I'm only on 200mg per day for anxiety and have recall problems. I could likely live with that except I'm worried the issue will get worse and be permanant. Any experience out there with low dosage and memory issues?
Gabapentin - Does anyone experience memory loss and recall problems?
Question posted by Mlm31012 on 27 July 2015
Last updated on 7 May 2021 by pcastillo6260
The information on this page reflects personal experiences shared by our community members. It is not reviewed for medical accuracy and should not replace professional medical advice.
14 Answers
pcastillo6260
7 May 2021
I have been prescribed Gabapentin since 2005. I started with 300mg twice a day, but not long after it had to be increased to 600mg 3 times a day. Now, I have been, for the last 10 years, on 800 mg for 3 times a day. I have been experiencing all the same things that many of you have. I cannot remember words that I should remember. I went to college and had a great command of the English language, and now I feel stupid most often. I also drop things constantly, and I was not understanding why. Recently, my doctor gave me a Memory Drug for Dementia, a patch. But, it does not seem to be helping, or at least not that much. I feel like I am doomed, because without the Gabapentin, I am in extreme pain from my severe and terrible spine pain, especially my cervical spine or neck. But also my lower back, mid back, my diabetic neuropathy, I am even burdened with hip pain. So, I cannot stop taking it. I did reduce the amount that I take, as sometimes I skip the last dose.
I am tired of being stupid. I have great long term memory, but I cannot remember short term things. I even forgot to pay some bills at times, and I cbannot remember passwords, or much of anything. I am not happy with the fact that Gabapentin has control of me, and I need it, but now I cannot function well because of it. Does anyone know of another medication that is like Gabapentin, that will not give us Memory Loss or Dementia?
peachkitten1970
30 Oct 2019
I have been taking gabapentin for 4-5 yrs. I currently take between 1800-2700mg per day as well as 7 other medicines, collectively it amounts to over 32 tabs a day.
I didn't realize (until reading this), that it was the cause of memory loss (I've even forgotten my son's name), brain fog, dropping things, and bloating.
If I come off these, I would be pretty much bedridden with the pain. At least I can get out of bed and be there for my 13 year old son, who constantly fills in the blank words when I can't remember them.
I haven't been able to work for over 5yrs, but i make crafts as and when I'm able.
StyxNyx
31 Oct 2019
WoW! You take a lot more than I do and I have the same side effects as you do. My memory and balance have become my worse annoyances... and I'm dropping things more often too. I started taking 1200mgs in Jan. of 02, and am still taking the same amount. My memory started depleting about 4 months after taking Gabapentin. I take up to 1800mgs now but am trying to stay at 1200 for the most part because 1800mgs just increases my side effects. On days that my pain is worse, I'll take 1800. I was finally forced, {by chronic low back pain due to a work related injury}, to retire in 08. I worked until I could barely walk. I have a hard time remembering simple words all the time and it drives me CRAZY!! Best of luck to you. ❤
Dottie25
31 Aug 2019
Gabapentin is supposed to be used very short term. The dr kept refilling the rx for 18 months and I ended up feeling horrible. Really not meant to be a long term fix.
StyxNyx
31 Oct 2019
My orthopedic, back/spinal specialist, has had me on Gabapentin since the beginning of 2002... nearly 18 years. I don't feel horrible at all... except my memory has flown out the window and balance has gotten bad. But, other than that, it's still helping for my chronic pain.I still have pain but it makes it much less chronic.
StyxNyx
31 Oct 2019
Oh... and I take 1200 to 1800mgs a day.
Mrsweave
31 Aug 2019
I have been on 300mg and about 3 weeks in, I started noticing memory issues and just being out of it. It has caused me to have an at risk discussion with my boss. I forgot how to complete my regular job duties. Sadly my provider feels even though I am having memory issues; that increasing my dosage to 900- gradually - will help with my pain.
Does it get any better .
Tammy Moulton
28 Feb 2019
I have been on gabapentin for over 14 years 800mgs 3 times a day. I had some memory problems at first but have not had any problems with it otherwise. I also have never gained weight on it. It has really helped me with my nerve pain and I can really tell if I miss a dose. The spasms kick in big time. But everyone is different and we all react to drugs differently. And memory problems and memory loss is listed as one of the side effects of gabapentin. Once you stop taking this medication your memory should improve and your brain fog should start to lift. Good luck to you.
