Gabapentin and Headaches: What Users Say (Page 2)

• sls...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 12, 2016

For Fibromyalgia "I took Lyrica for 10 years until the copay went to $100. So I began Gabapentin at 100 mg twice daily. It helped with the pain, but not enough. My Dr. increased the dose to 200 mg twice daily, and I began having the following side effects after only 2 days: cold symptoms, bloated feeling, constipation, cough with mucus, excess gas in the stomach, excessive eye tearing, feeling dizzy and lightheaded, indigestion, passing gas (a lot, plus stomach pain from it), runny nose, tender glands in the neck, headache, bad taste (like eggs). I'm back to 100 mg and the side effects are going away, but pain has increased again."

• amc...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 5, 2022

For Anxiety "I was prescribed gabapentin for anxiety to be taken as needed. At first, I noticed that it worked in the moment to make me feel calm. However, over time, I noticed that the side effects outweighed the positives. I have ADHD. Gabapentin made my ADHD really bad. I could not concentrate on anything. When you go off of gabapentin, the withdrawal is really bad. You get horrible headaches, a tremor, and you get really irritable. It’s like being on drugs. Not worth it."

• Anonymous
• June 7, 2011

Gabapentin for Migraine "Suffered from migraines my whole life, but the last 6-8 months they have been every day, all day. I have tried so many medicines with no relief, and recently my doctor put me on Neurontin. This medicine works. I am on a low dose of 600 mg at night before bed, and my days have been so much better. I still get some headaches, but not nearly the bad migraines I was getting. The doctor is going to increase my dose slowly until she gets me on the dose that works the best for me. But as for now, I am slowly getting my life back."

• MiN...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 16, 2016

For Pain "Works okay for my degenerative back joint disease. Only problem I have is headaches, but ibuprofen takes care of that. Slight manageable dizziness and blurred vision. I take about 1800 mg per day. Eat a lot too!!!"

• Cla...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 16, 2023

For Occipital Neuralgia "I am taking gabapentin 3 times a day at 300 mg. I have had occipital neuralgia for a year. Injections, nerve block, Botox, nothing worked until I got on this drug. I still get headaches, but overall it's been good. I've been on it now for two weeks. Have odd dreams! But am feeling so much better. I'm also working with a nutritionist and am so pleased, he's getting to the root cause of this issue. Take care, everyone!"

• Kat...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 2, 2013

For Anxiety "600 mg three times a day. I was taking Gabapentin for 3 years, but I stopped it because it has too many side effects, including numbness on my whole body, weight gain is a major fact, more headaches than usual, sleepy, tired, active but with a tingling sensation on my tongue, and so on, depression when I didn't take it, intolerable, anxiety, sweats, withdrawal symptoms, but it does help with pain and many things, but the consequences of it are horrible. Memory loss is another fact, definitely, it is a very dangerous medication."

• Anonymous
• June 10, 2017

For Pain "My husband was given this medication due to suffering long-term knee pain. He took it for approx 6 weeks max and had to stop. The most awful side effects you can imagine for the whole time blighted him. Maybe he was just unlucky, and this med didn't suit him, but its cons certainly outweighed its pros in his case. Weight gain, excess gas, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches... Not a good one for him at all. UK-based."

• ksq...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 9, 2017

For Peripheral Neuropathy "Effectiveness of the drug for neuropathy in hands and feet was negated by side effects, including: severe 24/7 headaches; wild, crazy dreams that woke me up at night. The pharmacist said these symptoms usually went away after 2 weeks, but after 2 months they persisted, and other side effects seemed to be increasing. I had taken Neurontin in the past, and Lyrica, with no problems whatsoever. When researching side effects, I was very surprised to read that these side effects were specific to the generic formulation. Went off, and all the side effects slowly subsided, taking about 2+ weeks to completely end."

• Anonymous
• February 15, 2012

For Pain "I have a couple of damaged discs in my back, and the pain became severe after 3-4 years of suffering. I was instructed to take 300 mg per day to start. I don't like medicines, and I decided to take the minimum I possibly could. I have been on it for 6 months now, and my pain is all but gone. However, I never went beyond 200 mg. I think I am extremely fortunate. I have my life back. I had chronic headaches prior to the medication. Migraines came on about 2-4 times per month... that's all gone now. I might take ibuprofen or aspirin once a month... and it used to be every day. A couple of negatives for me would be: the sleep pattern is still off, and even though I am only taking 200 mg per day, I really feel it."

• Cra...
• November 15, 2015

For Fibromyalgia "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."

• Ang...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• August 12, 2022

For Pain "I have been taking it for 6 years now, and it has not helped me with my pain. All it did is numb the pain for a little bit, but I would always be right back in pain. I have noticed that I had started to eat less, have more headaches, and started to have a hard time remembering things I had to do."

