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
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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
poster:Rick
thread:11654
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990914/msgs/11783.html