Nitro061
14 Dec 2018
Yes I did, many anti seizure medications will have this effect, Topamax was the worst.
Tee6759
13 Dec 2018
I can relate to all of you. I'm an oldie around here who's coming back. I was on 3200mg of Gabapentin a day. Doc said it was too much, so I tapered off. I restarted at 1200 a day, now back up to 1800 mg. I have to live with the fibro fog to deal with the pain. Short term memory is bothersome, but I will survive.
Seeking peace,
Tee
courtspark1960
13 Dec 2018
I am so glad I found everyone's comments here; I had begun to wonder if maybe I had had a small stroke or something due to the fogged cognition and bizarre memory problems I've been experiencing. I'm going to taper off the gabapentin and hope my cognitive functioning improves. I knew the detached, spacey, and scatterbrained way I've been feeling was probably the gabapentin, but it's the severe lack of recall, often in mid-sentence when talking that scares me. Thanks for sharing everyone.
SweetLuck
21 Nov 2017
I had to stop taking just 100mg because of serious brain fog. I took as much as 300mg a day for awhile but cut back to 100mg because of the brain fog. Even at that low of a dose I had to stop because of the cognitive issues. Makes me sad because it was helpful for me, helped my pain and insomnia.
jcook0113
1 Dec 2017
It helps with my insomnia also but my memory is so bad in afraid of having conversations because of forgetting what I'm saying or not being able to follow what they're saying. I take 200mg in the evenings
StyxNyx
21 May 2018
I totally understand you SweetLuck, I've been taking 1200 to 1800 mg of Gabapentin since 2002. It has really messed up my short term and the ability to hold a decent conversation because I can't remember words anymore... and often times, they're simple words that I've always used.
Mesclao treveces
31 Aug 2018
I too was in 100-200 mg daily for a month, and decided to stop when my feet/ankles/legsvbegan hurting more than ever coupled with brain fog, forgetfulness, and terrible sleep ! I've been off gabapentin for a couple weeks, and I still feel brain fog, and very forgetful... Anyone out there considering this drug, TURN THE OTHER WAY ! THIS DRUG MAY EXACERBATE YOUR CURRENT PAIN, AND ADD A WHOLE LOT OF OTHER SCARY SH*T !
WildcatVet
20 Nov 2017
Time on Gabapentin when people have Long-term memory loss *:
< 1 month: 43.04 %
1 - 6 months: 21.52 %
6 - 12 months: 18.57 %
1 - 2 years: 6.75 %
2 - 5 years: 3.8 %
5 - 10 years: 4.22 %
10+ years: 2.11 %
jcook0113
1 Dec 2017
How can it be that the longer you are on it the less chance you have of long term memory loss and where did this information come from?
WildcatVet
1 Dec 2017
Google eHealthMe and search "Gabapentin and Long-term memory loss - from FDA reports"
Sorry... we can't post direct links on this website...
jcook0113
1 Dec 2017
Ok. So that means if I keep taking it and take it for many years I have less chance of alzheimers than if I go ahead and stop it? I've only been taking a couple of months so according to that chart I'm at higher risk than those that have taken it for many years.
Almostacowgirl
3 Feb 2018
Psh, I totally think they have these numbers wrong! I was placed on Neurontin/Gabapentin in my early 20's to control seizures. After being on it for about 10 years, I went to my neurologist crying because I thought something was wrong with me. I used to have a memory so good, I could recall so many memories in my childhood and youth and had a pornographic memory.
I asked what could be wrong with me and was scared I was having early Alzheimer's, dementia or simething else! He told me it was from the Gabapentin. I asked if I'd ever get my memory back, and he said unfortunately not. I told him to take me off immediately.
Here I am 10 years later after stopping it and it's embarrassing when I run into old faces and friends who will talk about past times, and there I'll be standing with a deer in the headlights look on my face not remembering a darn thing!
I can't remember over half of my childhood or youth and many things up to my early 30's. Here I am, a 44 year old woman who can remember a few names and faces... but memories with them? PoOf! All gone! I used to remember to do things, appointments, projects I promised to help people with, to call someone, and now I have to always write notes, or have pop up's on my phone.
Though many doctors have tried to get me to take it four my nerve pain, I tell them that I refuse to EVER take that drug again!
So those #' s do NOT seem accurate! My neurologist basically said that any memories I had lost prior to being removed from that awful drug, will never come back!
