Gabapentin side effects?

Posted by Sundance(RB) @sundance6, Apr 13, 2019

I am a regular on the Mayo Board! I don't know what I would do without it! Our doctors don't want to discuss openly the things about illnesses and side effets of drugs and other things. Anyway, my question to all of you is Gabapentin and it's side effects. I have been on it now for 6 months. My doctor raised me from 100mg. to now I am on 400mg. three times a day.
The problem is my tiredness! I happen to be in a friends office yesterday and she was taking some medicine. She said she was taking Gabapentin. I asked why and she said she had, had shingles back when and it still helped with the pain. I know the drug is percribed for many things that is why I take it for my issues.
I told her I had been taking it for about 6 months. She asked if I had been tired all the time, just out of the Blue. OF COURSE I SAID YES! She said it took her a year before she got out of the tiredness.
Let me know if any of you have experienced the same thing. Also let me know at what dosage you may be on? I know this is all confidential!
Again Thanks to The Mayo Clinic and Everyone who is kind enough to be open with their lives!
Sundance!

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Chronic Pain Support Group.

wisco50 | @wisco50 | Apr 12, 2020

In reply to @bill54321 "How long have you used a spinal cord stimulator.? I my do. Is yours a tens..." + (show)

I did a trial on very late December and had permanent one installed on 1/27/20. I have had great luck with it and it definitely gives me significant relief from severe spinal stenosis pain which exhibited as sciatica in my lower back and down my leg to foot. I have been very happy with it! I weaned myself off hydrocodone. If I take it now, I take it for my neck and only half doses. I have even been able to drop use of aspirin and ES Tylenol.

wisco50 | @wisco50 | Apr 12, 2020

In reply to @donfeld "Are you telling us that you're having no pain and that you're doing normal activities or..." + (show)

Last summer I was so miserable I just basically couldn’t do much and needed wheelchair for airport transfers. Now I can dig in the yard and walk up to 2 miles. No guarantees ever given but pain management doctor tried a few other things the first pain MD didn’t try. When those didn’t give me any relief he suggested this. I’m happy with it and no complaints yet. Only hard part is there are a fair amount of restrictions for few months postop on activity level. I wasn’t expecting so many restrictions. But since I had restrictions from pain...this was worth it.

wisco50 | @wisco50 | Apr 12, 2020

In reply to @wsh66 "A responsible pain clinic will give you a trial before they give you a permanent stimulator...." + (show)

Whatever works best for the patient! That’s the important thing!

Donald | @donfeld | Apr 12, 2020

In reply to @wisco50 "Last summer I was so miserable I just basically couldn’t do much and needed wheelchair for..." + (show)

What kind of restrictions if you don8 mind?

bill54321 | @bill54321 | Apr 12, 2020

In reply to @wisco50 "I did a trial on very late December and had permanent one installed on 1/27/20. I..." + (show)

Neurotine Gabapintin 300 mg is for nerve repairand seizures, Horizone Gabipintine 600 mg pills is freguently for Restless Leg syndrome. Congratulations on getting of hydrocortone!

wisco50 | @wisco50 | Apr 12, 2020

In reply to @donfeld "What kind of restrictions if you don8 mind?" + (show)

Movement and weight restrictions. No lifting above 10-15# for two months. NO lifting arms or hands over your head, I could shampoo. No bending OVER to pick things up or backwards to stretch. I used a “grabber” I had from my back surgery in 2011. NO twisting of torso. I was allowed to squat if I kept my back STRAIGHT. I garden and have dogs, so I am great at squatting but lots of folks, esp older ones (that includes me!) are not. No exercising other than gentle walking which being January in WI wasn’t an issue, ha. Didn’t want to fall on ice under best of chances! Explanation given to me: They run the lead wires up alongside your spinal cord area where they essentially free float in fluid and the reason for not doing all these things is they want the leads to “scar” into place. The concept being they don’t want them to get pulled loose during the healing period. They run down and are attached to the small battery pack implanted below my waist and above the upper edge of buttock, off to one side. So if they got yanked loose, it would mean another incision to fix things. I was not allowed to shower even longer than a normal postop surgical length of time. Just shy of 14 days, ugh (like during the trial). It would be devastating to get infected. I carried in two 28# bags of dog food Friday; I am two weeks shy of my 3 month mark. I didn’t have to carry it far and felt fine. If it weren’t for the virus I could have asked someone else to do it but....pick your poison, I guess?! I like to garden and we have had some good days where I have worked for a few hours in a row cutting back perennials, sawing or lopping branches and limbs, etc. Raking. Beforehand I thought things out, rearranging cupboard shelves, fridge, etc. Didn’t use dishwasher for about 2+ months since I didn’t want to squat constantly to fill/empty it. Just kept out a few utensils, dishes, etc. and rewashed them by hand.

wisco50 | @wisco50 | Apr 12, 2020

In reply to @bill54321 "How long have you used a spinal cord stimulator.? I my do. Is yours a tens..." + (show)

Mine is a Medtronics implant. Not a TENS unit. I never found TENS helped applied as the patches you stick on. Plus it was my whole lower back into my R leg down to my foot (foot got better after I’d been out of bed awhile).

Donald | @donfeld | Apr 12, 2020

In reply to @wisco50 "Mine is a Medtronics implant. Not a TENS unit. I never found TENS helped applied as..." + (show)

My problem is night pain I literally got maybe three hours and wake up in pain have to walk around take some marijuana which gets me real sleepy and go back to sleep again and wake up in pain again. That's the only time I have real alot of pain. Sounds like you have Nick night pain as well and I was wondering anybody out there has the same problem at night. It seems more of the body is still the more chance the pain will come back.