Gabapentin

[countryboy]

Hi guys, this old boy has a question regarding the use of Gabapentin.

I would like some feed back on what side effects you guys have had by taking this drug.  Would like to kind of narrow it down to things that your are fairly sure this was caused by taking the Gabapentin.

I have seen this drug mentioned a number of times in our posts, but only a couple of guys stated what their side effects were.   I have been taking this drug for about 5 years, and yes, I have had some changes and conditions that have effected by body and mind, but have not considered that it could be the Gabapentin.  My GP told me right after I started taking the drug that my concerns that I questioned would not be caused by the Gabapentin.

There again, it seems like all those that work in the medical field have different opinions about these damned drugs.


Thanks for your time and efforts.   

[WolfSoul]

This was the second med my doctor tried after amitryptaline. The first dose didn't do anything and when we upped it, I was extremely fuzzy headed (like really bad Fibro Fog) and sleepy. 

I just couldn't function. That's my experience with Gabapentin.

[Rattlesnake]

I have been taking it for about 3 years and the only side affect that I can say is the Gabapentin is weight gain. 

[augoldminer]

I have been taking it for 5 year.
Only problems is a headache if i take more then 900mg for more then a couple days

And of course fighting the weight gain. i have diabetes so i have to fight the weight gain anyway.

I take it for the fibro. RLS. and neuropathy,

I took it after trying amitriptyline and Prozac. for me they were the meds with the BAD side effects plus they did nothing for the pain.

[Zathras]

I have been taking Gabapentin for a long time now and I have not had any problems with it at all as far as I know. Antidepressants are by far worse for me for side effects, especially weight gain.

[countryboy]

Thanks guys,

I have been reading and reading every where I can find info on Gabapentin.  There seems to be quite a wide spread of side effects that I have come across in my reading.  The one mentioned the most is the weight gain.  After that, it seems to be sinus infections and then loss of equilibrium and dizziness and tremors in the hands and arms.

I have been taking this for quite a while and am beginning to be a little concerned about the possible effect of weight gain and sinus infections.  These are the two things that I plan to throw on the table at the end of the month when I have my next appointment with my GP.  Won't see my Rheumy until April so that doesn't fit my schedule and concerns.

Don't stop giving me your thoughts or opinions.  I would like to have as much ammunition as I can when I bring this subject back up to the Doc.

thanks  again

[augoldminer]

I think many of the side effects are dose related.
to much and you get more side effects.

I tend to take gabapentin only when needed and not as much by doctors orders.

Gabapentin does not get rid of all the pain but makes it bearable.

If you have major side effects cut back to the point the side effects are at a minimum but not completely gone and see how much pain relief you have.

[Zathras]

The one thing that I know for sure is that if you are taking more than 1800mg per day of Gabapentin you should switch to Lyrica. In my case I take 3200mg of Gabapentin per day but would only need 450mg of Lyrica.

[Rattlesnake]

that may be true about the higher dose causing more side effects.... I take 2100mg a day. Let me say this though....the weight gain is worth the good that gabapentin has done for me. I was hospitalized and they took me off of it... WOW I then realized how well it is working. I was so bad without it that I could only get around in the hospital in a wheel chair.

[Zathras]

Two things that I should have mentioned. The first is that it is very important for those of us with FM to exercise as much as our conditions will allow us to. Too many of the medications can cause weight gain as can the sedentary lifestyle that too often comes with the chronic pain. As long as we can keep the pain levels down to where exercising does not cause them to spike it will help in many ways.

The other thing that I should have pointed out is that if the weight gain is due to the medication stimulating the appetite center in the brain - this is what most of the antidepressants that I have tried have done to me - there is a solution. Find anything that will occupy your mind enough to distract you from that constant urge to eat. I was on a medication that was doing this to me several years ago but at the time I was building several projects that were Christmas gifts. To meet that deadline I was spending a lot of time in the workshop and found that when concentrating on that the urge to eat got pushed to the back of my mind.

Using distractions like that also helps with the pain control. Just make sure that you don't get so involved that you overdo it and wind up causing yourself more pain when you stop. Like everything else we do you will have to find your limits and stay within them.

[db]

Neurontin, the non generic name, was really the first drug that actually helped me but my experience was probabaly unusual.  I did take pain meds which did some good but nothing that seemed to help in the long run.

Initially, I noticed the side effects that were listed seemed to be the exact ones I already had.  Since I was not very stable at the time, mostly exhausted, I really didn't know if it was helping.  We slowly started increasing the dossage up from 300 mg/d to something around 1800.  I was pretty desperate but it seemed my symptom were maybe getting a little worse.  I ended up quitting it altogether.  

Then I read something about the drug causing dehydration.  I don't remember exactly.  Anyways, I went back on it but made sure to drink allot of water.  This time, my symptoms didn't get worse.  I got the level up to about 2700 mg a day and noticed that it help control my irritability and maybe helped me sleep.  This was a BFD.

I use it now in combination with Lyrica which seems to help more with my Fibromyalgia symptoms.  For awhile I had to quit the Neurontin to go on Lyrica    Not fun but how else is one to know?  The Lyrica is great but I can't seem to get to full dose.  My ears just start ringing too much  .  Thus I started using both.  I highly recommend it but you might have to put up with some (allot) of side effect before you find the best course.  

I should point out that I was also getting treatments for chronic myofascial pain, mostly accupuncture, which also help with my comfort and sleep but the combination has made my life more tolerable.  

db  

[foxgrove]

In the first couple of weeks we didn't notice anything but suddenly, my immune system went down hill and I ended up getting a yeast infection of all things...  At the same time, my sweet lady started noticing that I was getting very agitated, jumping the gun on everything, snappy, out of control, and then I'd be bawling like the world was ending.  We pulled the plug on the gabapentin and I was blessed to not have any major withdrawal symptoms.. 

[db]

I seemed to remember having problems with it at first but I was so "all over the place" it was hard to be sure.  It's really hard to remember how bad it was.     For along time nothing but rest helped.  Then this drug and body works  started turning things around.  It took a long long long time though.  .

But I got lucky I guess.

db

[legotech7]

Took it for about 6 months. I just gained weight on it, and got some serious brain fog as well. Did nothing to help with pain. As a  matter of fact, have taken all of the meds associated with Fibro. and nothing has worked so far...... 

[foxgrove]

Sorry legotech... I understand completely.  Keep fighting to find what works for you brother..  Doesn't always come from a pill bottle either.

[wmoore]

The strongest side effect is increased headaches. But it has really helped reduce pain levels. I asked my rhmy dr to increase dosage to 600mg every six hrs.

[looneylane]

Yes Gaba worked well for me when I was on pain meds it definitely helped

[db]

My Lyrica has gotten rather expensive so I went back to using just Neurontin.  I have also started on Nortriptyline so that might have something to do with it.    I'm never quite sure.  

It's weird because Lyrica really seemed to help when I first got on it.  Maybe I have just improved.  I still ache all over but I am hopeful that the accupuncture will keep that under control.

db