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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Donut on September 16, 1999, at 16:24:40
Has anyone ever used neurontin for sleep and has it worked and at what dosage? I take celexa and buspar for depression but have always had a sleep problem and remeron makes me eat too much. Ambien works great but noone will prescribe it for every night use. My psychiatrist suggested neurontin and I would appreciate any input about it. Thanks
Posted by Jinx on September 16, 1999, at 20:32:03
In reply to Neurontin question, posted by Donut on September 16, 1999, at 16:24:40
> Has anyone ever used neurontin for sleep and has it worked and at what dosage? I take celexa and buspar for depression but have always had a sleep problem and remeron makes me eat too much. Ambien works great but noone will prescribe it for every night use. My psychiatrist suggested neurontin and I would appreciate any input about it. Thanks
Have you ever tried Vistaril? It is an antihistamine, thus can be combined effectively with many different classes of drugs. It is routinely prescribed for those who do not want/need a benzo for sleep.
Posted by Elaine on September 17, 1999, at 7:51:57
In reply to Neurontin question, posted by Donut on September 16, 1999, at 16:24:40
Neurontin calms the nerves and has a side effect of grogginess so can assist sleep, but I don't know what dose it would take to actually help you sleep. I take a very low dose (300mg) at night. Possibly it may assist sleep but it does not act as a sleep inducer for me. If I have trouble sleeping, the Neurontin doesn't help me sleep so I take a small amount of Xanax. This is only once in awhile so I don't feel badly about using it as a sleeping pill. The Xanax helps put me to sleep for the night in a very short time. So unless it's a high dose, I guess I wouldn't look to Neurontin specifically to help you sleep. If you try it, though, good luck.
Posted by Friend on September 17, 1999, at 13:35:19
In reply to Neurontin question, posted by Donut on September 16, 1999, at 16:24:40
> Has anyone ever used neurontin for sleep and has it worked and at what dosage? I take celexa and buspar for depression but have always had a sleep problem and remeron makes me eat too much. Ambien works great but noone will prescribe it for every night use. My psychiatrist suggested neurontin and I would appreciate any input about it. Thanks
NEURONTIN IS THE CLOSEST THING TO PLACEBO I'VE EVER ENCOUNTERED. IT'S IMPACT ON GABA, I UNDERSTAND, IS EQUIVOCAL. KLONOPIN MIGHT BE A BETTER ALTERNATIVE, TAKING 1.0 MG AT NIGHT AND 1.0 MG IN THE AM.
Posted by randy on September 17, 1999, at 16:48:37
In reply to Neurontin question, posted by Donut on September 16, 1999, at 16:24:40
Have been on Neurontin for almost a year now .
Generally speaking except for periods of intense stress I have never slept so good in my whole life. I am bipolar, 40 years old, and spent 34 years of wacky sleep schedules. Taking hours to fall asleep and/or waking up 50 times a night.
Neurontin made all the difference for me.
(at least so far)> Has anyone ever used neurontin for sleep and has it worked and at what dosage? I take celexa and buspar for depression but have always had a sleep problem and remeron makes me eat too much. Ambien works great but noone will prescribe it for every night use. My psychiatris
Posted by SJ on September 17, 1999, at 21:20:18
In reply to Neurontin question, posted by Donut on September 16, 1999, at 16:24:40
I also take Celexa, and I recently tapered off of Neurontin. I experienced no sleep problems while taking Neurontin with Celexa, and in fact found it to be the most effective drug I've tried so far in combatting mood swings/bipolar II. I discontinued it because I thought it was making me put on pounds. I was taking about 1600 mgs, which I believe is in the mid-range of a therapeutic dose.
Now that I take only the Celexa, I have trouble sleeping. It takes a long time just to drift off at night, and then I wake up several times. I've been taking OTC sleeping pills occassionally.
I've never heard of Neurontin being referenced to as a placebo medication; I was impressed with it. As they say--these drugs affect people in different ways.
> Has anyone ever used neurontin for sleep and has it worked and at what dosage? I take celexa and buspar for depression but have always had a sleep problem and remeron makes me eat too much. Ambien works great but noone will prescribe it for every night use. My psychiatrist suggested neurontin and I would appreciate any input about it. Thanks
Posted by Rick on September 19, 1999, at 17:40:13
In reply to Neurontin question, posted by Donut on September 16, 1999, at 16:24:40
> Has anyone ever used neurontin for sleep and has it worked and at what dosage? I take celexa and buspar for depression but have always had a sleep problem and remeron makes me eat too much. Ambien works great but noone will prescribe it for every night use. My psychiatrist suggested neurontin and I would appreciate any input about it. Thanks
---------
If your problem is soley getting to sleep initially, I have nothing to add. But if your problems also include poor quality and/or or length of sleep, read on.Have you had a sleep lab test? I have a friend who went in for a test because of poor sleep. He thought he might have apnea, but it turns out he instead had something called Periodic Limb Movement. It involves involuntary jeking of the legs and arms while sleeping, thus causing restless sleep and frequent conscious or unconscious awakening throughout the night.
The sleep clinic md gave him NEURONTIN, and within days it made all the difference in the world. For PLM disorder, Neurontin is just as effective as Klonopin (he traditional treatment) for most people, without the addiction potential.
("Friend" -- the one who posted above, not the personal one I'm writing about) was right about Klonopin, but dead-wrong with his all-caps shout about Neurontin being no better than placebo. Perhaps he's forgetting the key caveat of YMMV.) BTW, my friend takes no psychotropic drugs per se, although he takes several anti-hypertensives which can sometimes cause sleep disturbances.
Alternatively, you could have another sleep disorder like apnea, especially if you are significantly overweight and/or middle-aged and/or hypertensive, This is treated quite differently from PLMD, and in fact could be exacerbated by medication.Rick
Posted by molly on September 28, 1999, at 21:48:54
In reply to Re: Neurontin question, posted by Rick on September 19, 1999, at 17:40:13
> > I take 200 mg Zoloft, 20mg of doxepin,and 40 mg of ritalin SR. Now my psychiatrist wants to add Neurontin as a mood stabilizer. I am not bipolar, but have "cyclic" worsening of my depression (my cycles tend to be monthly). Has anybody else taken Neurontin as an anti-depressant/mood stabilizer who is NOT bipolar? I'm a little nervous about being a human guinea pig...
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