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Gabapentin side effects?
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!
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Perhaps I'm not the best "gauge" for gabapentin side effects....I have a pretty low tolerance for medications, experiencing side effects that are worse than that which it is supposed to be ameliorating. But specficaly to gabapentin: I've seen so many specialists so I can't recall who prescribed it, but about 17 yrs ago I took the very first dose and within a half hour, I felt like I was in the Funny House at Coney Island. Everything was just "off" and I could not trust myself to stand, let alone walk. The room became "wavy" and I could not focus my eyes. Nausea set in. My entire face tingled and the rest of me was weak. My brain felt like pudding within my cranium. Fast forward to the next day: Those symptoms subsided but I was left with overall weakness. Difficulty thinking and processing. Of course I did not take another dose, and called the doctor's office. She was apologetic and said she could prescribe something else. "No, thank you" was my response. I've made a point of including ALL the meds that have caused reactions such as what the gabapentin did in each and every medical office to which I visit. Even with that, an orthopedist tried to convince me to allow her to prescribe a low dose for what she had diagnosed! That's like telling a Celiac patient "...it's okay to eat just a bite of glutenFUL food items." She backed off when I responded politely but firmly "NO is a complete sentence."
If you are able to tolerate pain medications, do work with doctors on your team to determine which is best for you, which you can tolerate while benefitting from the drug. And definitely keep a journal/log/diary of medications prescribed, reason for its prescription, dates, possible side effects, etc. That's what I've done for the past almost 2 decades. I am very astute when it comes to safety, and I don't hesitate to advocate for myself.
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2 ReactionsI took Gapapentin for 2 months and stopped as I had significant hair loss. It stopped after about a month off the Med and my hair started growing back.
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4 ReactionsI have had chronic pelvic pain since I got shingles on the sacrum in 2018. Started gabapentin one year ago, and am hoping to wean off if this DRG spine stimulator works. 600 mg * 3 times a day. I lost a lot of hair in first month. The hair came back in, and I’m still on the medication. Also, I gained 10 pounds that month. Since then, I slowly gained another 10 pounds. Now, I have to watch everything I eat. When I had the shingles in September 2018, I took off from work for a month, took gabapentin for just that month. When I went back to work, I just stopped taking, and was shocked how tight all my work clothes felt; weighed myself and realized I gained 15 pounds, but that came off without even trying once I went back to work. The post herpetic neuralgia just continued to get worse so hence, the gabapentin was re-prescribed last year. It takes the edge off.
I know there will be a weaning period when I’m physically ready as I know I will have a physical withdrawal. It has made me more tired and it has given me a little bit of forgetfulness. The forgetfulness is not as bad as it was.
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1 ReactionI used to take Gabapentin and now I'm on Pregabalin and I too am tired but do not sleep well at night.
Suggestions for a sleeping pill?
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1 ReactionFor now, and given the pain, I have to take my nervous system down. My doctor prescribed Zolpidem (generic for Ambien) for sleep. It works well for me.
Amitriptyline HCL worked for me.10 mg at bedtime
Good evening @greeneyes11. I also found Amitriptyline helpful when I was first diagnosed with SFN, small fiber neuropathy. Previously I had used Ambien which became rather addictive for me.
When I was comfortable with the daily use of medical cannabis, I chose
a 2:1 CBD/THC tincture for bedtime and am still using it 10 years later.
I notice that this is your first post since you joined Connect in 2020. Welcome!
I hope you have enjoyed and benefitted from the posts from other members.
Are you recovering from an illness?
May you be safe, protected, and free from inner and outer harm.
Chris
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4 ReactionsFor me gabapentin doesn't seem to cause too many side effects at 3 doses a day (that I can remember:-) ). But it has been a gradual ramp up.
I am up to 6 doses of 300mg. There have been no side affects. Relieved sharp pains during day and has allowed me to go to sleep at night. Not pain free but i can live with it now.
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1 Reaction@sodajerk
Were you taking the same (or higher dose) but fewer times per day and having side effects?
Jake