Gabapentin for Neuropathic Pain User Reviews (Page 5)

• Steve...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 8, 2017

"I have CFS with neuropathic pain in both legs, the pins and needles, shooting burning pain and feet that are either freezing or burning. I was intially given Amitriptlyne which worked very well but left me with a hangover in the morning, not good when you have to drive 50 miles to work at 4am. My Neurologist put me on Venlafaxine which again worked but gave me too many side effects. Gabapentin was prescribed by my GP and within a day my walking went from a 70+ Y/O to a normal 53 Y/O, my dose needs increasing now as I am only on 600mg daily and I am struggling again. Best drug ever with no noticible side effects - UK based"

• Songb...
• October 11, 2016

"I have tried gabapentin several times to make sure it was the culprit. I have horrible nerve damage caused by a wreck. I am in pain and numb always. Well, I've had several bouts with my gallbladder while taking the med. It makes the nerve pain much better, but I can't eat, I vomit profusely, my WHOLE abdomen is sore, I have heartburn that won't go away, I have more gas than Iran, and it's like liquid acid coming out the tail pipe. For me, this medication is a BUST, but clearly others have had better results."

• Mary...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 12, 2019

"After hyperextending my neck causing swelling and temporary nerve problems and I had surgery to relieve pressure from stenosis (narrow spinal canal) and arthritic spurs pressing on nerves. I am taking gabapentin 600 mg twice daily, but cut myself back from 3 times daily. I can feel when it is time to take another dose I have shooting pain in my arm and hand as well as more trouble with finger dexterity. It has certainly been working from me for pain but I wonder if I am less focused. I am heading back to work and need to be able to stay fully engaged in what I’m doing."

• Solo
• January 26, 2016

"I was prescribed Neurontin to block the pain in my lower back due to bulging and deteriorated discs. The Neurontin effectively reduced the pain in my back; however, the mental side effects were not worth the pain reduction. I have been previously diagnosed with anxiety and depression, but those illnesses were under control with an anti-depressant. However, once I started using Neurontin, my depression and anxiety came back with a vengeance. I had an anxiety attack and could not control my mood. I was tapered off of the drug immediately and I was back to my old self. Please talk to your doctor prior to taking this medicine if you have ever had depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts."

• babbo
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 18, 2016

"FIRST USAGE: Three hours of pain relief from severe sciatica after taking initial dose of 300mg. Took two more doses later in the day as prescribed. The second dose made me dizzy with no pain relief, the third dose made me feel drugged and I was unable to stand up or walk. Lasted all night. Waited a day to recover fully from drugged feeling, then started again with dose of 300mg in morning. No pain relief; 3 hours after taking the drug, I had suddenly had excruciating spasms in one leg when I tried to walk. It is now 3 hours later and that leg feels as if I have a pulled muscle or ligament, extremely painful. This is the leg in which the sciatic pain is strongest. This drug is a nightmare. Will not continue with it."

• MoRoRi
• November 25, 2015

"I experienced progressively worsening and frequent nerve pain shooting down both of my legs. I had almost immediate relief with Gabapentin. And for the first time in months, I was able to sleep throughout the night. It was a miracle drug for me. I got up to 900mg 3x/day. However, I also experience an array of side effects. I always feel exhausted to the point that it makes it difficult to do daily activities. I gained 30+ lbs in a few short months... and I have bad acne for the first time ever. I've started tapering back down and realize that I have more energy.. we'll see about the other side effects now. It's a balancing act between the side effects and pain."

• B0ano
• July 27, 2015

"This medicine can ruin your ability to think.I would walk in to a room,and forget the last 5 minutes.I had to reduce the medication by 40%,and am now tapering at 10% month to fend off sudden withdrawal symptoms."

• Barnes
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 29, 2019

"The only complaint is hunger I’m on 400mg 3x a day bring my nerve pain from a 8 down to a 5, anyone that’s overweight be carful because it will put weight on you. Your body becomes addicted to it after 3 months."

