Gabapentin and Kratom

[Playerpiano72]

So I just got prescribed gabapentin, for sleep. I've taken it a couple times over the years, mainly for anxiety, but I haven't had it since I started taking kratom daily. I've tried just about everything there is for sleep...most of it gets me tired, but I have difficulty staying asleep for more than two hours at a time, or in some cases, the side effects are not tolerable (ambien makes me blackout, amitripyline gives me night hallucinations, benzos aren't an option). I've tried - melatonin, benadryl, valerian, amitriptyline (elavil), remeron, lunesta, ambien, seroquel, risperdal, trazodone, temazepam, doxylamine, hydroxyzine, and other various ones I don't recall at the moment. I've pretty much given up hope for a sleep aid that both helps me fall asleep, and keeps me asleep, without it being so potent that I can't function the next day (high dose traz and seroquel).

Anyway, I know the basics of gabapentin, I'm just interested in experience with taking gab and kratom together, what dosage seems to useful for sleep and/or anxiety, how it's been useful, and is it best to take on a nightly basis, or as more of a prn, etc etc. I've read a few anecdotes online, some say that they potentiate each other, but not in a dangerous way. I know I can ask my doctor some of this stuff, but I don't want to get into it with him about kratom again, and I prefer first hand experience.
Thanks

[MycatTimmy]

Afraid I only have long term use experience with Gabapentin for neuropathy, not for sleep or anxiety. I’ve been on it probably 10 years with my dosage increasing as my neuropathy worsenens. I take a pretty hefty dose of
800 mg 3 x a day. Plus my Dr prescribed a 4th one if needed. I seem to remember it making me slightly sleepy but that would only be for a week or two until I got used to it. But I’m one of those lucky people who don’t seem to suffer from many medication side effects.
I’ve been taking Kratom for a little less than 2 years and I’ve noticed absolutely no interaction. Sometimes I even take them at the same time if necessary. One does not increase/decrease the effects of the other for me.
I truly hope that Gabapentin helps you. It’s definitely been a game changer for my neuropathy. Good luck

[Playerpiano72]

Thanks man. He started me at 300mg once a day in the evening. I don't notice anything from it really. In the last I've taken much larger doses to get any sort of effect. It seems like my psych is just experimenting on me, every appointment he tries to get me on something with terrible side effects, that I've already tried, like seroquel and remeron. I should probably get a different doc, but I live in a relatively small town and there's only one provider in town. But yeah not getting anything with gaba, not even slightly drowsy

[IndelibleDotInk]

Thanks man. He started me at 300mg once a day in the evening. I don't notice anything from it really. In the last I've taken much larger doses to get any sort of effect. It seems like my psych is just experimenting on me, every appointment he tries to get me on something with terrible side effects, that I've already tried, like seroquel and remeron. I should probably get a different doc, but I live in a relatively small town and there's only one provider in town. But yeah not getting anything with gaba, not even slightly drowsy

Way back when, like 1999/2000, I got prescribed Neurontin as a psychiatric stabilizer and I felt it did not have an effect.

Nowadays gabapentin is really being pushed at people like candy, and my animals even got prescribed it, the cats before a vet appt to chill them out, and my dog to help her nerve pain / restlessness at night. It very much helped the animals. There is a huge market for it, and I feel it's a legit med (but not for me) to be considered in treatment of many conditions.

It would be worth it to travel to the next town if you could see a doc who respects you and has new ideas instead of just pushing drugs you don't want. 'S a waste of your time.

[BallzDeep9]

Since it wasn't mentioned... A major reason to get some Gabapentin, IS... totally blocks RLS. One of the most annoying side effects, of withdrawal even a mild kratom habit... nerves kickin' especially at night your legs kick around makes it hard to sleep. I got a small supply of 300 mg Gabapentin, and have even cut those in half... that's the lowest size tablet I believe? As others have posted, Gabapentin is used in larger doses by people, often prescribed for sleep and/or treatment of anxiety. For me... makes me groggy and kind-of dizzy feeling. Not drunk but rather head spinnin' kind of feel... I only take 'em when doing a Taper or break from kratom to re-set Tolerance.

