If anyone else is taking neurontin for nerve pain, can you tell me what your experience has been?
Question posted by Zombievickers on 10 Nov 2012
Last updated on 20 March 2025
... like? Beside the effects on your nerves, what are the effects on your body and mind?
My physician prescribed it to me yesterday for nerve pain from an injury. I took it last night and I was high as a kite. I had a hard time with my balance and vision. This morning I almost felt as though I had a hangover. I have a VERY high drug tolerance and metabolize them at a quick rate so I'm wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience
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35 Answers Page 2
ST
stlgal55
2 Oct 2015
I was just given a new dose of this medication and yes it makes you feel loopy but it also relives the pain from nevre damage in my lower back and down my leg it just takes some getting used to
Votes: +0
RI
Richard 001
17 July 2015
I'm taking 2400 mg a day now of gabapentin right now for nerve damage and it used to work well at 1200 mg, then it didn't, so it was increased to 1800 mg for a few months. Now I'm taking 600 mg four times a day and it isn't working. My insurance is having a conniption over this as my pain specialist has prescribed 5 % lidocaine ointment which my insurance is saying no to, so now we have to appeal this decision and if not then we can go for the 5% lidocaine patches, meanwhile I am doing all the suffering and have been for a period of time of 19 months now. So much for Obamacare, because the facts are he doesn't care about our, the peoples health, at all. If Gapapentin works for you, great, but the drawback is it doesn't work that well for me, your efforts to rid your self of this kind of pain is worth trying, so don't be discouraged. I just don't want to keep on upping the dose every few 4 to 8 weeks, as thats where I would end up anyway.
I hear all these statements about how Gabapentin makes them feel hung over, and at no time have I ever noticed such an effects. You have to work up to the size of dose I am taking, but no Gaba doesn't get you high, if it does then you must be fly weight, because it does nothing for me, now it's not really any good for my pain.
Votes: +0
RI
Richard 001
17 July 2015
I forgot to say Lyrica is far better then Gabapentin because I tried it for three days and my insurance cut me off. Too expensive. So my neurologist put me on Gabapentin, and he did so without doing a nerve conduction study, which my pain specialist will do next month, and frankly my pain doc is better then the other 7 of 8 doctors that have worked on my issues with this incredible burning pain that never really quite goes away EVER! For those who don't have this nerve damage, it is living hell, there is nothing that can really just stop it or describe it.
AL
Aliases
5 July 2015
These are not the affects of being "high" dizzyness is just a side affect. However I have been really shake and nervous from it and had some insane dreams latley . Also not the possible depression side affect. Be careful taking these Doctor will tell you that you can actually take alot but if you don't increase the dose gradually the side affects will hot you hard.
Votes: +1
AP
april157
14 Jan 2015
My doctor prescribed 600mg for nerve pain. The first time I took it I felt high also and my hand was shaking. Call doc and was told i did not eat enough food.I ate a little more food I felt better. And after taking two or three doses it didn't make me drowsy anymore. It is not dulling pain .I need a different medication
Votes: +0
TE
teddy da bear
7 Jan 2015
i was just put on this a week ago but it was not working at twice a day 100 mg my doctor doubled it to two in the morning two at night this for nerve damage repair i was told the doubling works no pain i feel great no ill side effects at all.
Votes: +0
AM
AmrDalton
23 Nov 2014
My pain management doctor started me out on neurontin a little over a year ago for damaged sciatic nerve pain from degenerated and herniated discs in my lower back. I started with one 300 mg capsule a day then slowly increased over the next 3 days to taking 3 300 mg capsules a day. At first I had similar effects, dizziness, trouble speaking and remembering, involuntarily eye movement, balance issues, even muscle twitches, basically every side effect listed on the literature that came with the prescription. But after about two weeks, maybe less, I began to get used to the medicine and the side effects slowly diminished. Now they are barely noticeable. Keep at it, it will get better. I have since gone up to 4 300 mg capsules a day. It has been a miracle for me! As bad as my back pain is, my nerve pain down my legs was beginning to overshadow that. Now I just deal mainly with back, I hardly have issues with my legs now.
Votes: +0
BO
Boonshorty0406
3 July 2017
I barely got on the medication 300mg 3 times a day, and I feel all them side effects plus it feels like I took a dose of niacin. It's so weird for me, I do hope it feels or gets better
HO
Hourglass
21 Nov 2014
I take 3800mg a day of Gabapentine/Neurotin for CRPS and Post Herpetic Neuropathy. What you're expirencing is normal. You build tolerance. I spent the first two weeks on it at 1800mg in a virtual coma sleeping 12-15hrs a day! What you're expirencing is complety normal. Hope you get relief!
