Nighttime Awakenings Responding to Gabapentin Therapy in Late Premenopausal Women: A Case Series

Insomnia related to nighttime awakenings is known to be more prevalent in women than men. Three cases are presented here of late premenopausal women experiencing frequent nighttime awakenings that responded well to bedtime treatment with gabapentin. In one case, what started as isolated nighttime awakenings slowly progressed to awakenings accompanied by typical menopausal night sweats. This led to the theory that the initial isolated nighttime awakenings in this patient may have been secondary to a menopausal etiology related to low serum estradiol levels. In the subsequent 2 cases, early follicular phase serum estradiol was confirmed to be low. It is theorized that isolated nighttime awakenings in some premenopausal women may be caused by low serum estradiol, triggering events physiologically related to menopausal night sweats. Further research is needed to determine if low early follicular phase serum estradiol is associated with nighttime awakenings in premenopausal women not experiencing night sweats.