Gabapentin advice

Posted , 19 users are following.

I have been prescribed 300mg gabepentin for 3 days then up dose to 600mg then 3 days later up to 900mg and keep increasing until I feel comfortable.

Wow within 2 hours of taking 1 tab I feel stoned, I mean really stoned. It's like I'm not in the same world as everyone else and it's making me fidgety, I think it has already had an effect on the burning pain although pain is still there but pain or no pain I can't function like this daily, how can I up dose? i know side effects are supposed to reduce but how long do I need to be a space cadet until this happens. This feels like a recreational drug not a prescribed drug.

Has anyone experienced this? And did it go away after time?

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  • Posted

    I took it, It didn't make me goofy or high or stoned or nothing, but It did make me put 18 lbs on in 3 weeks.

    I could not understand, but then said, OMG, it must have been the gabepentin .

    She took me off that, for a month, then I got all depressed.

    Don't know if it was from not taking the gabepentin, of from a combonation of other factors. 18 lbs on me, and this big(ger) belly blow my waist did not help either.

    She now put me on Lyrica, and started taking it at night.

    and the first morning I got up, I felt like I had drank a 12 pack of beer.

    It's not as bad now, but I am still tired all the time, and also I noticed the 1st day,in addition to feeling hung over, I had this taste in my throat, like I had a cold, and I have lots of drainage too.

    • Posted

      Hi Anthony, that's a lot of weight in 3 weeks, did it make you hungry and eat more or just stop your metabolism of something? 18lbs would not sit well on me!!

      I didn't mind lyrica when I was on it, it made me sleepy and i didn't drive the first few days but heart palps and rls put me off. I never got to the high doses of it so it never had a massive effect on my pain either.

      Cymbalta is an anti d that is also suppose to help with pain and in most is weight neutral but I've never tried it, only read about it.

      I hope things are getting better for you.

    • Posted

      Thanks Charlotte, No I did not eat more as far as I can tell, I think it

      just stopped or slowed my metabolism somehow.

      Cause I never did start working out, but the month I stopped taking it,

      I dropped 4 lbs.

      Just went to the dr today, the 4 lbs is back on.

      I reported everything, (this was a different PA today) and he thinks the

      side affects are out weighing the good effects. (It is not really helping)

      Funny you mention Cymbalta, a pharmacist I know suggested cymbalta, but she said NO!

      she said cymbalta was for diabetic peripheral neurotherapy.

      I have read otherwise.

      This guy today, (I like him better really, but made such a fuss about this outher PA all the time, so I hate to change) anyays, he said Cymbalta was on the top of the list for peripheral neurotherapy, and he agreed it did not matter if it was diabetic peripheral neurotherapy, or post Chemo peripheral neurotherapy. he said he would talk to the other PA, and tell her what I had said, and talk to her about the things he knows and has read about Cymbalta.

      I think it might be a better bet for me, and he also said there should be no weight gain. Also, I could probably use the mood inhancement effects of Cymbalta.

  • Posted

    Charlotte, I also tried Gababentin and felt the same way.  Stopped after 3 days I felt like I was swimming through mud, coudln't focus.

    Doctor has put me back on Lyrica 75mg, night time pill is fine a little groggy but I sleep well.  Day time pill I feel a little spaced out but can handle that as leg pain has eased a bit.  Just have to have a lie down during the day for a couple of hours.  Will perservere as I feel it is helping.  Good luck

     

  • Posted

    Well i thought this stuff was meant ot help sleep, i woke up several times last night, 1 time i felt like i was frozen to the core shivering but my skin was burning up and prickly. Then later i woke up sweating not to mention turning and tossing. Today ive woken up feeling hot/cold and like i have the flu with skin that hurts like a shingley type pain and a mild headache. Is this normal, will these symptoms go away or am i reacting and need to be on something else? Ill take one tonight before bed but if i still feel like this day 3 im gonna have to condsider something else.

    Anyone tried nortrypline?

  • Posted

    Hi,

    i started gabapentin mid December. My dr put me on a low dose of 100mg tablets to gradually work my way up like that, little by little. At first even 100 mg made me feel loopy loo... But after a couple of days it settled. I am now up to 300mg  X2 a day and getting on ok. My pain has reduced somewhat.

    maybe go back and ask for100 mg tablets and gradually increase that way.

