Substitute for Gabapentin

[sue_higgins54]

I'm on Gabapentin for the neurological symptoms of my PA. I want to go on a long holiday abroad & the doctor won't prescribe more than 1 month. Does anyone use a alternative to Gabapentin? Thanks

[Nackapan]

Could you get a request prescription and someone get it for you and send it. ? Difficult to change drugs and be away.

[fbirder]

Them’s the rules for gabapentin and pregabalin since they got reclassified as a Class C drug.

I would ask my GP what they advise. They might suggest you try moving to amitriptyline.

I know I couldn’t do without my gabapentin for a week.

[Mammaelf]

Wow I didn’t know Gabapentin can help the neurological symptoms of B12. I use it for back pain. What mg do they prescribe for B12 ?

[nano2 in reply to Mammaelf]

That depends on the pain the patient has it starts on low dose. My Daughter was started on 300 mg 3 times a day when pain first set in.

[fbirder in reply to Mammaelf]

Gabapentin, and pregabalin (the new, trendy drug in the same class), work really well at mitigating the pain from peripheral neuropathy. Which is very good, because normal painkillers (apart from opiods) do nothing.

They can have unpleasant side-effects. My friend was prescribed pregabalin for migraines. He had to give up after three days because of feeling spaced-out.

[Bellabab]

I find amitriptyline very effective - GP should prescribe more if you are away for a whole month.

[fbirder in reply to Bellabab]

Unfortunately they aren't allowed to prescribe more than one month's worth of a Class C drug.

[sue_higgins54 in reply to fbirder]

Is amitriptyline a classified drug as well?

[fbirder in reply to sue_higgins54]

No.

I'm not sure how easy it would be to transition from gabapentin to amitriptyline.

[EAPLind in reply to fbirder]

Is there any advantage to using both drugs together for neuropathy symptoms ?

[fbirder in reply to EAPLind]

No idea.

But it seems that there may be - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[jillc39 in reply to Bellabab]

Amitriptyline plus one codeine gets me through the night. I take pregaberline twice a day also. these meds plus frequent b12keep me going. it took a long time to get there!!!

[fbirder in reply to jillc39]

I used to need codeine to get me through the worst nights. But since I’ve taken to using alpha lipoic acid (600 mg 3 x daily) I’ve not needed it. My neurologist said that it might help and couldn’t hurt.