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Gabapentin users?

MarionC

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I was prescribed Gabapentin for a variety of issues. The doctor said it's a problematic drug but works for some people. After reading all the scary stuff on the internet I decided to only try a mini-dose and took about 75mg before going to bed as an experiment. It worked. Slept all night, dreamed a lot more than usual, got pain relief, but things felt a bit strange and trippy & I was drowsy all day yesterday.
I hesitate to start using it, but it is also very tempting.
[My doctor said if one can get relief from Aleve, don't use Gabapentin].
Neither sounds great long term!
Any advice from users?
thanks.
 

ksinger

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I take it for MS neuropathic pain. I take two 300mg caps a day now. I have a script for up to 900mg a day. In gabapentin world, both those doses are still very small. I know people who are taking huge doses of it, and I think the max is like, 3600mg a day? Not kidding. So 75mg is a very small dose.

It makes me feel trippy too, but other than that, no issues, (no weight gain if you're worried about that, I certainly was) but I'll take trippy over feeling like someone has set me on fire, any day. I also take it with another med that has the side effect of drowsiness, so I could be experiencing a bit of polypharmacy effect. I used to resist taking it because of the lightheadedness, but I'm no longer working and can nap if required, so it's not such a problem. And I've adjusted some to the effects.

If it's helping the issue(s) the doc prescribed it for, then I would go ahead and give it a shot for a bit, say a couple of weeks to a month. The dose you're taking is small enough to come off of it quickly if you decide you really can't tolerate it. And don't forget the med we ALL take without a single thought: caffeine!! In this case, it's your friend! ;-)
 

MarionC

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thanks, ksinger
that helps!
 

AGBF

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I am fairly certain that we had another thread about this medication. I will look for it. Although I have never taken it, I remember the thread because my dog takes industrial doses of it daily and has for years to very good effect. My daughter took it, but when she took an enormously high dose, it caused her to pass out (which meant no more Gabapentin for her). And my best friend took it. The weird thing (in my opinion) was that all three of them took it for different reasons, which makes me think that Gabapentin (neurontin) is the med that can do anything! By the way, until my daughter got up to something like 500 mg or 700 mg (this was almost 10 years ago, so I may be way off), she was fine. And the first day the dog took it, he slept all day. I never saw anything like it. But after that, he seemed totally unaffected by it. He took it for itchy skin, so it didn't bother him. My daughter took it as a psychiatric med. My best friend took it for pain.

I will look for that old thread.

AGBF
 

House Cat

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I take it for pain and psych issues. I'm on 900 mg but the prescription was written in such a way that I started with 100 mg and increased the dosage by 100 mg per week until the issues stopped. "Not to exceed 36 pills per day!"

It definitely works for the pain. I haven't seen any improvement for PTSD.

I know quite a few people that have had this drug prescribed to them in all sorts of ways. The trick is to start very slow or the drug will give you too many side effects.

The "trippy" feeling you are experiencing will fade. This is common for anticonvulsants. If you increase dose too quickly, the feeling will only get worse.

When my son was 8 years old, he had a four hour seizure "event." He almost died. After he left the hospital, they switched him from Dilantin to Gabapentin. The neurologist said "this drug was as close to taking water as you can get, very safe. It doesn't even hit the liver. Just filters through the kidneys and out it goes." My son took 1200 mg per day.
 

Tekate

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I was prescribed Gabapentin for a variety of issues. The doctor said it's a problematic drug but works for some people. After reading all the scary stuff on the internet I decided to only try a mini-dose and took about 75mg before going to bed as an experiment. It worked. Slept all night, dreamed a lot more than usual, got pain relief, but things felt a bit strange and trippy & I was drowsy all day yesterday.
I hesitate to start using it, but it is also very tempting.
[My doctor said if one can get relief from Aleve, don't use Gabapentin].
Neither sounds great long term!
Any advice from users?
thanks.

I took gabapentin during my shingles ATTACK!!! at first it made me feel like a zombie.. but after a few weeks I had no pain after shingles and eventually stopped taking it. I think it's good for nerve pain. I didn't know it had a lot of bad side effects etc or I might not have taken it actually. It's prescribed for shingles attacks often. Hope you are feeling better.
 

OreoRosies86

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I have taken it before for pain but I lost patience with the fuzzy feeling. For pain it was very effective.
 

lovedogs

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I take it for sleep issues (actually just started about 2 weeks ago). I found that 100mg at night helps me sleep, but does make it harder to wake up in the morning. 200mg made me feel drunk--woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and was stumbling around like a fool.

So I'm also pretty sensitive to it. But those doses are very low. My doc said I could take up to 900mg. But I know I'm sensitive to most medications.

And yes, gabapentin is used for a lot of things, because GABA the neurotransmitter is involved in a ton of processes, so I think depending on dose and time of day it can be used differently.
 

azstonie

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Hi Jimmianne: The patients either had great benefit or none whatsoever back when I was still at the Clinic.

Finn and Maggie are taking it and benefitting from it for chronic pain and restlessness/anxiety from their arthritis pain.

I would rather take gabapentin than Aleve. You make a mistake with Aleve, you're looking at a liver transplant. You make a mistake with gabapentin, you're a little trippy MAYBE.
 

azstonie

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I am fairly certain that we had another thread about this medication. I will look for it. Although I have never taken it, I remember the thread because my dog takes industrial doses of it daily and has for years to very good effect. My daughter took it, but when she took an enormously high dose, it caused her to pass out (which meant no more Gabapentin for her). And my best friend took it. The weird thing (in my opinion) was that all three of them took it for different reasons, which makes me think that Gabapentin (neurontin) is the med that can do anything! By the way, until my daughter got up to something like 500 mg or 700 mg (this was almost 10 years ago, so I may be way off), she was fine. And the first day the dog took it, he slept all day. I never saw anything like it. But after that, he seemed totally unaffected by it. He took it for itchy skin, so it didn't bother him. My daughter took it as a psychiatric med. My best friend took it for pain.

