Gabapentin for Fibromyalgia User Reviews (Page 5)

• Emi...
• February 15, 2011

"I was prescribed gabapentin at 300 mg three times a day. After one week, I'm feeling some relief from my fibromyalgia pain. My upper arms, for example, used to hurt just raising them to brush my hair. That pain is gone. It does still hurt, though, to be pinched in one of the key areas for fibromyalgia pain, like near the elbow. I've only been on the medicine for 10 days and will stick with it to see if in time, all or more of the fibro pain disappears. As to side effects, dizziness and drowsiness are all I've experienced, and those symptoms are annoying, but I can live with them as long as the pain is gone. I've come to accept that to get rid of the pain, I'll have to deal with a couple of inconveniences."

• Jen...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 30, 2016

"I took gabapentin for 1 month. My Dr started me at 100mg X 2 @ bedtime. I slept great but had excess daytime sleepiness. The first week I felt really calm but had no pain relief. The next week, my mood began to go downhill and still no pain relief. Week 3, my mood became depressed, I began having increased anxiety, increased blood pressure to the point of pre-hypertension, hot flashes, memory problems, and feeling disoriented, still with no pain relief. Week 4, I got hit hard with a flare. I couldn't tell the difference between whether things had happened yesterday or last week, I was getting unusually angry, and I started having horrid back-to-back panic attacks. I discontinued without tapering down, and interestingly, my flare reduced in intensity."

• Thi...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 25, 2016

"I have taken this medicine several times for fibromyalgia and nerve pain. While I have found it helps my nerve pain a bit, that is offset by major brain fog. I feel paralyzed, unable to move, staring into space. It's really bad and makes me feel depressed. I already have brain fog and a poor memory with fibromyalgia, and this, even at low dosages, is unacceptable as it makes those problems much worse."

• Jil...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 8, 2017

"I was prescribed this medication by my PCP for my fibromyalgia in Feb 2016. I should have known something was wrong when I gained 7 pounds in about a week and a half, and I wasn't experiencing much pain relief. I continued to take it. The doses would need to be increased often, and I was up to 900 3 times a day. I took it for over a year and was taken off of it when Lyrica was started. Lyrica didn't work out due to adverse effects. I recently started this again, and I've gained 6 pounds in less than a week. I've been extremely hungry, so I've been eating more, even though I'm trying to lose weight. This medication has also made my pain and brain fog worse, and when you have fibromyalgia, you don't need that getting worse. Never again!"

• Jes...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 12, 2015

"I am a 22-year-old female. I have been on gabapentin for a few months now, and I am taking 600 mg three times a day (I just had my dose doubled), and it does help with some of the pain. I still have trouble with speech, motor function, pain in my joints and tissues, occasionally breathing, lifting anything over 15 pounds, chest pain, and issues holding myself up. This has been going on for two years, and it fluctuates from tolerable periods to barely able to get out of bed periods."

• din...
• May 1, 2015

"Chronic finger twitching. I use this drug for my fibromyalgia that attacks my face. I cry out in pain when the cycle lasts anywhere from 2-6 weeks. Even my hydrocodone doesn't work on my face. Gabapentin works great on taking the edge off. The only side effect I don't like is the chronic finger twitching."

• It...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 19, 2016

"I am on 900 mg a day for fibromyalgia. It used to work, but now it does nothing but make me fat and have dizziness. I am always light-headed. If I don't take it for a day, my body is stiff for a few days, worse than before I started taking it. Not cool! I am getting off it slowly. I will find a better way to deal with the pain. This medication is not for me!"

• luv...
• February 4, 2012

"Sadly, after over a year of severe pain, I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. PCP started me on gabapentin about 2-3 weeks ago. At first, I thought it was wonderful, as after 300 mg at bedtime, I was able to at least lay in bed without tossing and turning in constant pain, and during the days, I was able to feel nearly normal again. But for the past week, my pain seems to have come back with a vengeance, and now there are shooting pains in my legs and forearms mostly. Also experiencing some vision issues and some orbital eye pain. Maybe this is to be expected with fibro, it's all new to me."

