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Gabapentin temporary increase?
I am wondering if anyone in the group has had any luck with temporarily increasing doses of Gabapentin for nerve pain flare ups? I have been doing fairly well with 1300mg/day (divided 3x/day). Then about a week ago, the pain started coming back. I have been managing it with Advil.. but dont want to keep taking that for obvious reasons. One of my doctors (not a Mayo doc) has told me to increase "as needed" then return back to baseline dosage. My Mayo doc has told me that Gabapentin is not used in that manner.. I have been reading posts on this site that suggest taking increased dosages for flare ups is effective. (I'm a little confused). Can anyone share any experience with treating nerve pain flare ups? Thanks!
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@stevenlo I have been taking gabapentin longer than I like to admit. In the past nine years I was on 100 mg 3X per day for about six years. Then I was increased to 300 mg 3X per day. Now I am taking 600 mg 3X per day. My current PM doc wanted to put me up to 900 mg 3X per day. I took that dose for a while but did not see any benefit. So, I am back to 600 mg 3x/day. I am not feeling any help from this dosage. I hope you find a dosage that helps you.
@stevenlo
Anticonvulsant medications like Gabapentin are not meant to be used on a PRN/as-needed basis.
Gabapentin needs to build up to a therapeutic level in your blood which may take days to weeks.
Perhaps discuss with your doctor about increasing your daily dose to hopefully prevent flareups or perhaps the doctor will prescribe a pain medication to get you over the flareup or some type of topical cream that may help.
Take care,
Jake
@heisenberg34 thanks for the information.. Sorry you are not getting the relief you need from the medication. Question.. Did the gabapentin EVER help??
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1 Reaction@jakedduck1 thanks Jake. this makes sense. This is why I am confused when I read that people "just take more when it flares up", implying that they are taking it for to control the pain of the flare up... (as one would take Advil or another pain medication.. temporarily). My PM at Mayo has said the same thing you said.. it will take time to build up in the bloodstream.. I have an appointment with my PM in June. not sure I should wait that long?
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1 Reaction@stevenlo I believe that when I was initially put on it, it helped. But, I was also on Tramadol and diazepam. Those three worked well to drop my pain down to about a 2-3,
@heisenberg34 OK. I was wondering if the gabapentin WAS effective and then the efficacy began to decrease.. but you may not be able to determine if you were taking all of the meds concurrently.. my gabapentin IS effective; it gives me a 1-2 normally.. but I am experiencing an increase in pain the past week and wondering if it's a flare up or the gabapentin is beginning to lose it's effect on pain control?
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1 Reaction@stevenlo I suppose that after taking it so long that it began to lose its effectiveness. I am currently beginning to switch to Pregablin. I t had some side effects like developing shakiness. I’m hoping it settles down with time.
I've been taking 3600mg of gabapentin every day for a few years now, and my doctor told me that's the highest dosage he'd ever prescribe. It manages to dull the pain to the point of being bearable most of the time, but not always.
@heisenberg34 Sorry to hear about the side effects. I hope things settle down. may I ask how many years you took Gabapentin? .. and what is the condition that causes your pain (Nerve damage, nerve entrapment, something else?.. if I might ask?!)
@mrmacabre .. and does it seem to provide the same level of relief even over time?.. or do you feel it is less effective as time goes on? I am just trying to figure out if the relief I have been getting is something from the gabapentin is something that will last.. (hopefully)