Gabapentin and Brain Fog: What Users Say (Page 3)

• Zwi...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 17, 2019

For Pain "The gabapentin did help with my nerve pain, however, the side effects were not worth it. For six months, I was in a mental fog, forgetting everything. I demanded to be off of it since the side effects were outweighing the pain. I also had increased hunger as well. I'm now trying other options that do not block the happy chemicals of the brain."

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

For Fibromyalgia "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."

• min...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 2, 2019

For Pain "Very effective on nerve pain in my leg due to having 28 surgeries. It does not affect the other pains present in my leg (i.e., muscle, tendon, ligaments, numbness), but I noticed a huge impact on my nerve pain. I do not think it will help you much for pain unless your pain is nerve-related. My only negative long-lasting effects were weight gain and slow metabolism. The other negative effects went away after 6 months (i.e., blurry vision, dizziness, brain fog, difficulty waking up)."

• Tay...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 29, 2022

For Insomnia "For me, taking 100 mg of gabapentin at bedtime has enabled me to get a good night’s sleep. It was the medicine of last resort to help with insomnia. Other meds would result in dry eyes and/or brain fog."

• Jen...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 31, 2018

For Pain "I was on gabapentin (2700 mg/day) for not quite a year, due to post-stroke nerve pain. Gabapentin made me lethargic and foggy-headed, but did not alleviate any pain. Tramadol did not alleviate any pain either. Neither gabapentin nor tramadol proved to be beneficial for me."

• Dis...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 19, 2018

For Insomnia "I have a long chronic pain history. Degenerative disk disease among other problems. I've been taking Neurontin 600 mg, and after the first three days, I'm now wide awake through most of the night. Maybe getting 4 hrs of sleep in the early morning hours, and my pain has not changed. I wake up feeling a fog, and I stumble around, my eyes can't focus...not sure what to do at this point..."

• Don...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 29, 2017

For Restless Legs Syndrome "My many years of RLS stopped immediately with gabapentin. I'm not crazy about the side effects (I feel like a dizzy zombie). Was prescribed for back pain, hasn't helped that at all, but OMG, a good night's sleep every night for the few weeks since I started taking it. 300 mg, 3 times a day. Probably needs to be much higher for the back/nerve pain."

• Bog...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 24, 2023

For Insomnia "I have been taking gabapentin for a while. I started taking it before bed at 11 pm and would wake up twice a night. In the morning, I feel really bad and dizzy and can hardly stand the whole day until evening. It just makes you feel awful all day. I take it every 8 to 10 hours a day but am going to try to wean off it. I don't want to be like this for the rest of my life. It does help a lot for restless leg syndrome. Just don't want to feel like a zombie all day. So glad I don't work anymore. I wouldn't make it."

• Gre...
• March 22, 2016

For Neuropathic Pain "I started on 100 mg at night for about 1 week. Then increased to 300, 600, and finally in about a month, I was up to 1200 mg a day in increments of three. For the first 6 weeks, you are tired, but it's worth it, as soon as it kicks in, your pain is gone! I feel a little loopy some days, and I forget a lot of things, but my arthritis and bulging discs are pain-free, and I can live a great life. I dread getting off of it, though. It's going to be hell. If I ever run out, it's bad diarrhea and anxiety. Don't run out or take more than you're prescribed. Gab is a great drug for nerve pain, and I have no anxiety."

• HLC...
• June 26, 2015

For Bipolar Disorder "I just started 400 mg a day. It's only day two, but my first night sleep was amazing, the deepest sleep I've ever had. Woke up groggy and not feeling up to much, but I got better through the day, and now I've read comments saying other people felt loopy and groggy the first couple of weeks, so I hope it does even out."

• Elb...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• December 15, 2017

For Anxiety "Tried a bunch of different meds for PTSD, and none seemed to work except for the few hours Xanax may allow you. When I started GABA, I was a bit loopy in the beginning, and it was a bit weird. After a couple of weeks, it went away and my anxiety went way down, it also seems to be most effective for 8-12 hrs. I take one 300 mg in the morning and one in the latter afternoon. I can see why it might not work for everyone, as this is the only one that has worked for me. You have to give it a bit of time, and at least for me, the only side effect is lower anxiety."

• Nan...
• May 15, 2017

For Fibromyalgia "My doctor put me on 300 mg Gabapentin three times a day, did not help the chronic pain, made me feel extremely dizzy and unable to focus. He then increased the 300 mg capsule/1 three times a day. Even after I told him of the debilitating side effects, he then increased it to 2 capsules three times a day, and now I suffer from severe nausea daily. It's as if he has poor listening skills. Why he gave me that when I knew it would not work for fibromyalgia, but increased the chronic fatigue greatly."