Votes: +0
BO
Boovy
18 Sep 2014
My Dr. started me on 100 mg. 3 X daily. I took it for 2 months. It did work for me however the only side effect I had was weight gain and I look like I was the Michllen Man. I've now been put on 50 mg. a day of Topamax. Dr. Said it works for nerve pain and can actually make you lose weight. My pain Dr. also wants to put a nerve pulse generator in my back. Not to sure about that yet.
Votes: +0
VO
voxhumana
8 Dec 2014
How is the Topomax? Also, try a TENS unit stimulator for pain before undergoing the implant. See if it helps. You need a prescription and a PT can instruct you. They are very portable, about the size of a pack of cigarettes. When I travel, sitting for hours on a plane or sleeping in an uncomfortable bed, it has done wonders for me. I just started on Gabapentin and it too makes me feel drunk or slightly dizzy. But last night was the first good night sleep I've had in quite a long time.
TO
tommy21962
22 July 2014
I have taken Neurontin (Gabapentin) for the past ten years or so. I currently take 600mg tablet's. I take 2 pills in the morning 2 in the afternoon and 3 at bedtime. It help's with the forking in my side's. It drove me crazy and on day's the forking is unbelievable,( if I do not take medication). I also take other medications to help curb the pain for my TM.
Votes: +0
KE
KeKohl
29 Sep 2017
Seems like a very very high dose
CA
CarrieV64
22 May 2014
I was prescribed Neurontin/Gabapentin at 300mg 3x's a day on May 14, 2014. My experience besides the dizzy, drunk, hangover feeling has been sleeping anywhere from 16-20hrs per 24hr period. This is NOT normal for me, I usually sleep 4-6hrs per night. I am also finding it hard to accomplish anything and have a "foggy" head most of my awake time. I also have an extremely high tolerance for pain and most other medications. So to me, something is not right; although I am completely pain free, I feel a lower dose may be in order.
Votes: +0
ST
Stiff Steph
27 April 2013
I take that drug too, I haven't noticed a differance with it, I don't know what it's supposed to do, I should ask my pharmacist about it. I have dizziness when I bend over or just turning around to look behind me. I don't know if it causes dizziness but I sure feel like I am having more problems with dizziness with the medications I take than I did when I was a teen and not taking any medications.
Votes: +0
PA
pain03
26 Oct 2015
I was getting a limited result from taking the Gabapentin; but I started taking it at night with two Tylenol and it does wonders for me. I sleep better and feel great for most of the day. I don't take anything else until night time again.
MA
MacIntosh12
16 Nov 2012
Hi Zombievickers, Like Lyrica, Neurontin (or Gabapentin) can cause that high as a kite feeling. Unpleasant, for most of us, to say the least. I had some pain relief (Fibro), accent on the word "some". It did not give me that high feeling, yet Lyrica, most assuredly, did cause that side effect. I also had some major cognitive issues with Gabapentin, such as hunting for the correct word, which I found incredibly embarrassing. Memory issues were one of the most annoying side effect. I would forget why I had gone into a particular room in my home and thought I'd early onset dementia! It's kind of funny, really, yet when I look back at it, the memory loss was quite alarming. Gab can be a lifesaver for some people, and I suspect you may be one of those people. Give it a shot, you may really find great pain relief from this medication! Best wishes to you ZV, Mac
Votes: +2
OL
Oldriska
12 Nov 2012
I was taking Neurontin (900mg/day) for trigeminal neuralgia. I did not tolerate the drug, I was drowsy most of the time, depressed and it did nothing for my pain, in fact, I think it made my pain worse. However, other people with trigeminal neuralgia (nerve pain in the face) seem to tolerate Neurontin better than other anticonvulsants, and they get relief using this medication. Everyone's body chemistry is different and so is our reaction to medication, I believe. Oldriska
Votes: +1
CE
C.E.
12 Nov 2012
I hope you will find the right dosage or different medication.
I took your medication before, and it didn't help at all. I switched to a B-6 supplement (100 mg) which did help.
Our systems can be so different. Best wishes in finding the right med or supplement, and dosage! C.E.
Votes: +1
CE
C.E.
12 Nov 2012
If you haven't done so already, you may want to read all of the possible side affects for this medication to see if you are possibly having more symptoms than first thought.
2S
2super2
11 Nov 2012
did it help you for what you needed it for. I was prescribed it in the past and I took it for a few months and it did nothing for me. I also had no side effects. Maybe your response from using it might have been beacause you mixed it with an other drug.if it works for your pain hopefully you can get use to it.