Happy Monday! So, last night I decreased my gabapentin from 900 mg to 600 mg. I slept ok, woke up a bit too early but had no problem falling back asleep. I had a dream about lots of little spiders and then one big one who kind of attacked me.

Gabapentin was prescribed to me by a pain clinic that specializes in migraines. I take Gaba in the evenings and it helps me to get deeper sleep which helps with migraines a lot! It was really hard for me to get on Gaba. I am very sensitive to medication. When I first took gabapentin it caused me to feel high and kinda drunk but with insomnia. Like, it felt good at first but it lasted way too long and I wanted it to stop and I didn’t sleep at all the first night. I was going to be done with it after that, I wasn’t going to try it again. A friend I talked to, suggested I take less of it and earlier in the day so it’ll be less likely to cause insomnia by nighttime. I tried that (while discussing it with the doctor). I gradually started taking it later in the day until I was able to take it right before going to sleep which is when the doctor said will be the most beneficial time for me.The most common doses of gabapentin are between 900 mg and 3600 mg. It sounds like a lot, I know 😳 At one point I was up to 1200 mg but not for very long. I think it made me too tired and out of it so I went down to 900 mg. I have been on that dose for at least a year. It causes my sleep to be much deeper. I was always a light sleeper but this stuff makes me a heavy sleeper.

Side Effects

Side effects that I suspect are from gabapentin include swelling, water retention/weight gain, dizziness, unsteadiness, lightheadedness. General brain dumbness… Possible increased depression.

My weight had been overall stable for like 5 years. Little fluctuations here and there but I could still wear all the clothes I’d been wearing for many years. One day I put on a pair of pants I’d had for like 8 years or more and they were super tight! I exclaimed out loud, “WHAT!?” I hadn’t experienced that in quite a long time. Especially when I hadn’t changed anything and couldn’t attribute the weight gain to anything. It didn’t make any sense, which was annoying. Not knowing why it happened meant I didn’t know how to fix it. I am getting older and I know our metabolism changes as we age, but it still didn’t make sense even with that in play.

My dizziness and lightheadedness has gotten really bad. Like, when I bend over and stand up I start to see blackness and almost fall over. I’ve never passed out in my whole life but I can tell it’s getting close to happening.

Fast forward to now, I decreased the Gabapentin by ⅓ last night. This morning I felt really really tired like I could’ve kept sleep all morning but luckily my 7 different alarms made sure I didn’t sleep half the day away. I do have a little headache, which could definitely be from less Gaba, but it’s also PMS time and I always get headaches during that time. I also feel more depressed during PMS time which explains my mood yesterday. I feel a little more clear headed than usual but slow and groggy in some ways. Ok, well it’s time to get ready for the day and look up the meaning of dreaming about spiders 😝