• Sar...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 13, 2023

For Trigeminal Neuralgia "I have had trigeminal neuralgia on and off for about 8 years now. The pain would normally come on slowly, and I would usually use Allegron, which did completely get rid of the pain but took weeks to start working. The last time I had TN, it came on very quickly, and the Allegron was too slow to start working, so I got to the point where I could not eat, talk, walk, or do facial expressions without extreme constant pain. I went to emergency, and they prescribed me Gabapentin, and within 3.5 days on 300 mg, my pain was reduced by 90% - couldn't believe how fast it worked (I thought all the drugs took a long time to work). The pain did start to get worse after a week, so I am now on 600 mg, but I think I will have to increase it again to 900 mg soon. But I highly recommend it - although the Allegron was very good as well, the time it took to start working was too slow. I did get a bit of dizziness, but only when laying down. I had a small amount of brain fog but no other side effects so far."

• Alp...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 9, 2019

For Restless Legs Syndrome "I've had issues with RLS and chronic insomnia since I was 4, until finally a (new) doctor many decades later put me on Ambien as part of my depression treatment regimen. I still had RLS from time to time but would take my Ambien (and years later, an earlier dose of Klonopin for anxiety) and it didn't matter. Fast forward many years and kids later, after a cervical disk injury, I was put on gabapentin (later, Gralise) for nerve pain. It didn't occur to me that my RLS had faded away too, until I phased out the Gralise because of the side effects and my RLS came back with a vengeance. I've restarted a smaller dose of Gralise and it has helped tremendously. Be forewarned-on high doses of gaba (about 1200 mg 3x/d or 1800 mg Gralise 1/d), I had weight gain, bloating, forgetfulness, psychological numbness/foggy thinking. Still, it was worth it for the nerve pain. For RLS, gabapentin is shorter-acting, so try to be on the lowest dose possible. Gralise is a long-acting version."

• Mor...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 12, 2021

For Anxiety "I'm currently taking Neurontin for my anxiety. I take 600 mg 3 times a day, and it's really been helping me at work during the day. The only thing is at night, I get a slight headache, and I feel kind of spaced out. Other than that, I'd rather take Neurontin than be dependent on Xanax like I used to be."

• Te ...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• December 19, 2017

For Pain "I broke my wrist a year ago. It was bad, both wrist bones displaced! This was caused by my abuser pushing me as hard as he could. Anyway, it was, as now, the holidays, so I had to be in a cast a total of 10 weeks. After months of therapy and continuous pain, I was sent to a pain specialist. He prescribed gabapentin and tramadol. I could not stomach the tramadol but found the gabapentin did help with the dead aching feeling I was left with and still do in my arm and wrist. I would like to stop taking it, but if I go too long, the pain is unbearable. I feel the loss of memory, lethargic, lost, foggy feelings taking it though, and I hate it! And the depression! I don't know what to do.. Many specialists, ??"

• Ath...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• April 11, 2021

For Peripheral Neuropathy "Gabapentin has been a lifesaver for me. I have antimag (anti-myelin-associated glycoprotein) neuropathy and paresthesia. Life would be too much of a struggle if it were not for this drug. I get constant tingling from feet to thighs and fingertips to shoulders, plus shooting nerve pain. Gabapentin relieves me from that, so I only have weird patches of areas that are numb. I do want to point out that magnesium, caffeine, and marijuana stop the effectiveness of Gabapentin entirely, so I don’t take any of those. The only side effect I have is I’ll have an hour where I get a groggy or loopy feeling. Sometimes it’s a pleasant, light high. Other than that, I don’t have any side effects. I’m on 2400 mg a day, taken in 4 pills of 600 mg each. I think I started at 900 mg a day. Now I’m starting to feel some tingling again, so we’re looking for something else I can add. My doc says I’m at the peak of what Gabapentin can do, and he doesn’t want me to increase more."

• ety...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 6, 2021

For Insomnia "I have taken all kinds of sleep meds for my insomnia. So, first night, 300 mg gabapentin plus 1/4 (7.5 mg) zopiclone, I slept most of the night but felt fuzzy the next day. Since then, I did the same the next night with less fuzziness the next day. It seems to me your body gets used to it, and the fuzziness goes away. I find I need a bit of zopiclone to put me to sleep, but the gabapentin keeps me asleep."

• Max...
• March 4, 2022

For Pain "I have been on gabapentin for 10 years now, and the side effects have changed over the years. I am now dealing with 32 side effects from the long list that I am reading here. The most severe is inability to concentrate and depression. Before I began this medication, I was a very creative, assertive, social, confident go-getter! I was in excruciating pain, but I was determined to succeed. Since I have been on this drug, I have lost interest in my goals and once dreams. I have trouble remembering certain things. I get brain fog. I have been driving, turned a corner, and did not remember turning. Yes, I have constant pounding and ringing in my right ear. My eyes constantly water. I was taking 800 mg 3 times daily. I grit my teeth, I cannot sleep more than 3 hours at a time at night. I have severe anxiety, I do not trust people and sometimes think that they are against me in some way. Dry mouth, jerking movements, I count my fingers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 - 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. As of today, I am weaning myself off of this poison!"

