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!

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Chronic Pain Support Group.

@heisenberg34

If you call dreaming about being back in basic training for the Army psycho, yes! Otherwise, no.

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😁 I was in the Marines - many dreams of Parris Island 🙄

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I was taking Gabapentin also. I was up to 600 a day. It wasn't helping the peripheral neuropathy. The doctor changed to Lyrica 150mg morning and evenings 200mg It is helping. I also have several compression fractures in my spine. Still working on that!

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gabapentin 100 mg is used to help people sleep at night. 300-400 mg daytime will of course knock you out. Take everything at bed time. it will still work only you shouldn't be so tired during the day. the less the better with gabapentin. 300 mg at night. try that for a week, see what happens. much luck, & a happy & healthy new year.

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@pb50

What form of topical are you using ? Oil?

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I use a CBD balm which contains a slight amount of THC. It is USDA organic, third party tested, full spectrum, made in Kentucky. I have been very happy with this product. It is a stick application like a deodorant so it is easy to apply. I also use natural oils such as deep relief, peppermint, etc. I try to stay away from taking internal medications because of possible reactions to my other meds.

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Can you private message me the name of the product? My Rheumy said it may help and couldn’t hurt.

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@rejoh

I am taking 300 MG capsules 3x per day.
About a year ago I started seeing a new doc who prescribed the max 1800MG per day (300 MG 6 times per day). I lost ALL muscle strength. Could not even crawl! I stopped taking all Gabapentin and this side effect (ataxia) went away.
I am now seeing another neurologist and informed him about my history. Gabapentin is helpful to me in lower doses and I have not noticed any side effects (other than constipation). I looked up the clinical trials of Gabapentin and ataxia is mentioned as a possible side effect. Now I research the clinical trials of any FDA approved drug that I am prescribed!

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I'm so happy my doctor said no to gabapentin. I always get side effects.

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I was on Gabapentin for neuropathy. It certainly helped. I did get drowsy nearly evening but other than that I tolerated it well. I switched to Pregabalin and it also has bee helpful. I think I have less drowsiness on it. I'm older - 74 - so who knows I just may need naps these days. Everyone is different, if a med is not helpful look to dosage or others to help.

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@betty1949

I was on Gabapentin for neuropathy. It certainly helped. I did get drowsy nearly evening but other than that I tolerated it well. I switched to Pregabalin and it also has bee helpful. I think I have less drowsiness on it. I'm older - 74 - so who knows I just may need naps these days. Everyone is different, if a med is not helpful look to dosage or others to help.

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Did you notice any vision issues?

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@celia16

Did you notice any vision issues?

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Not really. I have lots of vision issues but they are slow progression and couldn't be attributed to med. Vision didn't get better after I stopped gabapentin.

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I read that another side effect of Gabapentin can be depression, especially in women over age 60. That’s how it affected me, so I stopped taking it.

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