Can Gabapentin make neuropathy pain worse?

Hello @adamek3638. Im sorry you had a negative experience with your chiropractor. I understand and was originally diagnosed with cervical neuralgia. I'm blessed to only get a nasty TMJ bout once or twice a year. In my earlier stages, before my neuropathy diagnosis, I was in PT, tried acupuncture and a chiropractor. The chiropractor used this clicker device from neck down spine and hurt me. Each visit he adjusted until we got down to a "child setting". Didn't matter...still hurt and provoked migraine. It was not the right treatment for me. As far as alpha lipoic acid ...yes, I have taken it along with Acetyl L Carnitine as part of my neuropathy supplement protocol. I believe in it. I sure hope PT brings you some relief. Best of luck to you.
Rachel

Have you asked a doctor about trigeminal neuralgia? It is the most painful thing I have ever experienced, but I use pressure if it happens a couple of times a year, and I don't go for the medicine, or I may not be able to get out of bed. Years ago when I had TMJ my dentist worked on my bite and I taught myself to sleep with my tongue slightly between my teeth and the problem went away. I also never sit slumped with my chin leaning in my hand, as the chiropractor said that could make pain. Yes, as I mentioned before, I had a pinched nerve in the upper spine which took months of therapy to loosen. I did stretching exercises for a couple of years and developed a very nice straight back in my younger days. I still work on it all, as I never found the magic cure. And my spine has shrunk, of course.
My chiropractor says he can't do much for this old body now, so I do some stretching at home. I am getting by pretty well. Dorisena

I can still remember how and when I got the pinched nerve, but since I knew nothing about the problem, it took a while for the doctor to send me to the therapist. He just prescribed pain pills which did nothing. I pulled a bushel of tomatoes through the garden, bent over, and it was very heavy. I was also sewing a project and I spent long periods bent over the machine. When I leaned back in the sink at the beauty salon to wash my hair, it pinched and I let it go, going out of town to a convention. I went to the University hospital there and after X-ray was told to go home in a hurry because I had big problems. I laid on the floor at the airport waiting on my flight. The local doctor said I didn't need surgery. Period. Then the battle began. Three months later he finally sent me to a therapist who was trained in Europe and America. It took months of therapy, which cost me plenty, to get the pain to stop, and I continued the exercises for a couple of years after that because I was so afraid in the garden. I threw my bushel baskets away. They showed me with a model how the nerve got pinched by the wrong positions, and how it opens with the therapeutic positions. This is much different than neuropathy from my lower spine conditions. However, in both cases pain medication did not help, but injections helped with the lower spine before surgery.
It is a good thing there was no gun in the house...…...My Chiropractor has been my best therapist. That's all I really know about such matters. Even a stiff drink, which I do not like, does not slow down the pain when it comes. I am pain free now but can't walk far at a time. My muscles are wasted from resting instead of doing more therapy. I do not use a walker. My balance is slowly improving enough that I can garden while leaning on my hoe or shovel. My feet are always cold, so I wear socks to bed. I don't have any answers for others, but believe sharing my experiences might present a clue to less pain. Keep moving and don't quit. Dorisena

Have you try dry needling? I had terrible muscles problems, they were stiff and pressing on my discs. My physiotherapist and hollistic dr are my best friends now too.. I suffered from HPA Axis disfigures as well and adrenal fatigue. Apparently the same drugs used for neuropathy- help for HPA Axis. Been through a lot, happy to share my experience if anyone could benefit from it.

I to believe that gabapentin is making my PN worse. What I've experienced in the 1 month since i started Gabapentin was that the PN pain - my feet are hot and feel like the skin has shrunk. Thay also feel heavy. My doctor has been increasing the dose from 100/300/300 morning/noon/bedtime to 600/600/600. On all these dosages, the pain begins around noon and continues until to fall asleep with it. When I awake 8 hrs later there is not pain! This pattern has continued since I started on Gaba. To me that says Gaba is causing the pain. My doctor started me on Gaba because I has an impacted nerve at L5/S1. I was fortunate to have surgery on March 30, 2020 that solved that problem. However because the impacted nerver will take at least another month to heal I was told to stay on the Gapabentin for the pain. Prior to the surgery I had a nerve conduction velocity test that showed I had mild PN in both legs and feet. But the pain I feel is anything but mild. Does anyone else who takes Gabapentin have symptoms like mine? Does PN pain disappear during sleep and come back during the day?

Hi James, I was originally prescribed a low dose to be taken 3xday which left me unable to remember anything so after a few days I tried taking only 200 mg. at bedtime. It has worked fine for me for 2 yrs. increasing recently to 300 mg. Strangely, I tried upping to 400 mg. at bedtime when I was having a bad day and found it didn’t really work any better so I went back to the 300 mg. During the day I found that NSAIDS or CBD salve help if needed. It seems that doctors think more is better, I read somewhere that often a lower dose of gabapentin works better for some. Helen

I believe in the theory of acupuncture because it was explained to me well and I have had a couple of friends who benefited from the treatment as well. It seems to block pain conduction in vital areas for a while, but it is no cure. bviously gabapentin is not helping and higher doses is not a good answer, but it is not clear to me that it makes the pain worse. if the medicine wears off overnight and you aren't moving, that is helping the pain conduction. Are you exercising? Do you find any stretching or exercise that helps the pain?
With my mild neuropathy, I find that exercise makes it go away. Massage makes a person feel better when nothing else helps, but it can be an expensive regimen. It sounds like you need a different opinion, a different therapy, and a different approach to try. Dorisena

I asked my pain specialist doctor if Gabapentin can make pain worse. No. Who started this thread and why didn't you ask your doctor in the first place? Peggy

@pfbacon, thank you for taking this question to your pain specialist. It certainly is a valid question. Some medications can produce unwanted and unexpected side effects, and it can be useful to hear the experiences of other people. For some gabapentin works, for others it doesn't.

Gentle reminder about the Community Guidelines (https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/about-connect/tab/community-guidelines/). Remember to be kind and respectful. Disagreements about opinions are fine, but respect for one another is a must.

I can't live without Gabapentin and they're trying to get it pulled off the market. They aren't being respectful - I am fighting for my life. Peggy