[Playerpiano72]

I got capsules instead of tablets. If anything, it feels stimulating. I was reading on reddit, people taking 3-5 grams/3,000-5,000 mg at a time, which sounds crazy. I don't think it's going to help me sleep regularly, but it doesn't sound like a bad thing to have on hand for whatever, because it has some of those other effects like you mentioned. Besides being helpful with kratom wd, I've also heard it helps to get off benzos/phenibut, but I don't have experience with that

[Cuttlefish]

My advice about gabapentin:
I was prescribed 800 3x a day after a worse opiate addiction, for anxiety. I eventually dropped the gabapentin for kratom, the gaba eventually made me feel brain dead (although if I take kratom too long without t breaks at too high a dose I get a similar feeling, it could be depression)
I would much rather go through kratom withdrawals than gabapentin withdrawals. They were benzo like for me and I was off them for a week in a not good place mentally, drinking too much, when I found kratom.
If your intent is recreational, you can’t just take a large dose at once. (Or so I’ve read this, and it seems to work) you stagger you’re doses like every 45 minutes, so 300 every or even 100 every 45min and in a few hours you’ll have a nice buzz. Don’t drive.
I don’t have access to gabapentin, I see people talk about ordering it online but that’s never worked out for me, one place said I need a prescription, I don’t have healthcare, BUT if I did have gabapentin I would just save it for taking tolerance breaks. I imagine taking a few would potentiate kratom.

[GrannyJ62]

I was taking gabapentin for nerve pain for over 3 yr.I gained 50 lbs in the first six months, I broke my foot its the first time in58 yrs I d broken anything,I ended up unable to finish sentences instead of dog id say the animal with four legs that barks,I couldn't drive my vision was so bad I couldn't read,I believed it was helping me until I became actively suicidal thats when I tapered down and off it I didn't realize what it had done to me until I quit It was poison for me,I thought it was fibro fog it made me a babbling idiot.I was taking it with my other prescription meds.I t was sneaky.I didn't take it with kratom tho I d stopped it before kratom so I'm no help there but I did take it with opiods muscle relaxers ,tranqs and sleepers.I Thank God for Kratom and bud every day .Just be careful with gabapentin they are prescribing it like candy for many things it s not been approved for and watch out for its horrible side effects.

[Playerpiano72]

Interesting, I didn't know it could have those side effects. Much of what you described, the brain fog, the speech impairment, was what I experienced when I tried Rexulti, which is a relatively new antipsychotic, somewhat like Abilify. It made me stutter like crazy, increased my anxiety... definitely wasn't placebo, my parents could tell something was very wrong, and probably thought I was using drugs again. I've never had side effects that severe from any medication before, with the exception of amitriptyline which gave me severely realistic hallucinations at night. Overall it was a horrible experience. I've taken gabapentin before and not experienced anything like that, but so far it has not been helping my sleep, which I didn't think it would. To me, it's a little stimulating.

[pray4peace4]

I take gaba 3x a day, 200mg per dose to control arthritis pain in my back. I can't feel any difference taking kratom & gaba at the same time. But taking a Benedryl with gaba - holy crap! Yeah, I slept all right, but I couldn't walk a straight line the next day, neither could I speak a logical sentence. I was a mess. The literature that came with it says to never take with any substance that makes you sleepy or groggy. But again, there's no noticeable effects with kratom.

[7ohm]

GABApentin has been considered by many in the medical industry to be an opiate potentiator. This study shows enhanced effects with morphine.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10866910/

[MichalHad]

is it possible for kratom to replace gabapentin?

[DylanJames]

I use Gabapentin to potentiate Kratom. It seems to bring it back some once it's worn off especially the energy. I wait 2 hours after taking Kratom. I then take a 600mg tablet every 30 minutes for two hours. Apparently, stacking them like this helps with absorption I've read. As does a carbonated drink. I definitely feel a difference when I do this. It is much stronger. It gives Kratom better legs in my experience. I am prescribed 2 600mg tablets 3 times a day so it's a high dose. I rarely take more than 4 when using Kratom. However, you build a tolerance to Gabapentin quickly so it shouldn't be used like this every day if you want it to still affect you. I really don't get high off of gabapentin, but it does help with anxiety in social situations and nerve pain. It also helps with my alcohol cravings. Medical Doctors can be hesitant to prescribe you a lot of Gabapentin. But Pscyh Dr's are more willing to prescribe it to you in my experience.

[GrannyJ62]

Also remember if you stop gabapentin CT it can cause seizures so taper down if you stop.It does work awesome for some but not for me.