• Coo...
• January 20, 2016

For Fibromyalgia "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."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 2, 2015

For Restless Legs Syndrome "I just took my first dose of Gabapentin. I experienced severe reactions from tongue and throat swelling, slurring of words, headache, swollen glands and face, blurred and double vision. My Dr. is trying to wean me off Mirapax and Neupro patch as they have augmented. Now on a steroid and Benadryl to counteract that, still have blurred vision, and it is 24 hours later."

• Tod...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 26, 2014

For Migraine "I started having headaches, pressure, and a hangover-like feeling in the mornings about a year ago. In early December 2014, I was diagnosed with migraines, which were causing my issues. My neurologist put me on 300 mg of gabapentin, and I felt great from 12/5-12/20. I started getting the morning hangover feeling again on 12/21. My neurologist is now upping the dosage, hope it gets me back to that point/place."

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

For Fibromyalgia "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."

• Wil...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 21, 2019

For Migraine "I was prescribed Gabapentin by my pain management physician - one in the morning and two at bedtime. I woke up this morning with a terrible headache - not a migraine, just a bad pressure headache. I took my morning pill and started getting ready for work. By the time I was ready to walk out the door, the headache was gone. Two at night helps me sleep but makes me off balance. One in the morning eases the pain and puts me in a happy bubble. This medicine has worked well for me."

• 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."

• Pou...
• November 30, 2017

For Alcohol Withdrawal "This started helping me with my alcohol problems (at the beginning), but after a few months, I started feeling side effects that were unbearable, so I started tapering off. My hair felt more brittle, I had this constant headache in the right-central lobe of my brain (this was horrible). Those were the main concerns. I just didn't feel right. Was on 300 mg a few times a day. Others obviously have great results for this, but perhaps it's just an individual reaction to it."

• Ant...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 2, 2016

For Migraine "I started taking gabapentin since I had vertigo, nausea, dizziness, headaches, and I collapsed twice (I am only 23 years old). The doctors said I have migraines. Gabapentin has really bad side effects. I was on 300 mg per day for 9 weeks, and it took me a month to get used to them. Pains in the chest, throat, and back for weeks. Just horrible. If you can tolerate the side effects, I would suggest taking them since they did help. They haven't resolved my issues but did help with the situation. Be careful when you stop them, though, since they got bad withdrawal symptoms."

• Anonymous
• April 28, 2011

For Migraine "I have been a migraine sufferer for almost 17 years. I went on and then off birth control as a means of trying to reduce the number of migraines I would get, often 3-4 times a month. I was given Amerge, which was effective. I then switched to Imitrex. An accident last summer caused me great nerve pain, and in the fall, I was put on Gabapentin for this nerve pain in my arm from my elbow dislocation. Throughout the fall and winter, I had a few headaches, nothing that popping a few Excedrins wouldn't take away. Three weeks ago, I stopped taking Gabapentin to try to reduce the drugs I'm taking. Big mistake. For the past week, I have had blinding migraines unresponsive to Excedrin and Imitrex. I will be going back on Gabapentin."

• Cra...
• October 19, 2015

For Neuropathic Pain "My nerve doctor prescribed this awful medication for me without knowing exactly what is wrong with me. I took 300 mg at night and woke up feeling tired, drowsy all day, headache, sore throat, and I didn't even have the energy to take a shower. The side effects are not worth it. I stopped taking it after 5 days. I would rather deal with my pain than take this medication. Do not take this drug. It is awful."

• gim...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• January 24, 2013

For Epilepsy "I've been on this medicine for ten years now and have my seizures under control with 1200 mg a day. A neurologist placed me on it after trying Dilantin and Depakote. I didn't realize it could be helping my anxiety, restless legs, and migraines. I had terrible headaches before I was on gabapentin and now have all these things under control. I did gain 30 lbs when we added an antidepressant."

• Gla...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 15, 2017

For Migraine "Had to start with 50 mgs per day. It made me sleep 36 hours when I tried taking 100 mgs. Also gave me bad breath, and I could barely talk. Seemed to detox something in my throat. When the bad breath stopped, I upped it to 100 mgs. More detox. Now I take 100 mgs four times per day. Doesn't make me sleepy, and the headache symptoms are much better. I am a person who avoids prescription drugs as much as possible and rarely go to the doctor. Gabapentin is the only drug I am taking. I am 61. It is really helping me with the debilitating migraine headache. Just be careful and don't take too much, or you will have to go to bed. And take it regularly. I think it's a good drug. Gave me weird dreams at first, but I think that was a detox effect too."

• Zoe...
• March 28, 2016

For Neuropathic Pain "Started to take gabapentin for nerve pain 3x100mg daily. Even this low dose gave me headaches and migraine. I increased my intake of water, and as the days went by, I was able to increase the dosage as suggested by my doctor, and the headaches ceased. The pharmacist did suggest that gabapentin can dehydrate, and dehydration can lead to headaches."

• Sha...
• August 15, 2009

For Pain "I have been taking this medication at a prescribed dose of 3200 mg a day. I have now had to come off it as the side effects I have had were quite severe. Vomiting, headaches, dizziness, lack of sleep, very moody, to name a few."