Gabapentin for anxiety/insomnia

Hi,

I was on prozac for years, but now it does not work. Tried Citalopram and it just gave me increased anxiety. Tried Mirtazapine and that did not work either.

I have got to a point through exercise/meditation etc that I am doing pretty ok during the day in terms of the anxiety and depression. However, for over a year now I have struggled with chronic insomnia. I regularly (2 or 3 nights a week) get no or almost no sleep at all. I have tried CBT-I but the sleep restriction etc just massively increased my anxiety, and no matter how long I stayed awake my sleep drive could never get powerful enough to beat it! Lorazepam helps me sleep (though sometimes I need 2mg) but that is not a long term option (I try to limit myself to 1-2 a month).

Psychiatrist has suggested 300mg Gabapentin at night. He says this should help sleep, but be mostly out of my body by the morning so the side effects during the day should be minimised. He said Gaba rather than Pregablin precisely because it has a shorter half life.

What do you all think of this idea? I am reluctant to try any more meds if I can help it, but this does seem like a relatively mild option.

I am also going to try yoga and acupuncture, just to see if they can help as well. I know the problem is that the stress and anxiety i can manage during the day is all still there at night, and when I am alone with my thoughts in the dark it just all bubbles up and puts my body into a hypervigilant/hyperaroused state.

Any thougts?

Hi. I was (and still am) on Prozac - 30 years now, and I know it's no longer effective, but doc says it would be tough to come off of so just keep taking it. Instead of upping the dose (which was my suggestion) she wanted me to add Gabapentin so I take 100 mg. twice a day. It helps a little with the anxiety and I think taking the entire 300 at night will definitely help you sleep. Give it a shot, it has a short half-life.
Sue