    • Posted

      Thank you for telling me your experience, I haven't taken any since, I asked the pharmacist and he thought it was potentially an adverse reaction due to the burning skin whilst being freezing but he wasn't sure. I didn't want to take the risk so I might ask for something else.

      I hope they continue to decrease your pain

    • Posted

      That medication is best to avoid at all costs.
  • Posted

    Only started this week after being on amitriptyine for over a year big weight gain on that drug my dose is much like others here start with one and increase after 3 days aiming at 3 pills a day 300 mg been having wired thoughts on this drug yes i do feel very stoned as i'm taking tramadol on top of this the worse thing for me is heartburn very late at night it wakes me up with sharp chest pain i feel the drug is working a little with nerve pain in feet toes and hands still during the day sat in a chair the pain in  my feet and toes is 100% full on pain numbness and tingling 
  • Posted

    I have neuropathy which is extremely painful and difficult to live with, I wouldn't wish it on my enemies. I'm prescribed 6000mg a day but I'm still in pain. My doctor refuses to send me to the pain clinic I'm requesting and nor will he prescribe me additional pain meds. I have been asking almost begging to get tramadol, but thway the guy was acting you would think I'm asking for fentanyl or morphine. I already asked to transfer drs. My side effects are sudden twitching, like muscle spasms. Predominantly on my hands so I will drop stuff I'm holding. Im 28 and my body acts like its 80. Depression and dark thoughts are a constant battle. But he refuses to help. If it wasnt for the back bone that my wife and kids are to me, I would have ended my pain years ago. I've lost jobs because I drop expensive parts of equipment because i cant control it, it just happens. My wife sees how frustrated i get when i drop groceries because my hand slips. Best of luck to you.
    • Posted

      If doctors refuse to treat you report them its your right for treatment if your in pain I have PN and had a EMG yesterday at the hospital I would wish it on my worse enemies it's that bad inTake 9x a day plus slow release tramadol 2 a day plus cream 2-3 a day and it's still painful I got a walking stick too help me move about does the trick can't walk far or drive it's against the law if you have PN to drive anyhow it's on the website the amount of drugs I'm is too dangerous too drive
    • Posted

      He wont even sign the release form to have me sent to a pain clinic i want to go to. He said today, he would " try" to call today. He is totally incompetent, last week he did a u.a. to check what I was on, today he said he didnt know whst happ9to it. That there are no request for a u.a. in my file. Then why make me take one? Besides running up my bill. I already requedted to switch him as pcp, and initially i was told it would be 1 to 2 days. Today they told me its 4 to 6 weeks. Im frustrated, he won't even refill my gabapentin. I told I'll run out tomorrow. He didnt care. I asked for tramadol to get me through the weekend, he wouldn't do it. I am honestly getting pushed to illegal drugs thennhelp from my doctor. Ive been seeing a doctor at least once a week for the past 5 months. My pcp after i asked for teamadol, his reaction you would think i was asking for fentanyl in liquid form. I've been offered cocaine and heroine to help with pain. And i turn it down in hopes a doctor, any doctor will help, but the health system is failing me.
    • Posted

      It seems like you need to ask your friends and family advice on what doctors to see. That is not safe or normal, this is coming from someone in the US- Keep that in mind.
    • Posted

      I am going through the same thing at the moment. I actually have Obama care medical card because I'm disabled. I cannot afford pain management. My urine is clean. The good have to suffer for the bad. It really does suck for people who really have chronic pain and can't get help! I wish you all the best in your journey. I'm going through the exact same! You're not alone.

    • Posted

      How are you feeling now? I see it's been a year since your post. I too get the accusatory rundown at the doctor. I am miserable wirh fibro and degenerative disk. The gabapentin makes me stoned and I sleep about 2 hours into it. I only have taken 100 mg. So I take it only at bed time. Many dark thoughts here too. I am going to hang in and suffer because I think the world is better with me in it. Though I don't think I am better in this world. My doctor fired me when I told him I had been taking a 5 mg pain med 3 or 4 times a week. I had the prescription from a few years ago before all this got so bad. I cry a lot of days. My house is a mess. Dogs don't get walked, they do have a yard. Cooking is too much. I am an artist and have done no work for 2 years.

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