I will look for that old thread.

AGBF

Deb, I'm just getting familiarized with gabapentin dosing for my two Westies. Could you please share with me on what dose/how many times per day/with food? you went through with your sweet dog? Is your dog on any other pain medications along with the gabapentin? Maggie is experiencing debilitating arthritis in her knees. She failed tramadol, which made her INSANE and aggressive.

I just started Finn and Maggie on Pet Releaf CBD hemp oil (its not marijuana, hemp has no THC) and have had wonderful benefit, particularly Finn who is 14-1/2. You might consider it for your dog... I buy the oil (you use it by the dropper-ful-increments) which the Westies actually like, and their Edibites treats (which they loved. I have the DH bust them up with a hammer because they are pretty hard).
 

canuk-gal

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HI:

I was prescribed Gabapentin when I had shingles (face) and I found when my pain was very acute it dulled my senses but didn't relieve the pain as much as I would have hoped. Unfortunately I developed post-herpectic neuralgia and the treatment for neuropathic pain, was also Gabapentin. I take it but rarely because there are side effects I don't wish to deal with--I just suffer (botox injections in my scalp and forehead work the best) or take 100 mg when I can't stand it.

FWIW my BIL found Gabapentin didn't work for his type of pain--"Lyrica" was better.

cheers--Sharon
 

Arkteia

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The weird thing (in my opinion) was that all three of them took it for different reasons, which makes me think that Gabapentin (neurontin) is the med that can do anything!

AGBF

You are absolutely right.

Gabapentin increases the level of GABA, inhibitory mediator in the brain.
Among most common uses:
Seizures
Headaches
Restless leg syndrome
Sweaty palms
Bipolar disorder
Anxiety
Fibromyalgia
Neuropathic pain
Postconcussion syndrome
And - after rehab for alcoholism (this is where mega-doses are used)

It is a very decent drug, IRL it produces few side effects but people with poor kidneys should avoid using doses. as Gabapentin is excreted by kidneys.
 

Abimilech

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I've been suffering from a back injury for months now, and been dosing my self with a lot of pain relievers. I'm starting to think that I might take away the pain of my back with the meds but at the same time punishing my liver slowly. So I started reading articles about marijuana and it's medical aspect and found this along the way
I am already 34 years old and haven't tried smoking or any other means of using marijuana and I have nothing against it. My question is that if i try it would I be dependent at the same time addicted to it? And will it really ease the pain? Thanks in advance to those who'll answer
 

AGBF

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I've been suffering from a back injury for months now, and been dosing my self with a lot of pain relievers. I'm starting to think that I might take away the pain of my back with the meds but at the same time punishing my liver slowly. So I started reading articles about marijuana and it's medical aspect and found this along the way

I am already 34 years old and haven't tried smoking or any other means of using marijuana and I have nothing against it. My question is that if i try it would I be dependent at the same time addicted to it? And will it really ease the pain? Thanks in advance to those who'll answer

I have never used it. I have no chronic pain, thank the Lord, only migraines. My best friend who has chronic pain and has used (truly) everything was on medical marijuana at one point. Before she went on it she had to be cleansed of everything else she had been taking.

It did not work for her, which does not mean it would not work for you. Supposedly the elements that make one feel euphoric or "high" are removed. One, therefore, would not be addicted to the marijuana because it gives you pleasure. It is not supposed to be addictive. The problem for my friend was that it did not alleviate her pain. On the other hand, my friend had been prescribed fentanyl "lollipops" in the past, though, and is now on morphine. So her pain is great; not many people take the strength of pain killer that she does.

Good luck!

Deb :wavey:
 

mary poppins

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I've been suffering from a back injury for months now, and been dosing my self with a lot of pain relievers. I'm starting to think that I might take away the pain of my back with the meds but at the same time punishing my liver slowly. So I started reading articles about marijuana and it's medical aspect and found this along the way
I am already 34 years old and haven't tried smoking or any other means of using marijuana and I have nothing against it. My question is that if i try it would I be dependent at the same time addicted to it? And will it really ease the pain? Thanks in advance to those who'll answer

You might be interested in this thread about CBD. https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/cbd-oil.235748/
 

Tekate

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@Jimmianne I took gabapentin for about 6 months after having shingles. At first it made me stoned as heck (loved that :) ) then my body became used to it and nothing, but I do think it helped with the after pain of my shingles experience.
 

Slickk

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I take Gabapentin for neuralgia. I really haven’t noticed any difference although the neuralgia is under control. I do take it along with another anti convulsant though.
 

MeowMeow

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Nov 27, 2009
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I take gabapentin as a migraine preventative. Lyrica works better but my insurance before this one refused to cover it and since gabapentin works ok I just keep taking it. I take 600 mg at night and usually have about 1 migraine a week instead of 3 or more. Which my doctors deem acceptable.

Earlier in the thread I think someone mentioned they meant Topamax and not gabapentin. If they are still around. I have taken that too but I couldn't deal with the problems it gave me in my hands along with the metallic taste and I am also still childbearing age and knowing it can cause birth defects made me even more determined to switch off. So I did after trying it for awhile and giving it a good go.
 
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