Gabapentin 300mg: what are the short and longterm effects?

This happened about eight years ago before gabapentin was prescribed as a scheduled drug. They put it in the same category now as Norco, even though I don’t agree with it that what the government has done, they blackbox it.

Any pharmacy filled it it didn’t matter. I had to go to CVS once Walgreens once my small town pharmacist filled it after conversation with my Doctor Who was again a pain specialist. I got the prescription filled at the hospital mostly before I left and came home. But like I said it wasn’t seen back then as the way it’s seen now, but what’s interesting is the small hospital in our town that I went to once when I was not feeling right the pharmacist himself came to my room and he sat down and he said, “I was looking through your medication and I looked at the dose of gabapentin and I’ve never seen a dose that high so I thought maybe the nurse wrote down the wrong dose or because you’re on a sedative. You got the dose wrong. I’ve never seen a dose that high.”

I reported back, and I showed him the bottle and he just shook his head. And I told him how long I’ve been on that dose he shook his head and said, “I am surprised you’re not a walking zombie right now. I can’t believe that you’re even conscious. “
I replied, “that’s why I’m waiting myself off one it’s not doing anything for my pain and two I feel like a zombie. It’s taken away anything and everything that I have in my body and in my thinking that makes me me. “ so he went and he filled my nighttime dose and went okayed the morning dose or else they wouldn’t have given me my dose for the morning.
Boy never had that experience before.

@wilmslow I wish this drug would work for me…. But after two week trial (did this twice), each time every joint in my body started to ache. Then moved to Pregabalin and resulted in throat numbness that threw me into a panic, and no sleep.
I SO wish I could find something to quell the RLS and give me relief.

Sorry to hear that Gabapentin did not work for you. I also had RLS and Gabapentin solved that problem for me as well. How many mg's were you taking?

@wilmslow only started with 200 mg, and that was enough to cause the joint problems after 2 weeks.

I really feel your pain. I suffered with RLS for years and tried so many ways to alleviate it. I did find some relief from Magnilife Relaxing Leg Cream PM which I found on Amazon. I also used a handheld massager that worked sometimes. A nurse in my cardiologist's office recommended Hyland's Naturals Restful Legs PM which she said both herself and her husband took for RLS. I tried compression boots, which didn't seem to do anything for me. I also spent several months with a sleep specialist in Louisville KY which did get me sleeping again. If you're interested, it's Dr. Ryan Wetzler at http://www.sleephealthlou.com. Since I completed the treatment program, I've slept on average 8 to 9 hours a night. One good thing about Dr. Wexler is that his sessions can be via the internet, which was how I did it. My thought process was what do I have to lose. I do know that my sleep improved before I was prescribed Gabapentin so it may well be that it was Dr. Wetzler who solved my RLS problem.

I have been taking Gabapentin 800mg 3xday for many years now. I used to take it 4xday when I first started, but that increased my fatigue too much and so I opted to reduce it to 3xday. It has worked very well to manage pain from nerve damage in my face/head - I am a brain tumor survivor w/incurable skull based left sphenoid wing meningiomas w/NF Mutation that has spread to the ocular region, left ear, and masticator area. As a result, I have significant nerve damage/denervation to the entire left side of my head, including my tongue. When I am late with my Gabapentin dose, I definitely am reminded with lots of nerve pains within 2 hours! Aside from the increased fatigue I mentioned earlier, I really have not found myself to be experiencing any significant long term side effects. I hope this helps.

@piratequeen
Have you ever noticed any memory or balance issues, especially when first starting or increasing the case. I also took 3600 mg gabapentin primarily for seizures. it didn't help my seizures or my neuropathy. I'm glad it's helping you.
Take care,
Jake

@wilmslow Many Thanks I am liestning carefully from each person. At this point I believe I have the answer as to where these begin. Totally in my muscles. I have arranged for deep massage 2x month, starting my own neck and back exercises as it seams the weakness is causing the
inf. hence the nerves go crazy. I hope I never have another "flair up" like I had in Nov 2025. It was over 10. On top of that nothing to take. So that is my goal perhaps I will return to gab. up the dosage.

@suszy39 I sure hope the deep massage and back exercises help you. One place that brings me a lot of comfort is http://WWW.JW.ORG. I find it encouraging to know that in the future we are promised perfect health on a perfect earth.

@wilmslow I will check that out. Much appreciated. On my way for my Nerve Block Shots.
Have a lovely day 55 Degaree here in Northern Ca.