gabapentin side affects?

I am on gabapentin for peripheral nerve damage, the pain is horrendous i cannot sleep at night

have pains in my feet and legs, burning it's like having electric shocks up and down your legs.

I take 200grms 3 times a day.I am at my wit's end don't know what to do next can anyone help?

Gabapentin is what my sister is on and she has the shakes badly. She has walked into the door post many times and while sat fell forward and head butted the fire. Her arms jerk and she cant stop her hands from jerking. I affects her eyesight in that she has blurred vision, All of this happened before when she was on it and we told the doctors then and she came off it but the Doctors at the hospital have put her back on them again even though we have told them she has problems with it, they wont give her anything else instead. Does anyone know of a safer medication she could have as we are concerned she may get seriously hurt if she was to fall or collapse from this drug.

You could try the following drug but obviously discuss with your doctor first. They may be reluctant to prescribe as it is more expensive then Gabapentin, but insist, if it's suitable :-

Pregabalin (INN) ( /prɨˈɡæbəlɨn/) is an anticonvulsant drug used for neuropathic pain and as an adjunct therapy for partial seizures with or without secondary generalization in adults.[1] It has also been found effective for generalized anxiety disorder and is (as of 2007) approved for this use in the European Union.[1] It was designed as a more potent successor to gabapentin. Pregabalin is marketed by Pfizer under the trade name Lyrica. Pfizer described in an SEC filing that the drug could be used to treat epilepsy, post-herpetic neuralgia, diabetic peripheral neuropathy and fibromyalgia. Sales reached a record $3.063 billion in 2010.[2]

There's a load of information on Gabapentin on-line. Just Google "gabapentin" . The above is taken from Wikipedia, the source of all knowledge on the web, well nearly all!

I'm sorry to say Pregabalin (Lyrica) is almost as bad as Gabapentin (Neurontin).

I have tried them all during a 60 year fight with arthritis and nerve pain. They all have nasty side effects, such as brain fog, shaking, blurred vision and jerking movements. Most doctors agree when pressed that these are common side effects, they probably wouldn't take them themselves either.

I belong to several arthritis and neurology groups, there are very few people who keep going on these drugs for very long. Keeping a job down while you are on them is almost impossible. Also they will start to lessen any good effects after a short while and are titrated up quite quickly then the side effects get worse.. They also have long term effects on the brain.

Anyone unhappy with any anti-epileptic type drugs should go back and discuss it with their prescribing doctor, taking a trusted friend or relative if possible. Many times the patient hardly remembers what the doctor said in the consultation, a friend/relative can then explain it all to them afterwards.

If you google Gabapentin/Lyrica forums, you will see posts from people from all over the world and know you are not alone.

I do not wish to scare anyone but put forward the true implications of this medication. There are alternatives out there to try, with far less side effects, although most medications that help to dampen down nerve pain also dampen down the brain as well.There has not yet been invented a nerve /chronic pain medication with no side effects and most of us have to settle for less than we would hope.

I hope that all who suffer from terrible and chronic pain find an answer to their quest.Best wishes, Fanny Jane.

Reading this has made me feel so sad

I've recently started taking Gabapentin for nerve pain nerve pain hasn't gone but it has at least Eased. I can now sleep which is wonderful. I'm taking two tablets the times a day and if my nerve pain comes back to the extent it was I really don't think I could cope with it again. The tablets are making me feel really strange and a little sickly my mood swings are keeping everyone entertained at least. Is there better tablets than these but when it comes down to it. Pain has Eased and I would of done anything for that to ease. Never realised it was so bad until I started on the Gabapentin.

Like most drugs, if you give it a chance and not flip out the first time you experience a documented side effect, you will adjust to it. Ask yourself what you want more; to be free of pain or be free of side effects? No one seems to mention some of the positive side effects of these drugs: apart from being free of pain, what about dramatic relief from the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome?

