Gabapentin Questions
 

Hi all,

I don't have the medical terminology for this, so bear with me:

Does Gabapentin work on an ongoing basis or is its efficacy time-dependent; in other words, if I take a dose in the morning, does it "wear off" as the day goes by? Should a dosage be distributed through the day . . . or does one morning does extend its release continually and evenly?

Also, wondered what dose folks were on?

Cheers
Paul

Generally--
 

--Gabapentin has a half life of somewhere between 4 and 8 hours, with considerable individual variation, at least partly because unlike most drugs it is not appreciably metabolized by the liver but excreted almost whole through the kidneys--one reason one needs good kidney function to use this or related drugs (such as Pregabalin).

Now, there is a more time released version of gabapentin--Gralise--that is formulated to last somewhat longer; a lot of people have reported trouble getting insurance companies to spring for it, though.

Gralise is appallingly expensive, and even though my insurance is paying for it, I considered going back to Gabapentin. I was on the max Gabapentin dose (1200mg 3x/day) and was having ups and downs during the day--I'd start feeling edgy if I missed my afternoon dose, for example. The max Gralise dose is 1800mg. I wonder now if I'd get better relief going back to the max dose of Gabapentin, but I appreciate that I don't have those ups and downs.

The other time-release version of Gapanetin that's available is Horizant. I haven't tried it, and I'm not finding info about dosing or prices. (But it's relatively new, so the pricing is very likely to be as high as Gralise.)

A pain doctor recommended Lyrica to me, and said that it hits the exact same receptors as Gabapentin does. It's used twice a day and isn't as expensive as Gralise. I've tried it--it was as effective for me (and caused weight gain). Many others on this board have found it to be effective (and haven't mentioned weight gain), so it's worth discussion with your doctor.

Gabapentin/Gralise/Horizant (and maybe Lyrica) are better absorbed when there's fatty food in the stomach. I tend to take mine on an empty stomach, but I'm thinking I should take it at least with a tablespoon of olive oil, if not with a meal. If you go with Gabapentin, it's also possible to take it more often than the standard 3x a day.

Good luck.

On the basis of the advice here--thanks to all--I am splitting my dose of gabapentin throughout the day, three times per day. Thanks Glenn and Nilram.

I've noticed that I am often worst while teaching late in the evening--at 7-9pm--and this might because I took my dose in the morning and by then it has worn off.

Useful info about extended release variants Nilram--new to me.

Cheers

Paul

There are 4 people on one side of my family with CRPS and we all take Gabapentin. Our doses vary wildly. Two take more than 2000mg a day. I take 600mg in the morning and 600 at night, which is, according to my doctor, a rather low dose for what we have. If the dose you're on isn't working, I am sure your doctor can increase it, if the med. is helping you.
I didn't like Gabapentin, or at least thought I didn't, so my doctor, over the course of a couple years, tried many of it's "cousin" type drugs on me (ones that would accomplish what Gabapentin did, but maybe not make me so sleepy). After trying many "cousin" meds which gave me other worse symptoms or just plain didn't work as well, I went back to Gabapentin and found a dose I could function with. My relatives can take a lot more of it than I. So, I established that it's the best (at least for all in my family) in that category, and that the dose is more based on what is needed, person to person, to accomplish the needed effect.
I hope my experience with this medication will help you some. My dad also took it when he had a specific bad injury, and he called it a lifesaver. He isn't taking it anymore, but raved about it when he took it.

I must be the only human alive that cannot take Gabapentin. I used to be able to. When I was first diagnosed (2005/2006) with MS I took roughly 600 mg a day. It made me light headed but other than that no terrible side effects. I stopped taking it around 2010 for reasons I can't remember other than simply not needing it anymore.

Fast forward to 2017. I was dx it again and had the most terrible reaction to it. I was loopy, talking like I was drunk. Couldn't form a cognitive sentence. I have no idea why I couldn't take it again.

I tried taking it just a couple of weeks ago and still couldn't take it. Same symptoms as 2017.

Why couldn't I take it a gain? I tried stopping other meds I was taking with it and it wasn't them. ??? Strange but I won't take it again.

I had terrible side effects from gabapentin, less so from lyrica, though still more than I felt was worth it. I don’t need to forget simple words, but that was gabapentin and lyrica slightly less effect on me.

I am part of the NYS medical marijuana program now abd while it is incredibly expensive, my family and I are clear about the benefits for me. I dropped lyrica and topamax and I am ever so slowly reducing my tramadol usage.

If need be I’d try lyrica again or its next stage analog, but I am happier now thanI have been in all the time leading up to the med change.

It was not just the mmj, but coming to terms with illness and also ceasing my endlessly beating myself up for being ill.

I know one thing though, the way gabapentin made me feel, I’d never try it again.