How long do you take Gabapentin?

My chronic pain was so bad I had to. Plus opiods etc. I guess I built up the tolerance. That is why I'm having Nerve ablation to get off of all pain medications. I don't like pills.

Ya I don't think there that potent myself.

I suffer from chronic back pain and have gone through the ringer when it comes to medication and a multitude of surgeries. Gabapentin does not work for severe pain period. They had me on 16 tablets a day, sorry can’t remember the strength, for over six months to no avail. I sincerely feel badly for her. If she wants to try them, see how many pills they prescribed her in total, divide by 28 which will give you the total/day then divide by 4 (4 being the amount of times she takes it each day.

I have taken 1200 mg of Gabapentin at night for RLS for several years. It has always helped. Recently, I was prescribed an additional 1200 mg twice a day for pain (in addition to hydrocodone). It has been helpful, however now it is not working for my RLS. I haven’t slept more than 3 hours a night for the last week even with my ambien.
Has anyone else had this experience with it?

I have absolutely no respect for gabapentin in severe circumstances. The only case I know is for restless leg syndrome yet the patient was in a stupor and family was concerned. I was given it for Lyme disease for neurological reasons and it did nothing. I read a medical synopsis of the drug and I have no idea why it’s being dispensed.

Gabapentin was the first of several pill treatments for me. It made me sick and and several weeks to get it out of my system. I believe it and others are primarily used for mood swings. You might try creams or pain in feet. Good luck!

My original use was for neurological Lyme disease and they tried 4 times. I foolishly out of desperation let them dose me at levels that I was a zombie.
Our medical system is in shreds- they do not listen to their patient; we are simply processed.
Thx for contributing to comments.

@sueborfl
Good evening, sorry to hear that Gabapentin did not help your neuropathic pain, I know how painful this can be..... Gabapentin has been FDA approved for Postherpatic neuralgia pain, seizure control, and restless leg syndrome. It also has an off-label use for neuropathic pain from Lyme disease and other disorders, this drug is usually started in very low doses and is titrated up quit rapidly. Usually the effects are seen in the first week but sometimes it might take a month for significant improvement and often the side effects will subside after three months.
I have CIDP and I started Gabapentin about 2 years ago, my initial dose was 300mg per day and over a period of 18 months I have had my dosage increased to 2400mg per day and my pain has diminished remarkably. During the first 2-3 months the side effects were horrible and I didn't think I would be able to tolerate this treatment, however the side effects did go away and I am tolerating the treatment and probably will continue this drug therapy for the rest of my life. Good luck and I hope you will be able to find a therapy/drug that will help you, neuropathic pain is terrible. Keep us informed.....
Kim

Thank you for such a comprehensive and intelligent reply. I must focus on Lyme disease and having gone undiagnosed for over 12 yrs, the doctors were sure this was their gold standard for helping me with lyme neuropathy. Respectfully, in your analysis, we should try and understand that lyme is an ever changing bacteria and a shape shifting spirochete that may respond or not respond. It sounds like you may have a medical background. In all honesty this drug after all their tries, was not a good fit fit me. I appreciate your remarks.

I started taking gabapentin 2 1/2 months ago 200mg 3 times a day after about 2 months My short term memory became very suspect, My legs became weak when trying to walk, Developed back pain,blured vision and neck pain, for me it was not worth it