• Ari...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 17, 2020

For Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome "I have RSD CRPS in my right arm and hand. I’ve had it for a year and a half, and it is severe. I was given 900 mg of Gabapentin after going to the ER, it helped! I was then continued on it for 4 months. Then I noticed brain fog, irritability, swelling in legs and face, and extreme drowsiness. Felt it interacted with Wellbutrin, it was giving me headaches too. Went off of it for a couple of months, tried Zanaflex, which helped a lot too, but now on Gabapentin again at 600 mg a day. I couldn’t move my thumb, and the allodynia was extreme. Extended release doesn’t work for me! It also increases my appetite."

• Bec...
• March 25, 2018

For Anxiety "I suffer from anxiety and was prescribed this versus my previous medication of Lexapro, which didn’t work for me at all. Within two days of taking this new medication, gabapentin, I was almost in tears because of how spacey and uncomfortable I was. I was prescribed only 100 mg to take once per night. I woke up the next morning feeling extremely spaced out, and I felt stoned even though I wasn’t. I couldn’t process my thoughts correctly, I was forgetting how to do simple tasks and even losing short-term memory when someone asked me to do job-related tasks. I felt my eyes were very sleepy even though I had plenty of rest. While this helped ease my anxiety, I noticed I was paranoid and noticed everything around me amplified. I was only on this medication for two days, but that’s all I needed to make me realize this wasn’t helping me whatsoever."

• Ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 21, 2019

"Insomnia, panic anxiety disorder as a result of PTSD induced by a severe work accident. Off work a year now. Had to move twice, etc. So many changes. Was put on .5 clonazepam (Klonopin) over a year ago and need to get off them. Tried on my own and with doc guidance. Have become dependent very quickly, however, happy to be down to .25 once a day now. Started gabapentin 10 days ago at a dose of 900 mg daily in three daily 300 mg doses. Sleep!!!! So great and so grateful. Panic attacks have stopped. The gabapentin is being used to further taper off the last of the clonazepam. That begins in a few more days. Concerns about side effects of gabapentin are: spaced out, clumsy, bit of blurred vision, gut discomfort. This is manageable, but I don’t like it. I’m going to push through because I need to sleep and get off the benzo. Then I’ll cut way back on the gaba or let it go, too. You can become dependent on gaba, but I was reassured by two docs nothing like benzo withdrawals. I’m hopeful."

• Bes...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 20, 2021

For Peripheral Neuropathy "Pros of gabapentin: works for nerve pain; long-lasting pain relief. Cons of gabapentin: side effects are terrible if you don't take it regularly; can cause phalanges to feel insufferably cold. I've been prescribed gabapentin for numerous conditions. It didn't do much for my migraines, but it does relieve pain from peripheral neuropathy, pinched nerves, and lessened the pain of a break. However, I rarely use the medication due to its terrible side effects. It caused my phalanges to feel cold and numb to the point where it affected my ability to work, and efforts to regain warmth were short-lived. It'd also make me feel incredibly disoriented, foggy, and experience a feeling comparable to derealization or oneirophrenia (is a hallucinatory, dream-like state). This effect is noticeable even at 100 mg and lasts twelve to eighteen hours. However, when I was taking it consistently while healing from a break, the mental side effects were nearly nonexistent."

• Kar...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 19, 2024

For Migraine "I'm taking gabapentin for migraine/TAC headache 3 months ago. I started at 500 mg & now take it 3 times a day. I didn't experience any common side effects. However, if I take 2, I can't drive because I kind of feel spaced out & forgetful. It's helping my left eye pain that's been severe on and off every day for a year. I have carpal tunnel, but it doesn't seem to help with that, but I've also been hauling tree limbs to the curb, so that definitely aggravates it. As for weight gain, usually it's emotional eating, but with gabapentin and Seroquel, it could be one or all three. It's really benefiting me as Lyrica didn't work at all."

• Can...
• February 19, 2015

For Anxiety "I am 25 years old, and I have suffered from social anxiety for my whole life. To cope with anxiety, I became addicted to opiates. I am now in rehab, and my doctor has changed my meds many times. I have been on gabapentin for almost a month, I don't feel any changes yet. She says it may take up to a month for this medicine to start working. I am on 300 mg three times a day, along with other antidepressants and Suboxone to treat my opiate addiction. I wish I could get on Xanax because it is the only thing that helps with my anxiety, but because I am an addict, my doctor will not prescribe me any medications that I may become addicted to, or I should say that give me a high sort of feeling. The only difference is I feel like a zombie."