[Bailah]

So I just got prescribed gabapentin, for sleep. I've taken it a couple times over the years, mainly for anxiety, but I haven't had it since I started taking kratom daily. I've tried just about everything there is for sleep...most of it gets me tired, but I have difficulty staying asleep for more than two hours at a time, or in some cases, the side effects are not tolerable (ambien makes me blackout, amitripyline gives me night hallucinations, benzos aren't an option). I've tried - melatonin, benadryl, valerian, amitriptyline (elavil), remeron, lunesta, ambien, seroquel, risperdal, trazodone, temazepam, doxylamine, hydroxyzine, and other various ones I don't recall at the moment. I've pretty much given up hope for a sleep aid that both helps me fall asleep, and keeps me asleep, without it being so potent that I can't function the next day (high dose traz and seroquel).

Anyway, I know the basics of gabapentin, I'm just interested in experience with taking gab and kratom together, what dosage seems to useful for sleep and/or anxiety, how it's been useful, and is it best to take on a nightly basis, or as more of a prn, etc etc. I've read a few anecdotes online, some say that they potentiate each other, but not in a dangerous way. I know I can ask my doctor some of this stuff, but I don't want to get into it with him about kratom again, and I prefer first hand experience.
Thanks

I am prescribed gabapentin for sleep. It seems to be helpful and potentiates any decent good red strain.

I take 400-800mg gabapentin 30 minutes prior to taking 6g of a red strain. It puts me in a calm and relaxed state, enough so that I don't mind laying in bed waiting for sleep to come. Sometimes I fall asleep immediately, other times I can wait an hour or two to fall asleep. I sleep through the night now.

This is after trying every sleeping pill you listed, and not having luck with quality sleep.

Good luck!

[earthlove17]

Chronic pain person here
I just jumped back on gabapentin (300mg morning, 600mg night) for migraines and nerve pain after being off of it for years, and I just jumped back into kratom after a couple years (and back then it was a hangover cure). In my experience, it’s absolutely a potentiator, and if I take kratom in the morning I’ll wait to take my gaba for an hour or two to make sure I’m at a steady level - otherwise I go absolutely stupid. At night, it’s actually nice that it potentiates because it knocks me on my butt

[Playerpiano72]

Just an update, I've had about 8 hours of sleep in the past four days. I just cannot fall or stay asleep. I just moved into a new house so that may contribute too. But I often nod odd off during the day and, for lack of a better word, hallucinate. Like I'll drift off and think my friend is sitting next to me trying to find something on a map, when I come to I'm totally alone. It's weird. Just a few weeks ago I was sleeping 16+ hours a day. I'm going to talk to a new psychiatrist about it, my old one sucked.

[DylanJames]

Hmm. It sounds like your meds are doing a number on you. To go from way too much sleep to so little is definitely something to talk to your Psychiatrist about. Does he know anything about Kratom? Because what you're describing sounds like what happens when somebody nods off on opiates. Not saying or even implying you're doing that, just that I know exactly what you're talking about. Kratom could have something to do with that if you're taking high doses of quality material.

[Playerpiano72]

Sorry for the previous post, I forgot I even made it...
I was worse off than I thought and I generally don't like to post when stressed out. It was a stressful day/week. I'll skip the details for my own sake, but what ultimately helped was combining risperdal with remeron at night around 8pm after a normal meal, on top of my other prescriptions. For me this is not a long term or a daily solution because I know some of the major side effects of both of these meds (lethargy and weight gain) but for the first time in over a week I slept a full 8+ hours (more like 12), with two other nights of 5+ hours and I feel fully reset and back to baseline. I stopped gabapentin as it was totally useless, at least at the dosage I was at, and possibly harmful in my sleep cycle. I always figured it wasn't going to do much. However, I don't blame it for this whole ordeal, it was part of a multidimensional issue. Kratom intake has remained the same throughout, so I can say for sure (as usual) it was not a factor. My morning burns are great and refreshing, and my evening burns post-meal are relaxing and enjoyable and allow me for some edification through reading and study. Upon some reflection, it can get scary how much sleep deprivation affects your cognition and mood. I feel normal, and now that I do, realize I didn't so much last week. You don't notice it at the time so much. I am still beginning a new plan for tackling the symptoms and underlying sleep issues. But now I at least have a back up sure-fire remedy if I absolutely cannot get restful sleep. Hope this wasn't too overly personal, I just didn't like the way that last one sounded.

[MycatTimmy]

I’m so glad that you’re feeling better Player Piano. Lack of sleep can definitely cause psychosis. I hope your Dr can help you get this insomnia under control. Best of luck