Hello i have been diagnosed with 3 herniated discs and spinal stenosis. I have lived with the pain for 6 years. Finally went to neurosurgeon had a spinal shot of steroids that didn't help much. So he started me on gabapentin. I have been on it for 4 weeks now it is doing a great job for the pain but the feelings i have with it is becoming not so good. I am now having diarrhea every day, i'm feeling more dizzy and feeling faint. I found this forum and hope to learn a few things more about this drug and the side affects.

Hello & welcome,

Did the dr suggest any PT to see if that might be helpful?

We do have a medications forum as well as Spinal forum, you might want to explore both of those for more information.

Meds -
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum72.html

Spinal -
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum22.html

Hi Rose, Welcome.

First, I'm glad that the gabapentin is addressing your pain.

You may actually find more information about gabapentin in the Peripheral Neuropathy forum, as many members here with that condition are on it. There is some information about it here.

IMO it would be prudent to notify your doctor about these "feelings" and side effects asap. Some people are prescribed the medication Lyrica (pregabalin), which is similar to gabapentin but better tolerated.

Best wishes,

Doc

Hi,

I am glad the gabapentin is helping you with pain. I take for short stints when I have neuralgia, and have used it for other purposes as well. I mostly only get grogginess from it when I first start treatment. I've heard from different people who have quite diverse side effects, however.

Please, call your doctor immediately about the symptoms you are having.

Daily diarrhea can lead to dehydration and absolutely must be addressed by a doctor. Between now and then, take fluids, but not just water. You need to replenish minerals also. Broth with potato cooked in it (consume both broth and potato) is good for sodium and potassium. Bananas have both potassium and magnesium and are often well tolerated. I'd not use corrective supplements except under medical advice.

Feeling faint and dizzy could possibly be from weakness, if you are already dehydrated... but it could also be an independent side effect. Either way, these also need to be addressed though.

Take care... I hope the doctor can adjust your dosage or change you to something that helps without the side effects.

waves