Gabapentin side effects?

Wow. Reading these comments underscores for me that we are all different. Medicine that doesn't work for one person saves another person's life. Peggy

Gabapentin. I have been on this med for a year and since then I have had trouble breathing. All day long, every day. The provider who prescribed it said the breathing problems are not related to this med. Since that time I have been to my PCP several times, seen a pulmonologist, ENT, had numerous, numerous tests and been told countless times I am having panic attacks. No, I am not having panic attacks because from when I wake in the morning until I go to bed at night I struggle to breathe, It has been one miserable year. Today I took an hour to research gabapentin and lo and behold, one of the side effects can be breathing problems. I am greatly relieved, yet angry. This has taken a year out of my life. I will call my provider first thing tomorrow and begin tapering off this med.

I have just started this med. Can you tell us what dosage you are on?

I'm just gonna go out on a limb here... first, let me say, I currently have docs who seem to just send me in a circle, not address my concerns, wipe their hands, etc. I read a LOT (about my fibromyalgia? But is that all?) of medical journal articles. When I tell docs that, it feels like they think I'm just finding illnesses to have.

That said... I don't think reading for an hour is necessarily a sufficient reason to stop a medication or attribute it to a particular symptom. If you go to the doc with that info, come with your sources. Print out the articles you read. don't just say, "I read somewhere...", "I saw there is a lawsuit...", etc. Bring hardcopies in your hand and ask them to address the facts you are looking at.

Stephen,

I understand your frustration and anger at the system, which by the way, truly does suck, but what you're stating here is your frustrated opinion.

Not all pain is "nerve pain". Neurologic pain is real. For example, I have neurologic itch. The nerves send a jarred signal to my body that I have an itch. I can scratch it until the skin in gone and the itch does not stop. BUT... it's not on my skin. Imagine a million mosquito bites covering your body, but you don't realize they are there until you scratch one. So you respond to a sudden and intense itch by scratching it, as any reasonable person would do, and it activates numerous others all over. If you scratch them, more are activated. And on....

It's not the best analogy, I know. I've had poison oak So many times, chicken pox at 28. mosquito bites I thought would drive me actually insane, severe hives from allergic reaction to penicillin... but Never have I experienced an itch like this. No drugs worked and they finally just put me on sedatives to ease the anxiety of it. (That is only one facet of my neurologic issues. The pain is a different story, and is there always. The itch goes away after a few months and returns at will.)

While some pain can come peripheral nerves (your example of impingement) many times it is due to central nervous system (brain, spinal cord) damage.

Gabapentin works by mimicking GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid), an amino acid acting as a neurotransmitter in the body that decreases excitability in neurons. That's why it has uses for neuropathic pain, seizures, etc.

That said... it has done nothing for me. I'm afraid to increase my dose because my doctor says it so flippantly, without actually discussing anything. I'm with kaiser, and imho, at least where I live, they are the WORST.

Also, Stephen, another post you made sated you're on a pain pump of dilaudid. There really is no comparison between Gabapentin and opioids. They don't have the same function. Additionally, in my reading I have not found that opioids have been substantiated as alleviating nerve pain. (attaching one study*)

The fact of the matter is, that individuals need to 1) consult with their docs, and switch docs if they need to, 2) Research other than message boards when searching for answers about prescription medications.

Sure. I am taking 2 - 100 mg caps 3x daily.

That's what I'm taking, after taking 100mg 3x a day for a few weeks. Today after my afternoon dose, I felt so dizzy, so I think I need to go back to 100mg in the afternoon. I'm extremely sensitive to meds. Doctors, unfortunately, think I'm fibbing until I get sick , then they take note. I had a horrible bout of UTI lately, took 3 series of antibiotics, I kept telling him I cannot take a certain group of antibiotics but he insisted on it, until I felt worse than my UTI. Now my doctor is listening. Nobody knows our bodies better than ourselves. Take care, I hope you get the answers from your doctor. Keep us posted. Thank you.

I have mild neuropathy and several types of essential tremors. I have been taking 3--600mg gabapentin for 4 years with no adverse side effects. Every one is different and you should listen to your doctor. Before gabapentin my hand andarms shook so violently that I refused to go out in public. Gabapentin was a life saver and am glad I listened to my neurologist.

My opinion :
I was on this med for 15 yrs. It started out fine with small dosage of 100 mg 3 x a day. Only issue is your body gets used to it and then doesn't work no more so have to increase dosage over and over again. I finally got to maximum dosage of 3200 mg a day. Thru all this I started having herd and digestive issue till it finally shut my stomach down (gastroparisis) . I was only able to drink my food after that for three years. It about killed me. I weighed a whopping 98 lbs and looked like death warmed over. This medicine tricked my brain in believing I couldn't live without it. After awhile my pain also got worse instead of better thus kept raising dosage. Finally got off this med and took 2 years before I could actually eat solid food again!
Now after saying all that. I do believe at a low dose for a short period of time it is a great drug but if have chronic illnesses I would not recommend it. I have recently started using cbd oil products ( no thc) and they have been wonderful. Increased energy and feel good sensation from serotonin and dopamine. My pain level is very low now a days. I haven't had to take a narcotic pain med since started the cbd. Have had no bad side effects either. Best wishes to all. God bless !

Hi,

Did you mean to reply to Stephen? I Am currently on Gabapentin...