Has anyone been taking gabapentin for migraines and have you noticed any side effects when taking it long term?

I've been suffering from migraine since I was a teenager then(in short) I was diagnosed with cfs/me and sever short term memory loss. During this time I was also diagnosed with "Cluster Migraine". Initially for my migraine I was prescibed "Amytriptyline" and then later for my cfs/me they gave me Gabapentin, I take 8 a day plus 3 amy's and Imgran nasal spray.

I know exactly how your husband feels, its the worst kind of pain there is and there have been times when I could happily smash my head against the wall. I've had this for many years (I'm 51) and never seem to be able to catch it at right time. At the moment with all the meds I take I feel like I'm eating sweeties (I also take Serraline and Tramadol and co-dydramol :-)))-Oh! happy days.Well thats me, now for your husband;

A cool pillow sometimes help, you can get them from ebay and also an eye mask which you place in the fridge, again from the same place. I do find that the nasal spray usually stops me vomiting-which is great because if I am sick, then its really, really bad, oh! and some water with ice cubes in, and of course a darkened room and virtually no noise . I think that everyone who suffers from this would agree that its a real B***!!!!! Try those things it might help a little, my thought are definatley with him (and you) :-))))

If you eventually discuss, I think it is the folic acid into the mix which is new here - perhaps its ability to reduce higher than normal homocystein enzyme levels is the missing link, or perhaps taking folic with b2 increases the rate of B2 absorption....

No worries and best of luck with your botox...

Through trial and error, I found a combination of ways to reduce the frequency and severity of my migraines:

1. Stop eating artificial sweeteners. The ones you most want to avoid are aspartame and sucralose. Be sure to read the ingredients to everything! Often, products don't mention that they contain artificial sweeteners anywhere BUT the ingredients list. If you see a label that reads 'Contains a source of phenylalanine', best to avoid it. Don't forget to check the ingredients on your medications as well!

2. Keep away from foods heavy in nitrates. Cured meats or heavily processed (usually inexpensive) meats can trigger migraines. If you can't go without bacon or sausage (Lord knows I can't) then buy good quality and eat in moderation.

3. Be careful with red wine, aged cheese, chocolate, or activated yeast. Some or all of these may trigger headaches... everyone is different. To see if a specific food is a trigger for you, either keep a headache/food journal and look for patterns, or try each item by itself a few times (the same way you introduce foods to infants to check for allergies).

4. Be aware that caffeine withdrawal can mimic the feeling of a migraine. This is why so many migraine medications contain caffeine. Consider switching to decaffeinated coffees or teas.

5. Try Botox. Sometimes what starts off as a tension headache can snowball into a migraine. I tried Botox in my forehead several years ago and within three days went from being affected over 20 days a month to no migraines for five months. Some doctors specialize in Botox for migraines but I've always gone to regular dermatologists and had the Botox injections where I notice I start to tense up when a migraine is developing.

6. Be careful with your environment. Smoke, perfumes, air fresheners, and bright lights can be a trigger. Try unscented laundry detergent, unscented hygiene products, and you might want to try letting someone else take the wheel when you have to drive at night. For me, the lights of other cars flashing off mirrors and through trees can trigger a headache.

7. Control your nausea. If I feel a headache coming on, sometimes I can keep it from turning into a migraine by controlling the feeling of nausea that usually accompanies the pain. If you can make yourself vomit, do it. It's unpleasant but I find it usually helps. Then, take an anti-emetic like meclizine and a pain reliever. Try Sumatriptan or a prescription migraine pain reliever like Fioricet.

8. Try a low dose anti-depressant. Often, this will help with the pain even if it doesn't stop the migraines completely.

9. Try alternative therapies. Acupuncture, acupressure, massage, meditation, biofeedback, or even cold packs on the back of the neck work for some people. Everyone has different triggers and different therapies will work better than others.

DON'T GIVE UP! Find what works for you! Also, don't let a doctor bully you into accepting less than optimal care. If a treatment isn't working then it's their responsibility to work with you until you find one that does! Your individual treatment plan may take some time to fine tune but the frequency of pain and quality of life you're describing is unacceptable.

Good luck, my thoughts and prayers are with you!

 I have also been told about sweetners , avoid like the plague etc I wish you well and hope that you find what works best for yur husband soon 

i overload myself with vitamins and do yoga seems to relax my body so helps when I'm able to do this .. Maybe will work for others I donknow 

I have taken gabapentin for a chronic headache(yes, singular.... all day, every day!). It was the pletherer of other things we tried. I was given gabapentin to attempt to control the pain. I was given 100mg in the evening to start with. Then was supposed to up to 100mg 2x per day(evening and lunch). Then 100mg 3x per day(morning, lunch and evening). And we would keep adding until the max dosage. Ummm yeah... we didn't get there.

First week I saw zero improvement in pain and started struggling with feeling down. Added in the second 100mg at lunch. That didn't go so great. At all. My thought process got REALLY cloudy. My thoughts would get all mixed up. I started having suicidal thoughts. Felt EXTREMELY drugged.

At first I didn't realize that the suicidal thoughts were associated with the medication, until something triggered me to think about when I started feeling down... the day I started the gabapentin. It had just progressively gotten worse.

I proceceded to ween myself off over the next week. As soon as I backed off to 100mg, the suicidal thoughts were gone, and when I finished taking the 100mg dose for a week(as you can't just stop taking it, you have to ween off) the feeling down and depression was gone.

If he did take it(as I see this was posted a long time ago)... I hope you had better experience than I Good luck!