Started Gabapentin :(
 

I saw my Neuro doc last week and he wants me to take Gabapentin. I asked about other things and he thought this was the best(/only?) thing for me. I'm going in for a blood test to rule out the things I know I don't have (because it was caused by a burn). But since it's a lawsuit thing, I have to do what the doc says for fear of it messing with the lawsuit. Not happy about having to take more pills, and a LOT of them.

Doc has me increasing by 100mg every 4 days. The first night I slept 11 hrs (but that's not unlike me, if I get the chance to actually sleep). I felt kind of out of it the next day, but not horribly so.

I've noticed that I'm hungry, but I'm not sure if that's me or the pill. But the past couple days I just could not wait for lunch (I don't normally eat breakfast). Last night when my husband took his friend home, I asked him to bring me back a donut. I do not want to gain weight, I'm already a few pounds more than I'm comfortable with. I need to remember to have more protein snacks at home and actually eat them. Is this normal? Will it go away or get worse?

The amount the doc wants me to take, eventually, seems like a lot of meds. Three times a day?!?! I have a hard time remembering to take my antidepressant, much less multiple pills many times in a day. Is this normal? I thought I read many people on the forum end up only taking theirs at night. How much do you need to make it work?

Gabapentin is a firstline treatment for PN, despite studies that claim it only works for a minority (~1/3) of patients. Many think Lyrica works better, but since Lyrica is still under patent (and hence more expensive), the less expensive gabapentin is often/usually tried first.

Weight gain due to increased appetite is a common side effect of gabapentin. This may or may not lessen with time; there is no way to predict, as everyone responds differently. If you find any side effects to be intolerable, IMO, you should contact your doctor to discuss a possible change in dosage or medication.

Doctors prescribe dosages based on information provided by drug companies, studies, and their own experience treating patients. Still, they may not be appropriate for every patient. In my own & wife's experiences with gabapentin, and those of some others I have met, I personally believe that the recommended dosage may be more than needed for some people. Some patients may be able to benefit from much lower than recommended dosages. If the gabapentin is controlling your pain at a lower dosage, I would talk to your doctor about using, or reducing to, that lower dosage and forgoing any further increases unless/until needed. This is something that needs to be discussed between individual doctors and patients (we're all just peers on the internet).

Doc

I took Gabapntin for four years and always felt there were side effects. I was always tired, I 'lost' my words during conversations, I forgot things and generally felt lethargic. I changed in January to Lyrica and I am a different person, I can actually speak clearly again and am not as tired.
Don't get me wrong Gabapentin does it's job but if you can get your doc to prescribe Lyrica it's much better( well for me) and you don't have to take as many of them.
Good luck with whatever meds you take, what works for one person doesn't work for someone else... X

I'm in my eight year of gabapentin, when I first started it I weighed 115lbs-too thin so I enjoyed the subtle weight gain. Then I went to Lyrica and went to 160. No amount of workouts or meal plan could get me past 150lbs., I was stuck there.
I did alot of research and finally made peace with the idea of spinal cord stimulator, had my one week trial put in today, very sore where the leads went in to where they end. That aside, no neuropathy burning, still playing with my settings but I think this is the ticket to get me back to wearing shoes and even taking walks. Will keep you posted

I'd like a little more info on the stimulator. I'm maxed out on lyrica and gabapentin. Add Vicodin at night time.
Let us know how it works!

There's a sub-forum on spinal cord stimulators (SCS) and pain pumps here:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum118.html

Doc

I have been on Gabapentin for 9 months now. I started at 900mg/day and now I am up at 1200mg/day. Like you, as much as possible, I dont want to take any more medicines, but there are times when we just have to take the bitter pill. For some, Gabapentin does not work. But for me, when I miss my dosage, I notice that my symptoms are worse.

The side effects of the medicine for me is sleepiness and brain fog. I used to have a sharp memory but now, everytime I want to do something, either I do it immediately or I write it in a piece of paper. It happens to me very often when I could not finish my sentence. In fact, my husband would subtlety finish the sentence for me when he knows that I am at a lose.

Those side effects are nasty, but so is the pain.
Besides maxed out on Lyrica, I'm taking 600 mg. gabapentin, 3x.

Thanks, I have to look info this.

I have not tried Lyrica. My neurologist wanted to replace Gabapentin with Lyrica (Gaba was prescribed by a previous neuro) because he said its a medicine approved by FDA for neuropathy. However, I had difficulty when I started on Gabapentin, example - negative thoughts. It was scary. But I got over it and knowing that Lyrica has also that kind of side ef fect, I did not want to undergo the same thing again. Besides, Gabapentin has been in hte market for years and more or less (in my mind) most side effects, if not all, have already been reported and documented. All things being equal, I always follow the first rule in taking new medication, take the one which has been in the market for many years.