Gabapentin temporary increase?

I’ve been on 1200mg Gabapentin for 6 years. I hurt my back, neck, buttocks both shoulders in a car accident. I had 4 surgeries in 10 month's. The pain in my buttocks is extremely painful. I have even tried to slowly decrease my Gabapentin but the pain is too intense. My pain dr. gave me a prescription for Topiramate look it up it helps with nerve pain. I have help to sleep at night by taking Anatripline because my nerves come alive at night. Did your dr. tell you anything about why you were having pain in your buttocks?
What did you injure? Was it your SI joint?

I agree with @jakedduck1 about how Gabapentin is not intended to be on an as needed basis. I have been on it for almost 10 years, and it took about 1 year for us to find out 800mg 3x a day was my successful dosage to keep my idiopathic neuropathy pain at bay. However, my doctor told me if I ever have a rough day and felt some unusual discomfort, that it would be OK to take an extra pill but just for that day… he didn’t suggest that I regularly change dosages up and down. I’m glad I’ve only taken an extra pill about 5 times over 10 years, which probably suggests my dosage is just right for me. The times I took an extra one was on days when I definitely had increased physical activity or over exertion where I felt it “wore off” faster than usual or my body just required a little extra help. I hope you find your right dosage.

@dbeshears1 thanks.. so then you DO take an extra pill of gabapentin when you are having a rougher/more painful day.. ??? and that works?? (this was my question ).....

@stevenlo Yes, for me it has worked on those rare occasions that I have needed a boost. As you can see, compared to a lot of folks, I’m already on a high dose so I wouldn’t want to go up in total if I don’t need to. If I maintain my regular dosage, I feel I don’t even think about my Neuropathy pain. But on occasion, when I’ve missed a dose, i might start feeling a little pain and my body reminds me that it’s time. I try not to let that happen, because it may take a few cycles to get me even keel again. I never take 2 at the same time, even if I’ve missed a dose. The times I have reached for that 1 extra pill between normal doses have been days I’ve had an unusual amount of extra steps or standing.

@dbeshears1 Ok. this is what I wanted to know. I had a flare up last week and remembered that my Neurologist said "take an extra pill if you need it".. intending to augment the normal dose on a temporary basis.. Then I was told by my PM doc that does nothing because gabapentin is not that sort of med.. (can't take it for temporary pain, like you'd take Advil etc.. ). I have a friend that DOES take a few extra pills when she has a flare up, then goes back to her normal dosage. I was confused as to if it would even be effective for a short term flare up. Based on what you do, it seems to work for temporary pain flare ups?

@stevenlo Yes, exactly, that’s what my Neurologist advised me to do.

I’ve been on 1200mg Gabapentin for 6 years. I hurt my back, neck, buttocks both shoulders in a car accident. I had 4 surgeries in 10 month's. The pain in my buttocks is extremely painful. I have even tried to slowly decrease my Gabapentin but the pain is too intense. My pain dr. gave me a prescription for Topiramate look it up it helps with nerve pain. I have help to sleep at night by taking Anatripline because my nerves come alive at night. Did your dr. tell you anything about why you were having pain in your buttocks?
What did you injure? Was it your SI joint?

@shbara88
Is the Dopeamax as it's widely known in the epilepsy world helping?
Jake

@jakedduck1 I got a kick out of that one. I had not heard of gabapentin referred to as Dopeamax! Gababentin (which I refer to as my Gee drug) does make me slightly fogger than I would be other wise, but makes up for it by making me more off balance on my feet!

I have taken as much as 2400 mg a day in four doses. I'm now on 1500mg per day - trying to decrease that to 1200 mg per day very recently. It is effective in decreasing my mild diabetic neuropathy. Due to the information found on this forum, I now also take R Alpha Lipoic Acid and vitamin B12 (methylcobalamin ) . I believe these have helped in my being able to reduce gabapentin dosage.