Almostacowgirl
3 Feb 2018
Oh my gosh! Stupid auto correct! PHOTOGRAPHIC memory, NOT pornographic. I'm so sorry!
jcook0113
3 Feb 2018
Lol, I knew what you meant but I DID get a laugh out of it
Destined2Dream
26 Feb 2018
The percentages, once added together, equal 100%. Therefore, it should be read as EVERYONE in this study experienced long-term memory by 10+ years in. 43.04% experiences it less than 1 month into taking it... another 21.5% experiences it between 1 and 6 months into taking it, and so on. The likelihood of someone experiencing it does not go down over time, it increases. Add all the percentages listed prior to whatever category you are interested in to the percentage listed for that category and you have the percentage who experienced long-term memory loss by or before that time. I have been on Neurontin for nearly 4 years and I find it nearly impossible to carry on a conversation without needing to pause to come up with words and/or collect my thoughts. I get very sad, anxious and depressed over my memory loss and feel even more disabled now by memory loss than I was prior to taking Gabapentin and other psychiatric meds. The cons outweigh the pros and I want to get off this drug!
Destined2Dream
26 Feb 2018
That’s should read “EVERYONE in this study experienced long-term memory LOSS by 10+ years in.
StyxNyx
21 May 2018
This makes absolutely no sense at all. I first started taking Gabapentin in 2002, {1200 mg a day}, and had no problems with memory loss until about 3 years of taking it. My short term memory started going and has been getting worse throughout the years... certainly not better! To this day I still take 1200 to 1800 mg of Gabapentin a day. I can't remember one day to the next and often times, I can't even remember one second from the next but, yet, I can remember things, in great detail, that happened over 50 years ago. So, no, I totally don't agree with that percentage at all, it's totally backwards! Yep... FDA really knows it's stuff... NOT!
StyxNyx
21 May 2018
I don't really suffer with long term memory loss, just my short term has flown out the window since taking Gabapentin. Hope my long term doesn't go too, I like my childhood and stuff, would be a shame to lose it all.
brendamclain
16 Sep 2018
I was on 2400 mg of gabapentin and I was on it for 4 yrs. My memory is awful and I have been off of it for 4 mos and my memory is terrible. I found a product from Young Living called sulfurzyme and in two weeks it took away the excruciating pain in my back that I have suffered for 20 years.
cindy-59
14 Dec 2018
I’m sorry to say but these numbers are a crock of sh*t!
‘A person with an experience is never at the mercy of a person with an argument’
WildcatVet
14 Dec 2018
And you know this because you read comments in forums or because you read scientific journals?
noella snyder
20 Nov 2017
I have been on Gabapentin for 4 years & stated to notice about a year ago that mine was to , i was taking 1800 a day .My family & friends had noticed it but didn't want to say anything not knowing what i might say .I was even having a problem putting words together or friends would have to find the word by my describing it .I have only been off of it in a little over a month .like you i want to know if it will come back .Your symptoms seems to have come on quickly not like mine , would you be on anything else that could be causing this & i'm sure other DRs have mentioned it even to me '' it could be stressed ''.Anxiety can do many things ,even this .My husband has been battling anxiety for many many years & yes forgetfulness ,short & long term has been an issue .I see this was in 2015 & do hope you are better & have had a chance to find exactly if it is this MED that was causing this .All the best
StyxNyx
21 May 2018
Noella, same thing has happened to me. I started Gabapentin in Jan. of 2002, 1200 mg a day, and started having short term memory problems around 3 years later... maybe sooner but I can't remember. I am still on it to this day, between 1200 to 1800 mg a day. Memory is so poor and I often forget simple words... just as you said you do. It's extremely frustrating!! But, my pain and back spasms are greater than my short term memory is worth therefore, I continue taking them. I still have my long term memory, it's sharp as a tack! Ask me what happened 50+ years ago and I can pretty much tell you in detail but, ask me what happened yesterday and I haven't a clue. I get up to do something and within seconds, I've forgotten what I was going to do. Often times I can't remember things long enough to even write them down. I'll be half way done writing and forget what else I was going to write.
Sometimes if I go back to where I thought about something, it helps me to remember. Other than that, it's ridiculous! Short term memory loss IS one of the side effects of Gabapentin. For some people, it doesn't phase them and for other's, they can barely remember one minute from the next.
