Just wondering if anyone uses Gabapentin. My Dr has put me on it along with Tramadol for pain relief for my back. It does seem to help quite a bit. However I am having a problem with sleep at the moment. I don't know if it is related so thought I would ask before altering the dosages now I have found one that suits me. I have always been a light sleeper and have always got up about 5:00 am to  walk my dogs. However  now I am having great difficulty getting up. I am sleeping through the alarm as it goes off right next to my head. I am often dimly aware that it is going off but don't seem to be able to wake myself up enough to get up. It often incorporates itself into my dreams so that I can be running around trying to turn off something that is making a beeping noise but am unable to do so. I have thought about moving it to the other side of the room but if I can sleep with it going off by my ear I don't suppose it going off across the room will improve things. To be fair I am feeling better for the increased sleep but if I don't get up at 5 my dogs don't get walked :( I have had nearly a week now where I haven't been able to get up. and its not like  me. I have always got up at 5am. For at least the last 15 years, even on my days off. The only thing that has changed is my medication.

I was on it for six weeks but came off it as it sent me a little bit loopy as well as put nearly two stone on as well.

It did however help with the pain ( I have become intolerant to Tramadol) but the side effects were just too much for me to be able to use it on a long term basis.

Can't remember though if it changed my sleep habits though .
I am waiting to go and see a pain management consultant to look at other options now.

I tried to take it along with my tramadol dosage a few years back , I had to go back to the dr and be taken off it as I couldn't sleep at all with it , I was hallucinating , spinning and being sick with it. I think if I had been in your position as I am a light sleeper too I would ask if you could try and alter the dosage .

I know nothing of its use in humans but in dogs one of the initial side effects can be sedation, it's supposed to wear off after a while though I think.  I'd have a chat with the GP about it.

I started on it at the beginning of the year.  I have never felt so ill in my life.  I thought I was dying.  They put me on Pregabalin instead, and I don't feel ill on it.  I just sleep 12 hours straight through and I live alone, so it isn't convenient with all my dogs.  I have my dog sitter come round and hammer on my door instead!  Having lost my job back in the spring I have stayed on the drugs simply for the pain relief that they afford me.

Tramadol is hopeless, I might just as well eat Smarties.  Codeine Phosphate along with Pregabalin ensure that I feel better just because I'm getting the sleep, even if it is a bit too much of it!  Tramadol is the synthetic form of Codeine, but it doesn't work for me.

I tried not taking my last dose last night and I slept really badly, waking up on and off all night. Here I am at 5:20 wide awake. :) I might just try missing the last dose for a bit and see how that goes.

Be very careful about changing doses without consulting your doctor as it can have bad side effects if not done properly

My daughter was prescribed gabapentin a few years ago for her epilepsy. It was far too sedating - she was just sitting at the table falling asleep, so it was discontinued. :-(