Gabapentin and possible nerve damage.

[Mags72]

Hiya been having pain all over for the last 8 months, GP took bloods n everything was fine. She know thinks I may have nerve damage and prescribed Gabapentin, just wondered if anyone has taken Gabapentin and did it help.

[Pam6971]

I was prescribed them for a while, they helped a little, I’m on different tablets now as had really bad nerve pain last June & gabapentin weren’t doing anything for it, everyone is different so they could work for you, how many are you to take.

[Mags72 in reply to Pam6971]

Hiya I've to take 300mg daily and get them upped in a month. My concern with these is that you have to come of them slowly and can't just stop!! How did they affect you coming off them?

[Pam6971 in reply to Mags72]

I just stopped mine, I know you’re supposed to do it gradually but at the time my youngest was in hospital so needed a clear head, I was too busy worrying about her to notice any effects from it, if you feel you want to come off them just take 1 less tablet each day and see how you get on, I’m on sevredol now for my nerve pain, suits me more as it’s only 1 or 2 tablets daily compared to 9 -12 gabas

[Lulububs in reply to Pam6971]

Hi

I literally just been put on these tablets as i have a herniated disc/ sciatica .

Can anyone tell me if u have to take them daily or just when in pain? As some days i feel okish?

[Calwal]

Iv tried gabapentin and didn't help me. I didn't respond well to them. Altho dental hospital prescribed carbamazapine on top of gabapentin that doc had prescribed. I was very ill mentally on them but they were high dosage. Iv also just tried pregablin and again couldn't tolerate the side effects. Everyone is different and they may work for you. Good luck

[Mags72 in reply to Calwal]

Thanks, that's my worry about them is the mental health side of it. I'm on anti-depressants and I'm pretty stable just now so don't need Gabapentin to mess with that! As you say everyone is different.

[monikoki]

Hi. I have lots of spinal issues and I am on Gabapentine 300mg one tablet evening and one in the morning. For me they are working fine and my gastroenterologist said they are not affecting my liver(since I have cirrhosis). I take on top Tramadol 2 tablets of 50 mg when I have to much pain.

Take care

[Mags72 in reply to monikoki]

Thank you that's good to hear that they don't affect cirrhosis ( I have that to) .

[cj75s2017]

Hi, been on gp for a few years now. On 2700mgs each day for nerve pain. It's got to build up in your system but I found once it's there it does a good job of keeping my pain at a tolerable level. I top it up with naproxin when I've been stupid and tried to do too much! Hope it works for you.

[Mags72 in reply to cj75s2017]

Thank you.

[morphalot]

I had gabapentin for horrendous spine

pain several years ago. Sorry to have to tell you this as I know how much you want a good painkiller. I had to stop them a a short while because they didn't stop the pain. However the side effects were also a major problem. Gabapentin can cross the blood/brain barrier and I had loads of very, very believable hallucinations. One of them totally freaked me out so my doctor changed me from l gabapentin to Pregabelin, which are much, much better. Hope this helps your decision x

[Bahamas85]

Be very careful of Gabapentin. It makes you mentally decline and no doctors will tell you that. I had cancer and had to be on it for nerve damage. Yes, it helped for pain as I got to higher doses. But, now that I need to go back to work my memory is so bad and embarrassing. When I am speaking I can’t remember words and I can’t spell anything anymore even simple things. I’m an accountant, and the Gabapentin has made it so debilitating that I’m not sure I can do my job. It is supposed to block your pain receptors but it also stops brain senapses (sorry not spelled right), but look into this in depth before taking this. Seriously, this medicine causes rapid mental decline and I am currently weening off of it. I think it can be reversible. But, this medicine is the go to med for all conditions right now because they can no longer prescribe opiates and are scared to do narcotic meds. They prescribe this for neuropathy to bipolar or anything else out there. Please research first!

[Mags72 in reply to Bahamas85]

Ah see this is my worry, I'm already on anti-depressants and definitely don't want anything to interfere with them. I would rather different the physical pain than the mental pain. Thanks.

[Mags72 in reply to Mags72]

Sorry meant suffer the pain.

[Bahamas85 in reply to Mags72]

Yes, and I meant to tell you the withdrawals to come off this medicine are horrible. I’ve never had a problem just stopping meds cold turkey but this one was different. It scared me so bad! Made me violently sick and very emotional. I would just cry for no reason for hours. I had to go back on the medicine to make it stop and try to ween off slower.

[daveypx]

hi had gabapentin for around 12 months? changed me over to pregabalin these seem to be working a little now but leave me in a trance all day thinking of packing then in altogether

[Bahamas85 in reply to daveypx]

Hi there! I’m glad you found something that helps you. There always seems to be a positive and a negative to all these meds unfortunately. I finally am off the Gabapentin. I chose to do the ketogenic diet and just get my weight down instead of trying more meds. I’ve lost 20 pounds in 2 months of the diet and the pain is much less now and it has helped. So, I’ve decided to continue this and make it a lifestyle. I can’t afford to have my brain affected anymore as I still need to work. If your meds fail you you might want to try this. I wish you the best of luck and health.😊

[Bahamas85]

I meant to tell you they started me on a low dose and that didn’t work. They medication didn’t work until we got to where I was taking 800 mg, 3 times per day, my ending dose. However, at that point, the medicine had negatively effected my brain so much I felt like I had progressive dementia.

[LanaKing]

I tried both but preferred Lyrica. It works, but it does have an effect of making your brain and thoughts feel slower. Almost like you had a drink or two but an all the time feeling. Foggy and unclear feeling.

[woodpecker94]

I have taken gabapentin for several years and they work well for me. At present I take 3 x 600mg per day and have increased them to the maximum of 6 x 600mg when my pain has been very bad. I prefer them to tramadol, which gave me horrible side effects and was very hard to come off. Like all medication you need to find what controls your pain best with the least side effects, everyone is different. Good luck with finding something that suits you.

[Loramay]

I have been on gabapentin for about 4 years along with tramadol and fentanyl and mizal not all to treat the one condition. I also take Venlafaxine and mirtazapine anti depressants and I am OK with them. Try them you can always stop but you will never know if you don't try