Gabapentin and sleepwalking

[valeriem2220]

My neuro put me on Gabapentin since my insurance company wouldn't approve Lyrica, which works awesome for me by the way.
I have had concerns that the Gabapentin makes me feel as if I had drank a 12 pack of beer, so I can only take this med on my days off of work. I take it 2 days then not for 2 days then again for 2 days and so on and so forth. Hoping to get it in my system enough that my body will adjust and I can then start taking it full time.
The last 2 nights that I have taken it I have walked in my sleep.
I do have carpal tunnel and the first night I found my wrist splints that I wear to bed in the bathroom in the morning. I do not remember getting up at all.
This morning when I woke up I found my right wrist splint off and laying next to me. I then checked my Facebook page and found that I had been on my computer. Explains why I took off my right splint.
This is far too scary for me and I am not going to take anymore of this med and discuss it with my neuro during my next visit in July.

Has this happened to anyone else on Gabapentin?

[MrsBones]

Originally Posted by valeriem2220

My neuro put me on Gabapentin since my insurance company wouldn't approve Lyrica, which works awesome for me by the way.
I have had concerns that the Gabapentin makes me feel as if I had drank a 12 pack of beer, so I can only take this med on my days off of work. I take it 2 days then not for 2 days then again for 2 days and so on and so forth. Hoping to get it in my system enough that my body will adjust and I can then start taking it full time.
The last 2 nights that I have taken it I have walked in my sleep.
I do have carpal tunnel and the first night I found my wrist splints that I wear to bed in the bathroom in the morning. I do not remember getting up at all.
This morning when I woke up I found my right wrist splint off and laying next to me. I then checked my Facebook page and found that I had been on my computer. Explains why I took off my right splint.
This is far too scary for me and I am not going to take anymore of this med and discuss it with my neuro during my next visit in July.

Has this happened to anyone else on Gabapentin?

Drunk feeling, yes. Sleepwalking,no.

The drunk feeling is quite common while getting used to it or upping the dose. I think you may have a more difficult time adjusting with the schedule you described, not to mention that gabapentin should not be stopped and started. It's one of those drugs that needs to be slowly increased when starting it and decreased when stopping it. A missed dose is ok, but not taking it 2 days and then starting again, can actually be increasing that drunk feeling. At what dosage and frequency are you taking it on the days you do?

Is it possible that instead of sleep walking, you actually just woke, did some things and don't remember you did them because the drug is making you feel whacky? I have had that happen without the drugs. I'd remember them later, when something triggers the memory of something I did, like going to pay a bill online only to find I already did. That would make me remember I'd been up for a little while and had some pie and paid bills.

It could also be completely unrelated to the drug. Sleepwalking happens without meds at all, due to a variety of things.

I'd suggest not waiting for your appt and call your dr now. They will give you the best advice on either stopping the drug or taking it so that you can get used to it faster.

[valeriem2220]

I do understand what you are saying about the starting and stopping...but I was really hoping...lol plus I do want to be able to take this med and I look at it on my days off and think...ok I will try this again, and nope here comes the drunken whacked out feeling.
I am going to have to ask the Dr whether there is an alternative med I can take as I absolutely cannot take this on the days that I work with the way it makes me feel, it would be far too dangerous for me.
And yes my sleep walking or whatever it is could maybe be from the immense stress I have in my life right now.
My dosage right now is 600mg at night and 600mg at noon.

[MrsBones]

Originally Posted by valeriem2220

I do understand what you are saying about the starting and stopping...but I was really hoping...lol plus I do want to be able to take this med and I look at it on my days off and think...ok I will try this again, and nope here comes the drunken whacked out feeling.
I am going to have to ask the Dr whether there is an alternative med I can take as I absolutely cannot take this on the days that I work with the way it makes me feel, it would be far too dangerous for me.
And yes my sleep walking or whatever it is could maybe be from the immense stress I have in my life right now.
My dosage right now is 600mg at night and 600mg at noon.

600mg? Twice a day? And this is new to you? No wonder you feel drunk! Most drs will start you at 100 mg 3 times a day. You'd take one at night for 3 days or so, then add a second for another three days, then add the third dose. The final total for the day would be 300mg. You're taking twice that in one dose. The highest starting dose I've seen before was 300 mg, 3 times a day and they were also experiencing the drunkenness.

I get that the dr may be trying to give a dose that's appropriate for your sx, but if you don't work up to that dose, you'll be experiencing the side effects you're having now. I'm at 1800mg a day currently (could probably use a higher dosage), but started at the 300 mg a day and just went to a higher dose as I either got used to it or needed a higher dose to deal with the pain.

My suggestion is to ask your dr about restarting at a lower dose so that you can get used to it. The lower dose may be sufficient for your sx and if it's not, you can up the dosage as soon as the side effects settle. In my experience, the drunkenness only lasted a couple days for each time I upped the dosage, sometimes only a day.

[knarf180]

my first try of gaba was 300mg once a day and I was like a zombie. I decided that the slight pins and needles that I have in my toes wasn't worth taking gaba anymore.

a heat pack seems to do the trick when it gets bad. Yeah I know heat is the enemy but sometimes you just gotta do what works.