How long do you take Gabapentin?

I was prescribed gabapentin/Neurontin 4 days ago for a pinched nerve in my left upper back. The prescribed dosage is 100 or 200 mg at dinner time each day. I haven't had any side effects, but I am wondering when I should expect my nerve pain to completely subside. I think there has been some improvement.

@ritchie Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect!

As you may have read here, each person has their own timeline in responding to medications. I will tell you, in my experience, that it took several weeks for my discomfort to be at a lower level than before starting Gabapentin. Like you, I was given a very low dose. That was due to my failing kidneys, and a higher dose would be detrimental to them. A lower dose means a longer time to see/feel effects of this medication. I wonder if that is the case for you, having other conditions that will preclude you from a higher dose?
Ginger

Hi @ritchie, I agree with Ginger about meds affecting people differently and at different times. I'm so sorry to hear you are suffering, hopefully the pain will subside and dissipate quickly 🙁 I also have been taking Gabapentin for a year now, and I'll probably be taking it the rest of my life in order to function, which is ok by me. I'm not a doctor, mind you, but I do know that 100mg is a very low dose and in my experience I needed to increase that dose to feel its effects. It did take some time to feel it, but once I found my sweet spot, I have been able to fluctuate my doses as need be. My doctor said usually 300mg is where people will start to feel it working. I take 600-900mg at a time, 4x/day, but that's me - and my afflictions are very different, possibly. I would suggest staying in open communication with your doctor about it, because Gaba is a very easy and safe medicine to utilize and it has a large amount of wiggle room as far as dosage goes, and he/she'll be wanting to know what's working and vice versa. I wish you all the best of luck and many pain-free days ahead!

thank you. I see my doctor 10 days from now. He is going to review the x-rays I had taken on Friday, and we'll discuss where to go from there. This pain came on rather suddenly and could be related to a strained, inflamed muscle that is impinging a nerve in my back. It could also be something going on structurally in my cervix. Who knows? Hopefully, we'll get to bottom of it and I will get back to my normal active self soon. He did mention taking up to 300mg, but instructions on the pill bottle say take 100 or 200 mg. Maybe I will call him on Tuesday if I'm not getting more relief and/or increase my dosage to 200mg. I'm not accustomed to taking medication, so I get a little anxious about introducing anything new to my otherwise very healthy body.

I was prescribed gabapentin/Neurontin 4 days ago for a pinched nerve in my left upper back. The prescribed dosage is 100 or 200 mg at dinner time each day. I haven't had any side effects, but I am wondering when I should expect my nerve pain to completely subside. I think there has been some improvement.

thank you. I see my doctor 10 days from now. He is going to review the x-rays I had taken on Friday, and we'll discuss where to go from there. This pain came on rather suddenly and could be related to a strained, inflamed muscle that is impinging a nerve in my back. It could also be something going on structurally in my cervix. Who knows? Hopefully, we'll get to bottom of it and I will get back to my normal active self soon. He did mention taking up to 300mg, but instructions on the pill bottle say take 100 or 200 mg. Maybe I will call him on Tuesday if I'm not getting more relief and/or increase my dosage to 200mg. I'm not accustomed to taking medication, so I get a little anxious about introducing anything new to my otherwise very healthy body.