Is anyone taking gabapentin for pain of arthritis?

[SueJohnson]

I am taking gabapentin for Restless Legs and will be increasing it shortly. I was wondering if it will help with the pain of osteoarthritis.

[Yracy]

Hi Sue, I've been on Gabapentin for ages... It's used for numerous things... The question is does it help... It may!

Good luck

Stay strong and blessed

🥴

[kohai OA Ambassador]

Hi,I have heard of many with OA being put on Gabapentin, and it has helped their arthritis.

I was on it a few years ago, my doctor told me not to expect it to work immediately, that it'd take a few weeks to kick in. Looking back, one question I wish I'd asked was "Is that due to the drug? or the extent of my OA and pain level?".

I can't personally say it helped me, I ended up with an allergic reaction to it, so had to be taken off it.

Sorry I couldn't be more help.

[sdds]

Good morning Sue. Gabapentin was very helpful for me. I took it several years ago, starting at a low dose (which I don't remember) gradually increased to 2700 mg per day. I was on it for about 5yrs. It takes a little while to get used to it (made me tired and sleepy at first) and took several weeks to realize any relief. I have a friend who also took it and it didn't seem to have much effect for her. This being said, I know that not everyone benefits from every medication. But I MUST warn you of the side effects that I suffered and caused me to discontinue taking gabapentin. Gabapentin can cause dry mouth and it can also desensitize nerves(one of the reasons it is used for nerve pain/damage, which I also have). The dry mouth became so severe for me that I lost 3 teeth. They literally just started drying out and crumbling apart, falling out in pieces. One of them, while partially intact, had an exposed nerve. It was visible and I could touch it. I didn't know what it was. I tried to pull it out with tweezers to no avail. I experienced no pain or discomfort at all. I went to see my dentist (embarrassingly, I admit that I hadn't seen him in about 2yrs). He was very upset about the condition of my mouth. He was shocked that I felt nothing as he removed what was left of the tooth and exposed nerve, explaining that normally I would have been in excruciating pain ("you should be trying to climb out of the chair "). He said the high dose and long term use of gabapentin had dried my mouth, damaging my gums and numbing nerves (I was ok with that part after hearing his explanation of what a normal reaction would have been). Plus nothing helped with the horrible breath 😱

Long story, but I decided to stop the gabapentin. Lots of dental work ($$$), and my mouth is better. I struggle with the OA continually but couldn't deal with losing my teeth.

I know this doesn't happen to everyone but feel I need to share this with you because I had no clue that it was even a possibility.

I pray that you are able to find relief from whatever medication or treatment that you decide on.

God Bless You!

Sharon

[HeronNS]

As far as I can tell, gabapentin isn't an analgesic (painkiller) but rather a drug which changes one's perception of pain. This may at least partly explain why it helps some people and not others. I think its use for pain reduction is actually "off label".

[Jaybird19]

i had the most horrific reaction to this painkiller. completely locked my guts up for over 5 days I will not go further it would be too crude butI would never take it again. I thought it was being restricted now due to lessenting the prescribing of Opioids.?

[SueJohnson in reply to Jaybird19]

I've had no problem with it. Taking 600 mg at night and 400 during the day. I guess like many medicines it affects different people differently. It is now the drug of choice for restless legs which is what I take it for.

[days70]

I found it helped.

Really numbed the pain.

Good luck!