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Is this gabapentin or underlying fatigue from pain??

Posted , 7 users are following.

bethia7
bethia7

Really need some advice from people who have been on Gabapentin!

I was on 600mg a day for a month, & had no side effects whatsoever, with my shooting pains completely dissapeared! (from very hypermobile hip joints that dislocate & move too much)

I thought it was a miracle drug and began doing things -bending, moving, lifting - that I had been in too ridgid pain to do for 2 years.

But after 4 weeks, I began feeling really tired and was struck with the worse fatigue I've had in my life, unable to get up & use the loo without collapaing into a tired heap.

All my blood tests were fine, I'm eating well, everything else is normal. I have been down from 2 pills a day, to one a day (300mg) for a week now and a bit better but still so tired.

Could it be the Gababpentin taking ages to kick in? Or what would be my underlying pain causing fatigued muscles etc?

Any advice welcome, thanks in advance.

Beth

0 likes, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • susan32309
    susan32309 bethia7

    Posted

    Hi Bethia - I was on Gabapentin for post surgical pain and it worked where nothing else did . . .  when I started reducing the doesage my pain came back and I found I couldn't sleep . . . my thinking would be that if it took 4 weeks for you to feel so tired while still taking Gabapentin it may be another factor, perhaps your muscles are tired from all the extra things you have been doing?  Hope you get to the bottom of this soon.
  • marshall71
    marshall71 bethia7

    Posted

    I take 9 X 300 mg a day so a high dose than yours I also take tramadol slow release for pain it's been a good drug for me side effects like every drug are not the same for every person been on it 9-11 months It takes more than 4 weeks too work as your body needs to get use too the drug it's not a Miracle drug no drugs are they help me cope with pain which is choroic I also take cream for my feet which has been Great some nights i sleep other night i don't get any at all

    The side effects since being on it have been

    Tiredness

    Blurred eyes

    Coldness

    Memory loss chronic

  • Holly1974
    Holly1974 bethia7

    Posted

    Hi there,

    Sorry to hear about your tiredness, it can be hard to function when so tired.  I have taken this drug to 1800mg a day, for a while, but discontinueed after 5 years as the memory loss was getting beyond ridulous, and at 40 feeling like I had Alzheimer's and feeling like being ridiculed I had had enough...so slowly withdrew...so pls , it is no miracle drug and if ypu notice anything like that mention to your dr straight away. I remember when I initially started on it as the pain clinic ecalated the dose about one month in I rang up and said ''no more'', they suggested I stuck on the same dose but didn't escalate for a couple of weeks. I just felt generally ''horrible'', hard to put finger on it, combination of nausea, tiredness, general malaise....I did escalate it it again eventually and got up 1800mg and it worked wonders for my low back / leg pain from 3 herniated discs.....it was not to last though. within 2 years of being on this drug I felt it was not working as effectively as in the beginning, there is some evidence my dr said for this. so in theory you would need t keep pushing dose up, don't go over 1800mg as side effects not worth it !!, to get same effect. same happens with many medications. 

    Like you say you may have jumped in too quick too soon re getting mobile if your muscles are not used to it, I know I am def. out of condition in last 2 years ! 

    Hope you work it out,

  • plushly
    plushly bethia7

    Posted

    I had to go off it primarily to the fatigue issues (along with  memory problems). The last straw was when I ran off the road in my car from microsleeps that I was powerless to deal with. So I started tapering of them straight away. As I drive a lot for my work, I could see that I would get myself killed eventually. I sometimes take it for a few weeks if I am on holiday and being alert is not that important - works as a holiday from the pain. As good as gabapentin and its cousin pregabilin are, for me it would mean stopping work if I was to keep taking them. I get by on slow release tramal and palexia. Everyone is different, but for me it was a double edged sword.
    • susan32309
      susan32309 plushly

      Posted

      Oh my goodness, that is serious.   I'm lucky I suppose in that the only time it made me that sleepy was when I was immediately post surgery and wasn't driving anyway . . .  I've tapered them down from 900 mg a day to 200 - 300 mg a day now and I try to keep them for later in the day when i find it just helps with the niggling pain that I get towards the end of the day . .  . I think I've developed a tolerance for the side effects of drowsiness . . . I find codiene makes me much more likely to fall asleep in the day . . . we all react differently I guess so its a case of working out what we can tolerate, or not.

       

  • elizabeth20203
    elizabeth20203 bethia7

    Posted

    Hello Bethia, I take aberpentin, i am on 900mg a day. I suffer some tiredness. You say your muscles ache, this sounds like you maybe doing to much too soon. If your body was ridgid as you say and then suddenly your aching. Try relaxing more and see if it eases. Do you know what blood tests you had?  If you can try gentle walking.

    Elizabeth. 

  • bethia7
    bethia7

    Posted

    Thanks so much for all your advice! It's amazing how these forums work, with so many helpful people out there.

    Elizabeth, they tested my blood for thing like thyroid problems, anemia, gluten intollerance & anything unusual I guess.

    I'm thankful it's nothing really serious, but its so horrid being 29 and having such bad hips apparently just from being hypermobile. I just want to understand my body & fix myself, but don't we all!

    Thanks for your responses, I have been pouring out half the powder and having half a dose (150mg) once a day- hobbling and aching but no shooting pain until about 20 hours afterwards. This pill is ingenious I can't believe how well it works when nothing else touched the sides. The tiredness is so bad I can't drive but at least the pain is lessened and now feeling more awake.

  • 1Warbonnet
    1Warbonnet bethia7

    Posted

    Bethia, have you started on a new prescription bottle of Gabapentin? My reason is I've been taking Gabapentin for 14 years and the past couple of weeks I've started feeling extremely tired, weak, stomach trouble, and my tongue and inside my lips feel tingly. I noticed this recent prescription had a chalky appearance to the pills. They've always had a smooth (non chalky) feel. I just called the pharmacist to see about swapping out this generic brand.
    • Holly1974
      Holly1974 1Warbonnet

      Posted

      I just saw your comment and wondered if you knew the difference between generic and branded medication of the same name. Whilst ultimatley the generic ( copy drug ) has the same active compound as the original branded version, the other non-active ingredients such as fillers etc can be different. Even then, if you tested for eg. 4 different generic versions of one medication, the level of active compound CAN vary, although it HAS to fall between two parameters on a graph to show acceptable efficacy. I just thought I'd let you know, as this would explain your concerns. I myself cannot take a certain generic brand of a nasal spray for hayfever as it irritates my skin badly, whereaas the original version no problem. I studied pharmacology to degree level and was told all this 20 years ago, and it will still be the same ! Hope this helps.
    • 1Warbonnet
      1Warbonnet Holly1974

      Posted

      I do know the difference between name brand versus generic, but not in as much detail as you provided. Thank you for that. Started out taking Neurontin before it had a generic, but when it became available I took the generic with no problem for years. This last prescription looked different when I opened the bottle (very powdery, like chalkboard chalk - left white powdery residue on my hand), but didn't think anything about it other than it looked different. The pharmacy had a different generic of Neurontin as well and refilled my prescription with the other one. Wasnt sure if the prior batch of Gabapentin was a bad batch or if I should stick with the latter drug company. Just refilled it last night so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. 😊
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