• Azg...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• December 23, 2020

"I have had fibro for many years. I have tried everything under the sun with no results. Also, recently I have been diagnosed with spurs and degenerative issues in my shoulders and neck. Along with chronic fatigue, I can't seem to do what I want. In my mind, I see myself doing so many things I did in my past, but when it comes to trying to do them, I just can't. The constant pain never goes away. The only thing I take is Lyrica, which does not help with pain, but it does help with my feet. My doctor will not prescribe anything for pain. I feel, why would he not give me something? I am 63 years old, it's very disheartening."

• Saf...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 12, 2024

"For me, Gabapentin seems to take a long time to kick in and start helping with pain relief. I am currently on 600mg every 8 hours, and once it kicks in, I get an increased appetite. Then, usually, a massive wave of fatigue will hit me, and after that hits, I'm usually asleep within 10 minutes. It does make it hard to wake up. Sometimes, it will cause a minor headache, but that's just while it kicks in, it generally goes away within 15-20 minutes of it being fully kicked in."

• Cra...
• November 15, 2015

"Been on gabapentin now for 5 months for my fibromyalgia. I'm up to 2700 mg a day, and I can honestly say I have absolutely no relief whatsoever from this drug, and my pain seems to be getting worse. My sleeping is shocking, some weeks I'm lucky to have 15-18 hours a week. I have headaches, and my legs, arms, fingers, back, hips, and neck are in agony. It's 2 years since I've been diagnosed, plus the 8 months waiting for the diagnosis, and every drug I've had prescribed hasn't helped."

• Anonymous
• October 20, 2009

"People ask me if it works. All I know is that when I miss a few days, I feel awful. Within hours of getting my refill, I feel human again. I wish there was a drug that would give 100% pain relief, but that's not realistic. At least with this, I can function."

• jea...
• July 7, 2009

"I have only been taking gabapentin for a couple of months - fibromyalgia pain has gone from intense, sharp shooting pains to dull muscular aches in the same locations the sharp shooting pains always occurred. This is somewhat bearable. What I find great is the energy and ability to do things I haven't been able to do since 1998 when I was first diagnosed. It has also helped a little bit with hot flashes and stress incontinence."

• Coo...
• January 20, 2016

"At first, I thought the gabapentin was going to work for my fibromyalgia, but after about a week, I began experiencing headaches from nowhere! Same with amitriptyline, Savella, Lyrica, and Cymbalta. I am sensitive to and get migraines from every medication that is used to treat the pain of fibromyalgia."

• Ang...
• November 20, 2015

"I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia a little over a month ago. I originally went in to see my rheumatologist to check up on my RA. My doctor prescribed me the 100 mg gabapentin. At first, I had absolutely no problems with taking it besides the fact that it didn't help with any pain or muscle/joint tenderness/weakness. Now, after a little over a month of taking it, I have been experiencing a lot of chest pain/tenderness and pressure, like it's tight. It makes it feel so hard to breathe, making the tightness worse. I have gained about 5-6 pounds, and my stomach has never felt so bloated and ridiculously uncomfortable. I've also been staying up all hours of the night because when I take this medicine, I can't sleep."

• Chr...
• March 29, 2017

"Recently diagnosed and put on this ~ has helped considerably. I know from my doctor that nothing will be 100% helpful, so with that in mind, I feel it has taken me from being unable to do anything to giving me a few hours a day to function (cook, laundry, pay bills, etc.), which was more than I had and gives me hope. I take the time-released formula (300 mg)."

• RTa...
• March 29, 2021

"I have had fibromyalgia for two years and started taking gabapentin about 6 months ago. My pain and weakness have been increasing while taking 2400 mg, and I had to stop studying because I can't remember anything and have a hard time remembering words. I feel that I am not myself."

• Jus...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 15, 2021

"I have been suffering from fibro for years, along with having MS. I started experiencing pain in my left flank that radiates from between my breasts around to the middle of my back. I thought it was implant illness (and it could be). I have been in bed for years because the pain in my legs, elbows, and back has gotten so bad I literally cannot function, and I can't stay awake. I started Gabapentin 2 days ago, and wow, I have been up and out of my bed!! The doctor said to take it at night, but no way... it would keep me up with the energy I have. Not only that, I haven't taken my opioid pain meds all day because I have no pain. I hope this medicine is the answer to my prayers and will allow me to live my life out of bed."