As far as alternatives to gabapentin, Lyrica (pregabalin) is the only one. My personal experience is there are fewer side effects with Lyrica. You only have to take it twice a day instead of 3 times like gabapentin. This is the first drug to be developed for relief of neuropathic pain.

Thanks plushy

I have been switched to pregabalin. Only yesterday but feeling optimistic. The amount of mg the doctor wanted to take of the Gabapentin would of spaced me out.

Feeling positive again now x

I have been taking 300 mg of Gabapentin two times a day and 900 mg at night in conjunction with Norco three times a day for two months now. I only recall one day with shakes and I thought it might have been a hunger thing. My appetite has gone pretty much. I was still having nerve pain so last week my doctor did a procedure where they did shots in my leg two above my knee and one just below the knee. The nerve pain I was having has gone but I still have some pain just different. I had knee replacement three months ago and not recovering very well in that I can't bend my leg much. The shots are supposed to deaden the nerves, we don't know how long the effects of the shots will last which concerns me. I hate shots, especially around the knee. I don't feel like I have many side effects, however, my partner has indicated in many ways that I must be on another planet. Does this stuff really make one so out-of-it that you don't know what is real. I do admit that I feel like an emotional roller coaster. I can't even imagine coming off this drug after being on it, my doctor assured me that we will take it slow...hoping that I don't do a spiral to the darkness of crazy.

Hi,

This is my first time on here but I recognise so many of the symptoms that you are talking about.

I had two discs removed in my neck which had basically collapsed , I was on a few painkillers after that but

was hoping to get off them and get back to normal daily life, how wrong was I. I was diagnosed with FMS a

few weeks ago now after going to the doctors for the last five years trying to get them to help me so I am still

finding out about it.

I now take

amitryptline 75 mg at night

Gabapentin 600mg three times a day

Oxycodone 60mg twice daily

Oxycodone liquid up to 20mg four times daily

Domperidon 10mg three times daily

Lisinopril 10mg at night

Paracetamol 500mg four times a day

I thought that I was just having problems after surgery as I was told my spinal cord had been damaged so I would always have pain and I could take the morphine for the rest of my life. I tried all sorts, I had injections

into my neck and back and it was so painful, I had fifteen done all at once and thought it would settle but I had one of my worst weeks ever and no improvement either. I put up with the agony in my neck,collarbone,back,shoulders,shoulder blades,into my arms with awful pain in my elbows with pain and numbness into my hands.

I have pain into my ribs and hips ,knees and feet and it is just so hard to do even the easiest of things because ten minutes later I would be in crippling pain.

I gave up as I was told there was nothing they could do for me, so I was on the scrap heap at 32.

I am now 35 and have finally been diagnosed with fibromyalgia after four years of agony and trailing back and forth to doctors who didn't want to see me. All it took was a new doctor at my surgery, he has done more in

the last few weeks than anyone did in four years.

I have awful sickness, light headed, balance problems, can't sleep, IBS, can't think or concentrate at all. I am on crutches as my left leg is weak due to my slipped discs and it helps me with balance.i could fall asleep at the drop of a hat but can't stay asleep, need to move all the time, anything is agonising, the pain and lack of

sleep are horrendous.

I am glad I have found other people I can talk to who understand and who don't think I am making it all up and really don't understand. My husband left me after 18 years together because he just didn't understand why I was so tired, how cleaning the house was an impossible task, he forced me to get a job and I just couldn't

keep it, I was so unreliable and so ill and my brain just didn't want to take things in and the simplest task was

impossible.

I'm sorry to ramble on it's just good to get it off my chest and talk to people who understand.

Hi anne.

I only catch up on here every now and then but its great to talk to people who understand and ive been offered some really good advice from people who have been through similar experience's

hope you find it all a comfort xx

Hi Anne

I found Lyrica instead of Gabapentin virtually cured my chronic IBS and nausea - a welcome side effect (it still makes you sleepy though at higher doses, though less light headed).

Cutting down the amitryptilene to 25mg also helped improve clarity. If you need it for depression, 20mg of Lexapro in the mornings worked a treat for me with no side effects.