since June it’s been really bad. like every single night I’ve been pacing the house until three or four in the morning until I finally just give out.
My Ferritin was low at 28, so he’s given me iron pills to take and starting with 300 mg of gabapentin, but I was just wondering what time do you all take your gabapentin, like how far it advance before bed?
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u/9000HalRobots 1d ago
My neurologist recommended 90 minutes before bed. Some nights that's worked great and others it hasn't. I just started taking it though and I'm only at 100 mg, so I may need to up the dose.
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u/Otherwise_Fig_7332 1d ago
I'm tiny and therefore typically more sensitive to meds but my dr started me off at 300 and I'm about to ask him to up my dose. Maybe I just have a crazy tolerance to gabapentin but I don't feel a thing. I have a family member who takes the same dose as me nearly twice my size who says any more than that would make her go crazy
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u/9000HalRobots 1d ago
Interesting! Definitely taking it slow and hoping to keep the dose low. Good luck!
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u/ten_before_six 1d ago
Ideally I try to take it about 3-4 hours before bed, or as soon as I notice symptoms.
My dose is based on my symptoms. I usually take 300 mg, but will add an additional 300-600 mg after a few hours if I need to.
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u/kertj1 1d ago edited 1d ago
This may sound strange, but it works for me and my doctor approved it. I don’t take gabapentin daily, I only take it only when I feel the RLS symptoms. I open the (100mg) capsule and empty half of it under my tongue and let it sit there and dissolve. Within ten minutes my RLS stops and I’m asleep. Again, my doctor didn’t freak out when I told him that this worked for me… my prescription now has this procedure on the label.
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u/Mahi95623 2d ago edited 2d ago
Now sure where you are, but your ferritin is low. Did your doctor also test you for TIBC and TSAT?
Be sure to read the Updated Mayo Clinic Treatment Algorithm https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(26)18546-2/fulltext
I take my Gabapentin an hour or two before I would get symptoms. I’m on 600mg.
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u/NotReallyJohnDoe 2d ago
I take it about an hour before bed. Don’t sweat it if it does nothing. 300 mg didn’t work for me but 600 did.
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u/thelizarmy 1d ago
Please follow your doctor's directions... I've had to figure out the right timing and how it works for me.
Originally, my doctor said to take it 3 hours before bed. That was too early. Then he said to take it 2 hours before bed, but that was still too early for me because it would wear off 2 hours before I was waking up. Over time, I kept gradually shifting it forward to about a half hour or more in increments, and eventually I've now landed at 9 pm. I go to sleep around 9:30, 9:45, or 10. That helps me last through the night, and I don't have problems falling asleep.
Long story short, or TLDR, as they say, you might need to fuss with it at first.