It's funny to hear that some people say it doesn't need to build up. In my experience it does. My doctors have all said that it can take 1-2 weeks to have its full effect as well. And one thing they know is drugs and how they work. Since they are always eager to prescribe them.

Understand gabapentin is quirky. It can take 2-3 hours to kick in after taking it. And the higher the dosage you take of it the less amount of the medicine is absorbed by the body. This is why doctors often want to stop at around 1800 mg a day. Anything above that has as little as 33 percent efficacy.

It is also my experience that gabapentin can be more effective when cycled on and off. To be on it for a month and then to go off of it for a week or two and then to return to taking it, titering up again in low to higher dose seems to be a treatment option for some.

Unfortunately one of the side effects of gabapentin is actually neuropathy. For me the side effects are enough that I only take it once i get home from work because I want to be as clear headed as possible in the workplace and behind the wheel of my car ( I took Lyrica at a very low dose for a week onceand ended up in a car accident). Was a shared fault deal but still made me reassess that stuff. Gabapentin seems to allow me to sleep as I take a "gababomb" at night taking 900-1200 before bed and that basically is my daily dose in one shot. My experience is going much higher in dose than that doesn't really give any more relief but way more side effects.