Mesclao treveces
31 Aug 2018
I was on it for a month & I would go from 100mg to 300 mg or midway at 200mg, and noticed my nerve pain got worse along with new foot, ankle, and leg pain. I was also in a crazy brain fog with forgetfulness not to mention fu@%ed up sleep! I've been off of it for a couple weeks and continue to have these issues... How long does this last after getting off this crap? I wish the Dr. would've told me about the potential issues ... When I try telling the Dr. I'm experiencing these issues all he says is "I don't understand how that's possible on such a low dose"... It's now confirmed (for me) that dr.s aren't as in the know as we would like them to be... Good luck everyone !
noella snyder
28 Feb 2019
I have stopped this MED over a year now and my memory is still bad if not worse ,at 1800 a day it will never come back .I saw this week that it is now an opiyod' sorry for the spelling ' . I am glad i'm off it but i was to late , i hope you stop Gabapentin as soon as you can .I have the pain & memory loss but would never go back on it .All the best and i pray that you may live a normal life without it .
jcook0113
5 Nov 2017
I'm about 2 years late on answering this but I only take 200 mg a day and my memory is so bad I'm worry all the time that I'm getting Alzheimers or that it will cause some kind of dementia. You asked your question in 2015 but maybe this will help someone else. I thought it was a problem with me because I'm only on 200 mg a day and other people are so much higher, so I'm hoping that it is just the gabapentin. I've been on it a little over a month to help with my insomnia along with Ambien. Ambien helps me fall asleep but doesn't keep me asleep so my psych. prescribed the gabapentin to help me sleep. I think it helped some but I dont like the side effects. I stay hungry all the time and my feet hurt and are tight from fluid build up. I'm gonna ask about stopping with the gabapentin
RyanSr
29 July 2015
I used to take it and too much can make you loopy stupid in the head, and after some time on it I too had trouble remembering things. I never used to have to write down my dr appointments before taking gabapentin, I was able to remember all my appointments easily
Inactive
12 Sep 2015
Do you (or anyone else) know if the memory loss( I have too), know what the long-term effects do to one's brain?
Is there a cut off time when one should discontinue Gabapentin because of
memory loss?
Thanks for any answers you might give me. Trish
noella snyder
20 Nov 2017
I was on this at 1800 mg a day for 4 years for pain but it only started about 1 year ago the same thing forgetfulness & i even write things down & double check it just to make sure i remembered it rite .I have only been off them SLOWLY not all at once [never]for over a month & am hoping things get back to normal for my memory.You should never take too many of any MEDS the affect would be real bad .It is strange that mine started after about 3 years on it & a few i saw on here it was not long on it , i hoped you mentioned it to your DR & would love to hear what he had to say .Good luck & take care of yourself .
Gaelle
27 July 2015
2 Jul 2015
Was put on Gabapentin for accute sciatica in January and suffered from terrible side effects: put on 10kg + horrendous brain fog (total memory loss in mid sentence!) :-( Nothing seemed to help until I discovered the MR! Lost over 12kg in 4 weeks and was able to stop that dreadful drug! The brain fog eventually totally disappeared since both the weight gain & brain fog are caused by the fact that Gabapentin affects the brain, hence why no exercise will make any difference! The only way forward I have found is the MR because it resets your metabolism. Get in touch if you would like more info! I have testimonial of other people on it, who all have lost their weight :-)
Mlm31012
27 July 2015
Thanks! What is MR?
Inactive
27 July 2015
Yes, what is MR?
Trish
Inactive
27 July 2015
P.S. I get short term memory loss.And lose my balance a lot.
Trish
Macbabe55
12 Sep 2015
magnetic resonance (MR)
patcee14
21 Aug 2018
I took gabapentin for 11 weeks, first for sciatica and then nerve pain in the shoulder. It is a powerful drug that has many side effects, but it is the best for pain. When you stop taking it, you go through several nights of insomnia and restlessness. Anxiety. You have to taper off. I gained almost 20 lbs. while on that drug, mostly water weight which went away after I stopped taking it. It caused grogginess and cognitive issues and I had to stay indoors most of the time I was on it. But it took care of the pain, which was severe.
Vmanson
11 Sep 2018
MRI is a diagnostic exam, not a treatment. Whatever they found on the MRI, they possibly treated. MRI's do not improve or cure conditions just like xrays or ultrasound do not.
brendamclain
16 Sep 2018
What is MR?
Related topics
anxiety, gabapentin, dosage, recall, memory
Further information
- Gabapentin uses and safety info
- Gabapentin prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Gabapentin (detailed)
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