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

Posted , 25 users are following.

sarah1906
sarah1906

My husband has been suffering with unbearable headaches for 15 years. Over the last few months they have become so much worse to the point that he is in a ball, crying in pain, he can't see, can't walk, he was ranting during one attack that he was going to take all of the tablets he could find. He has no memory of saying these things when the headache has eased. He tells me the headache is there constantly but gets worse really quickly. He usually wakes up with the headache although they sometimes come on during the day. They are usually at the sides of his head above his eyes but swaps sides and sometimes goes down his neck. He gets them everyday for a week then has a few days to a week then they start again. He has had a number of GPs all of which have said he doesn't need to be referred to a specialist it is migraines as if it was anything 'serious' we'd have known by now ie nOt a brain tumour. He has had many preventative medicines but none have helped. His latest GP has prescribed gabapentin which was prior to his last and worst attack so far. When we explained what happened she merely raised the dosage and gave imigran for pain relief. I just wondered if anyone has been prescribed gabapentin long term for migranes and if there are any long term side effects as I've heard there are a number namely vitamin B 12 deficiency, pulmonary problems, long and short term memory loss. I just wondered what people's experiences are?

1 like, 32 replies

32 Replies

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  • Rexington
    Rexington sarah1906

    Posted

    My comment isnt relevant to the use of gabapentin. Ive been on every other preventative migraine drug. Amitriptline and Sandomigran are the only two i have found to work. Amitrip helps me as it gives me a guaranteed good nights rest and it has reduced the severity of the pain. All with chronic headache i can assume find it draining and upsetting like me, so the antidepressant quality is a plus. Sandomigran reduces the frequency and intensity of my headaches. They both make you tired and both increase weight but being fat is better than a 24/7 headache every day. Im a radiographer, not a doctor. If you wanted to suggest exploring another possibility other than chronic migraine. While there may be no pathology such as a tumour causing the pain. There may still be a possiblity of benign intercranial hypotension. It can be picked up by certain MRI csf tests. Or a spinal tap...Treatment for intercranial pressure which is too high and is not caused by the presence of a tumour can be successfully treated by a drug called Diamox.
  • jennie37456
    jennie37456 sarah1906

    Posted

    Hi Sarah

    I have suffered with migraines for 20 years and have tried amitriptyline and atenalol in the past which have not helped as a preventative but for the past 3 years I have been taking 600mg of sodium valporate daily and it has given me my life back.  Unfortunatly my daughter of 17 has beed diagnosed with severe tension headaches and not a day had gone past in the last 10 weeks that she has been free of a severe headache, until today when i gave her 300mg of Gabapentin which my partner had some time ago and within an hour her pain had gone from a score of 10 out of 10 to 2 out of 10 and back to a happy go lucky kid she had been... not sure i done the right thing but waiting on a referal to see the neurologist is a bit of a joke!!

     

  • angela291164
    angela291164 sarah1906

    Posted

    I used abbapentin for nine months no side effects but of bsolutley no use to help with migraines waste of time try different medication
  • dai1968
    dai1968 sarah1906

    Posted

    hi i v been  prescribed gabapentin after being on nortryptaline for a year. been suffering with serveir neck pain and headackes for many years.iv found gabapentin very good and only been on them 2 weeks.instead of 5 days of headaches i onley get 1 day.iv also found that pouring cold water over my head then hot water do this 4 times and it does work. also biofreeze iv been using this for 15 years and its a real life saver for me
  • angela291164
    angela291164 sarah1906

    Posted

    I've had severe migraines and terrible headaches for 40 years and have tried everything triprans codeine amitriptyline topirimate imigran etc ten years without one day headache or migraine free no rumours just bad migraines after tests put on gabbapentin told take 12 -18 months to work lol no effect at all sorry waste of time they don't work cop out for GPS I'm now on botox every 14 weeks they bid in UK and still have headaches it two migraines a week but gel patches on forehead instead of painkillers 80 foodstuffs trigger mine so I know what not to eat ..use tap water decaf tea coffee pop etc and get a second opinion there is life beyond migraine ..No longer am I in bed for days on end frying in agony at the pain and no one understanding the pain ..hope you get help and glad you are supporting your hubby there is help out there just don't be robbed off with the east option ...best wishes !!
  • nadiakash
    nadiakash sarah1906

    Posted

    I have had wonderful results with Imitrex , it is the only thing that has helped and there is not any sude effects that impair my ability to drive or function. It is very expensive but i suggest trying it as i have had 26 days a month of migraines , waking up with them and some lasting 6 days. Good luck.NADIA ( Northern California)
  • me-109
    me-109 sarah1906

    Posted

    I'm a 79 yr old male that has had cluster headaches for 20 years, with some migraine charteristics, primarily duration of attack. I took lithium chromate and verapamil for years for a preventive, with mixed results. Maxalt, as an abortive, always works. In the last 2 years Gabapentin, 600 mg daily, has been added as a preventive, and it has made a wonderful difference. Frequency of headaches (almost daily) hasn't changed much, but severity has been cut to about half (3-5, rather than 7-9). Almost livable. Always thought of Gabapentin as abortive only. But not for me.

      Of course what has saved me is Maxalt going generic.

  • donna16938
    donna16938 sarah1906

    Posted

    Hi Sarah, my son gas been on gabapentin for 10 months now and he gets up with a headache and goes to bed with a headache.  This was all caused by banging his head one morning in July 2015.  He is very moody, has put on a lit of weight and he is very emotional. His dosage us 600 in the morning, 500 in the afternoon and 500 in the evening with a co-codamol.  He is a University graduate, lives computers and games and now sits all day just trying to get through the day as best he can but that isn't always that good.  My heart goes out to him as there is nothing I can do
  • teri39607
    teri39607 sarah1906

    Posted

    Been on gabapentin meloxicam and many others. I don't find they help. Sometimes I think Drs just use us as experiments for the drug. Gabapentin did help my neck pain some but I still get headaches and last month stopped taking Gabby and all the other coctails of meds. Will be trying Botox injections next month. You get them every 12 weeks and supposedly no side affects and also supposedly surprising good results at preventing frequeuncy of headache to none.. Feeling very hopeful for this new treatment. Looking forward to living a somewhat normal and painfree life. I usually research the drugs I'm given for side affects and what they help or don't help. I read in one med site that Gabpentin was a new street drug people seek to get high, though it never made me high to my knowledge, I just didn't see it working. Can also cause liver damage and other stupid health problems. If you can find something that doesn't cause other health issues.. go for it. That's why I'm willing to give the Botox a shot. No more pills, no side affects and supposed to be very affectinve in prevention. LOL.. I have responded to a few since I joined this morning. It may seem I'm pushing Botox. I am not, it's just that I am now 62 yrs. old and have suffered since I was 14, 15, or 16 yrs old EVERY DAY with migraine and have been on countless medications. None of them work for me.I refuse to be another statistic or experimental drug guinie pig any longer.
  • mohd88635
    mohd88635 sarah1906

    Posted

    HI,

    Same case with me been suffering from past 20years..finally consulted Nerologist 

    done CT SCAN BRAIN report was fine i was prescribed Topamac 25mg

    Since then feeling so well

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