I take it for neuropathy. It's for nerve conditions. At night before I go to sleep. Gabapentin doesn't have any worse side effects than a lot of familiar medication. Just because it says side effects doesn't mean you'll have any. I didn't have any. If it helps, take the capsule apart and just take half. I would take a piece of tissue or paper towel and plug the end before taking it. If I had no side effects from that, next time I took the whole thing. You can get them as low as 50mg I think. I have back issues and if I stand in one place too long, my thighs get numb. I'll wake during night and one of my thighs will be numb. Gabapentin is prescribed for a lot of different things.