Gabapentin and insomnia

I feel like I'm swinging the other way, from severe fatigue to insomnia, and I'm wondering if it's because of the gabapentin. As my dosage of gabapentin has increased my daytime fatigue has gotten better but the time at which I can fall asleep gets later and later. Unless I'm flaring, it's now past midnight before it's remotely possible to fall asleep (last night it was 1 am) and I get up at 7 every morning. Compare that to falling asleep by 7 pm even with two daytime naps before gabapentin. I'm tapering up to 300mg 3x/day and I'll be there on Saturday. I don't nap unless I'm falling asleep sitting up, like I was on Saturday. Funny thing is, I'll be tired in the morning, feeling worn out by after work (3 pm) but feel wide awake from 8 pm-12 am. If it's the gabapentin I really don't want to give it up-the numbness, tingling and nerve pain gets better as the dosage goes up-but I don't want to be setting up for a huge flare due to lack of sleep. Any thoughts? Could it really just be that I'm getting good quality sleep (part of the reason my FP wants me to be on it)?

I'm on 200 mg 3X a day.  I don't find that it interferes with my sleep.  I think it actually can cause sleepiness (I haven't had that problem).

This fibro thing is so complex your insomnia could be from another aspect of it that wasn't affecting you when you were in so much pain.

Good luck with it.

I had no side effects from Gabapentin but it just didn't work for me:( Right now I take Vicoden. I don't know what else to take. I was on Darvocet and that worked wonderfully! but, it was taken off the market and that is why I got switched to vicoden.

Ronney

For sleep my doc has me on a bunch of stuff I take around 9 and 10 I am asleep.  Melatonin, Magnesium, 5-HTP, "Revitalizing Sleep Formula) (I take 4 of these, it a bunch of herbs), Vit D and Clanapin (Rx).

Yet, even with all that and feeling like my sleep has improved, and with wearing my oral appliance at night for moderate sleep apnea, AND with doing a relaxation going to sleep CD in bed, I STILL am fatigued during the day.  It is very frustrating.

I think stress is the no 1 problem for me.  It sparks up all my symptoms really badly.

Hope we are all hanging in there today and keeping the frustration at bay. 

Wow! I've been on gabapentin for a long time and whether increasing or reducing the dose, it's never kept me awake. Now I do have a fluctuation in sleep patterns like you say and sometimes call my body manic/depressive (absolutely no offense to bi-polar people-I have friends with the condition so please understand it really is a good description of what my body does). I'll have a couple days of just awake, even if tired, like a little kid who can't nap when you know they need to which will then flip to hours and hours of can't get enough sleep at night plus naps all day long then normalish for a couple and back to one or the other of them. Also have really noticed difficulty with the days being longer and sleep this year. Anyway, to get back to you :), could it maybe be an odd side effect that will pass as you get used to the medication? I sure hope so cuz it does help with the buzz/throbb.

When it's getting too late, I use a 1/4 Xanax and it knocks me out like a light. Others mentioned melatonin so if it is a side effect that will pass, at least that would be an option to try so you can get some rest while you wait to see if the higher dose will work for you. Good luck.