Gabapentin side effects?

Posted by Sundance(RB) @sundance6, Apr 13, 2019

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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@ginger123

I read all the updates and comments regarding gabapentin with interest. They are helpful. Question: I’m on 300 mg of gab at night with .25 lorazapam for severe RLS and shin/ankle burning. It seems to help. Is is ok to add a low dose CBD/THC gummie during the day?
My system is a”less is more” type. Hence low dosages.

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A 5mg 1:1 cbd:thc gummy may help, no serious interactions. You seem to be on low gabapentin amount.

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Oh, and this is my result as I have experimented with cannibas edibles. I do not care for the feeling too much cannabis causes. Less is more does apply. Its a fine line between pain relief and impairment, which is why I can't really go over one 5mg gummy every 24hrs. By the same token, CBD alone does not help much. So for me, the 5mg THC is part of the relief, but more than that causes impairment.

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Someone suggested gabapentin to me but when I read about it, I said no, asked my doctor and she said no. I take clonazepam to sleep so was, as you say you are, reluctant to take anything else . Mirapex 0.125 mg does help for neuralgia and I get some sleep. I also have to be very careful of side effects because they all seem to end up affecting my vision.

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You should lower the dosage of your Gabapentin, that's a really high does, and get to where you balance your level of tiredness (actually lack thereof) with whatever symptoms it was prescribed for. Never take Gabapentin with magnesium supplements or magnesium containing antacids. I take 200 mg at night before bedtime for back pain (5 bulging discs, spinal stenosis, 2 sets of vertebrae without cushion). BTW, Botox has been successful for people with migraines, but not chronic headaches. Have you had a battery of allergen tests? It's likely a food allergy or pollen problem. For some people, melatonin as a sleep aid is effective for what you experience. It's pretty safe, as it is a natural hormone in the body.

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I take 900 mg per day, and I've been taking it for about three years. Red Bull! I do Red Bull and coffee all day. At night I take melatonin and a gummy to sleep. I've had NP for ten years. I tried acupuncture. It made it worse. I get terrible pains in my hands and feet.

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Try taking less see
what dose help with the pain going from 200 to 400mg 3xa day is a big jump. I have real bad osteoarthritis, I too was started on 100mg 3x a day,(My Md wanted to start at 300mg 3x a day) then when my MD wanted to raise dose to 300mg 3x a day I said okay only if we kept the 100mg caps. He agreed , so most time I take 200mg 3xaday and it works. On bad days I can take the 300mg 3x a day, though it doesn't make sleepy, I prefer the lower dose to have room to increase when needed if start or go to higher dose right away there is no room left for when body gets used to it and higher dose required.

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I was just diagnosed with osteoarthritis- knees.
Celebrex for inflammation. Acetaminophen for pain.
It works. I also take Gabapentin for different issue but it doesn’t touch this pain.

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Hi. I was prescribed Gabapentin following a lower left lobectomy six months ago, which had left me with neurogenic pain, mostly stabbing and lightening-like in nature, though some toothache episodes as well. Like you, I could have slept around the clock. But during that sleep I had bizarre dreams that were frightening and disturbing. I told a friend I didn’t want to know some of the graphic, violent thoughts were even in my drugged brain. I stepped down and off as quickly as possible. Scary stuff for me.

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Hi, has anyone taken tramadol for pain? I have pain in my back mostly on left side and down into my knee. I've had this problem for the last 4 years and no one seems to know what to do. I had shots in my back and gel shots in my knees - nothing has helped. Months and months of physical therapy. The pain goes away when I sit down but kills when I stand up and walk. I'm getting worse by the day. Help!

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@liz7

Hi, has anyone taken tramadol for pain? I have pain in my back mostly on left side and down into my knee. I've had this problem for the last 4 years and no one seems to know what to do. I had shots in my back and gel shots in my knees - nothing has helped. Months and months of physical therapy. The pain goes away when I sit down but kills when I stand up and walk. I'm getting worse by the day. Help!

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Your pain sounds like what I had exactly. Have you had your hips x-rayed? The third doctor finally x-rayed mine and said my right hip was bone on bone and causing the pain in my knee. The other hip was not far behind. Just a thought.....mine did get worse by the day and when I had the hip replacement the surgeon said the bone was breaking apart at that point. I had to wait too long for a diagnosis! Best of luck to you for pain relief. No drugs helped my pain prior to surgery although narcotics lessened it somewhat.

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