• Luc...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 25, 2016

"I have fibromyalgia, severe muscle pain from a twisted spine/congenitally deformed vertebrae. I was getting better with yoga, but hurt my back/rib muscles overdoing. I developed depression on gabapentin after a few weeks. At first, it dulled the pain and made me feel lightheaded, and I had memory problems. Then my anxiety increased and the pain continued, and I hit a real low. I spent two weeks in a psych ward until a brilliant psych nurse who believed in treating muscle pain. I am now recovering on a mix of robaxin, a muscle relaxer, a low dose of valium for rib spasms, and Prozac and Remeron (for sleep) and hope to get off all of them once I can exercise again. Similar reaction to Lyrica four years ago."

• Rus...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 2, 2012

"Side effect of cluster headaches. Gets worse if I don't stick to every 8 hrs dosage. I'm frustrated because one neurologist and my pop are treating me for nerve damage, but another neurologist says my pain is muscular. He can't explain why I have tingling in my arms and legs. I was considering tapering off the gabapentin (3x 300 mg) based on the 2nd neurologist, but the pain is unbearable."

• Sop...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 3, 2015

"I started feeling deep hot bone pain about 3 months ago, and it got worse and worse. My boyfriend took me to a rheumatologist. All she did was touch my body at certain points. I said, 'Oh, that feels good,' and right away she knew it was fibromyalgia. My dosage has been raised 3 times, and I'm now taking 800mg 3x a day. Then I read it causes weight gain (gasp). I wish I didn't read that part, but overall, today the fog is lifting, and I have little pain here and there, but I take Subutex for that. I am also on dextroamphetamine for the chronic fatigue, and it helps a lot. Besides, I've been diagnosed with ADHD."

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 28, 2019

"Gabapentin doesn't do anything for me at all. I was prescribed Gaba 100 mg at first for nerve pain in my legs I started experiencing after surgery. My doctor said Gaba should help and diagnosed me with fibromyalgia at the time. She said for me to get into a neurologist and see what was going on. I took it as directed for a month, and it never helped one bit. She then raised it to 300 mg, and still nothing. I just stopped taking it because it didn't do anything. I just went to a spine specialist and was prescribed Gaba 300 mg again. Once again, nothing. It doesn't do anything for me at all. I'm also taking Ultram, and it isn't helping. I have another appointment in a month to get surgery done for my ruptured disc. I guess he put me on both meds to handle the pain until then. I still have to get into a neurologist for the nerve pain issues that I've had since my last surgery. I had to put that on hold because of my back issue."

• Blu...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 8, 2014

"I have been taking Neurontin for about 3 months now for fibromyalgia pain. I am now on 600 mg 3X/day. I have not noticed any significant change in pain levels. The pain I have that is the constant daily pain may be slightly better, but the flares I experience have not improved at all. I experience a lot of fatigue with the fibro, but the Neurontin is making me so sleepy I can hardly accomplish anything during the day."

• Pam...
• March 29, 2017

"I had the best results in relieving the pain with gabapentin. I was able to work through the other symptoms. The etodolac helped with the inflammation. I was doing well until the muscle spasms started again. I suspect the mold allergies exacerbated the symptoms. So, cyclobenzaprine was added. I don't know what happened, but I was jobless, homeless, and very sick by the time a CVS pharmacist recognized the V.A. had put me on another toxic prescription drug cocktail. When I brought it to the V.A.'s attention, as usual, it was ignored. The medications that help are the ones the V.A. will not prescribe to veterans like myself. They say speak up, if you do, expect to be classified as mentally ill, violent, aggressive, involuntarily committed."

• Tgr...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 2, 2017

"The nerves in my legs are aching, and so is my back. Doctor put me on gabapentin. I took one pill that night and had nightmares all night, then, the next day, I was a zombie. I could not make any decisions at all, and my head was ready to explode. Also, I started getting hot spots on my hand, foot, and arm. I cannot and will not recommend this medication to anyone! Call the doctor, he told me to not take it anymore!"