Gabapentin and high B/P
Posted , 3 users are following.
Feel like I've been all over Patient info asking questions. I started taking Gabapenti 2 months ago for insomnia. It works great for that. I take 300mg at 5pm and 300mg at 10pm. My problem now is my blood pressure. I have heart desease and have always been able to keep a good normal blood pressure through exercise and eating healthy. Now it doesn't matter what I do. My B/P is high if I do anything. Walk in the mall , ride on my lawnmower or what ever. But in the evening it goes back down. No more exercising because it just goes higher. In the evenings , doing nothing it's around 108/75. If I do anything at all it jumps to 150/90. Anybody else have problems with Gabapentin and blood pressure ? Or is it just me ? I guess the scarry part for me is the heart desease.
0 likes, 7 replies
jimbourg8 jessie92598
Posted
thats an interesting comment to me. I had this problem when I was taking Gabapentin. I had been taking between 900 to 1200 mg/day. I don't take gaba anymore. But I did have some higher blood pressure while taking gaba...sometimes in the evening I would also get BP 155 / 90 from time to time and it was distressing......my Dr. Thought it was because of anxiety ( Gaba. also causes that too ! ) And said it was because I was monitoring my BP too much. Now I know it was because of Gaba. Side effects ! Since I quit taking it.....I don't get that anymore ! I don't have high blood pressure or heart problems. Incidentally I also notice while taking Gaba. I would get alot of irregular heart beats! There are lots of known adverse side effects of gabapentin....I expirienced alot of them. Doctors keep prescribing Gabap. off-label useage for alot of maladies...i.e. insomnia, nerve pain, mood disorder.........but the only thing it really has been approved for is an anti-convulsant...........so beware. Good Luck
Rener jessie92598
Posted
I went from very low pressure to one reading of 200/110! Started taking 4 diferrent heart meds from O. This included going from 2 meds to 24 scrpts on regular basis not including things like antibiotics for contant infection. Most of them being pnuemonia! Upper respiratory infections one case going septic in the end of a 5 year nightmare could no longer get electrolytes balanced. Sodium would got to 117 or 116. Potassium a 7. No joke. Night time seizures. It got so confused because of side effects being common for many of different meds. Slow tapering off and it's beed one bad thing we for Me pull month. Oh! The PAIN increased but Tv it's tricky as I couldn't feel it until hours later. My Families love saved Nevestm
jessie92598 Rener
Posted
Rener jessie92598
Posted
No TV! Typo. I'm still taking pain meds that aren't very effective. At one time I was on 3 Opana ER 40, oxycodone 30 mg 3x daily plus .50 mg klonodine because I can't take muscle relaxers. Those worked the best! It helped relax pelvic just a bit. I was diagnosed or misdiagnosed with so many things!! Like incurable abdominal nerve damage, pelvic bottom displaced... I was in so much pain I was in shock. My memory was gone to. Couldn't remember anything like dinner. Where we went, who with and what we had or I made. Taking medicine then I would take to much! That's bad!!! I strongly recommend having a family member or close Trustworthy friend to become your caretaker before taking gabapentin. Just have them ready. I started falling, uncoordinated. Out of bed, off toilet and in shower plus walking!calcium very DeDe isn't. Serious dental problems. Clenching my toes and hands! Jerking all over. Blurry vision, migraines and double vision. Sodium deficient. Adrenal glands shot and thyroid. Lost gall bladder and taste buds. Paranoid because ears ringing plus angry. I'm nice. Never fight but I started to! I started really cursing with vulgarity that My teenager was embarrassed to hear and her friends thought funny! That's NOT funny. Addison's disease! Wow! From gabapentin for pain and trazadone to sleep to all that! Still taking 10 meds. Recovery started July 11,2017!! Doing good but a long way to go. I cut back too fast when I dropped 1200 mg in one day gabapentin, stopped klonopin which I resumed at Lower dose plus only 1 Opana 20 mg daily. Increased oxycodone 30 mg 4x daily as needed. I need it!!! Down 2 heart meds. Electrolytes staying just ok but still supplenet sodium. Edema bad especially feet and abdomen! Insomnia bad too. I take my naps or just 3 o'clock crashes are true! Literally passing out in pain! Doctor said I wasn't breathing or didn't know how. I forgot to inhale through nose! That really helps relax your diaphragm l! Lol! Meditate is really great! Sorry I go back n but I s true and worse for Me than anyopiate or benzo EVER!! Sherri
jessie92598 Rener
Posted
I'm sooo sorry to hear everything you've gone through. And still are going through. I found out what was causing my B/P to jump up and what was apparently causing my depression /anxiety to get so bad. I went to my cardiologist. About my heart racing and skipping. I was also taking an antibiotic for upper respiratory infection ( Minocycline 100mg x 2. He told me to stop taking them and to throw them away. I did and the 2 days later the high heart rate , high B/P and most of the delression was gone. Hard to believe an antibiotic can cause all of that , but there it is. I still take 300mg x2 , Gabapentin though for insomnia. Worked great for a week or two , but now it doesn't do anything for the insomnia. But I also have a lot of surgical nerve damage in my chest from a heart bypass I had in 2004. A long time to be with that kind of pain. But while I was younger I was able to ignore a lot of it. But now I can't ignore it so easily. So the Gabapentin must be helping in that area , at least a little. I think I will try to stop one of the Gabapentins , but continue with the other. If the depression/ anxiety comes back or worsens I'll see if my gp will give me 100mg to replace one of the 300mg.
Sorry , I misinterpreted Tv for a medical term . I'm not all that familiar with all the meds you have taken. But if an antibiotic can do everything that happened to me , I'm amazed at what you've been through. Again , I'm so sorry to hear whats happened to you. Makes me feel very small and ashamed to complain about my problems. My prayers and thoughts are with you and I sincerely hope you are able to beat all these things. Thanks so much for your reply.
peter0122 Rener
Posted
Your memory is shot because of the opiates. Even in small doses the opiates destroy short term memory. The problems associated with opiate addiction are so horrible that it’s better to try and keep focusing on your medication along with physical therapy and mild yoga. Most of the “pain doctors” depend on opiates, and that’s about it. There are some electro stimulation techniques that might be helpful.
Good luck, and best wishes. Peter
peter0122 jessie92598
Posted