• Mariana
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 6, 2022

"I suffer from chronic pain due to post cancer surgery nerve pain of unknown specificity that resulted in severe pelvic pain snd burning and tingling in my groin and legs. I struggled badly for almost six years with this condition and was prescribed a long list of meds that caused even more harm. The only thing that helped was Norco up to six times a day which eases the pelvic pain but does nothing for the burning and tingling. I was in constant agony and hospitalized for “pain control” more times than I can remember, consisting of hefty doses of IV pain meds for several days, then released and back to the same old miserable existence. I was finally referred to palliative care (non terminal) and put on 300 mg of gabapentin 3x a day in addition to the Norco. Without exaggeration the pain went from 10 to 4 within days and has now settled down to a constant 2. I am sleeping all night, active all day again, and I actually feel normal most of the time. A gift!"

• MamaK...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 18, 2017

"I took gabapentin after my Dr. prescribed Lipitor after my strokes to help to lower my cholesterol. The Lipitor left me with nerve damage after taking it for a year. The nerve pain in my legs and feet was so severe that I was unable to walk. At first I was taking 300 mg at night. Soon after that it was increased to 100 mg at meal time (just as a reminder) and 300 at night. It helped for the most part but after a year and a half I had gained 8 lbs and couldn't seem to lose it. The pins and needles came back and I was told to take as much as I needed to to make it work. I increased it to 1000-1200 per day. My appetite also increased and I have gained 20 lbs since I started taking it. I'm still having breakouts and they are getting worse again"

• Heinz...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 6, 2019

"Development of a foot ulcer gave me intense burning pain, around the site of the injury. Not being diabetic, my GP at first suggested 20mg amitripyline nightly. This soon expanded to 100 mg daily, with no effect. My meds was changed to gabapentin. A slow build up, to 900 daily. I was happily surprised when the pain eased. Beware.... coming off too quickly after two months, left me back to square one within two weeks.. The pain is still there, as is the injury. But I have reduced my meds to 300mg daily now."

• Cheryl
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 21, 2021

"I had back surgery to fuse L 5-S1. I had injured my back horseback riding, broke a vertebrae and then developed severe impingement. I never took this drug before surgery, but they prescribed this drug when I was discharge after surgery. After three days of taking this, I started feeling worse than before my surgery. My back pain was horrible, plus pain down both legs! It had a paradoxical effect and caused nerve pain to increase and spread. We were all confused as to what was going on with me, but the only thing different I had done was to start taking this drug. So my Doctor told me to stop immediately and within 2 days, the horrible pain stopped and the only pain I had was normal post surgical pain! Doctors, please stop prescribing this as standard procedure post surgery, PLEASE! I have heard the same story over and over (patients develop full body nerve pain after several days on the drug). Fortunately for me, the pain this drug created went away after I stopped taking it!"

• neecake
• December 23, 2015

"I have been prescribed gabapentin medreich only last week. Due to having a lot of problems with tingling sensation in right foot which got so bad was unable to sleep since having spinal fusion back in March but I have to many problems since my op to many to list. However since taking these tablets 200mg 3x a day I have no energy, sleeping all the time and I have since developed pins n needles on right side of face which that had me worried as never had this before. I'm just wonderring if anyone else has had this"

• mike...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 22, 2016

"I'm struggling with sciatica pain with makes me barely walking. I'm on 900mg 3 times a day and gaba doesn't make any different at all... still in massive pain and in my opinion is just worse... doesn't do trick for me so I need to visit my GP to find different solution.. but that just me everybody are individual..."

• Katta...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 22, 2016

"First off it is really unfair of me to "rate" this medication. I have just started on it. Low dose of 100mg 2 times a day and 200mg at bed time. I have decided to comment is I had a good discussion with my Pharmacist about this prior to taking it. I have mild Cerebral Palsy (have since birth 53 years ago) and various other spine problems. Most recently and MRI showed that I have bone spurs on my L3, L4 and L5, with the L5 pushing on the nerve.. thus Sciatic pain down my right side... extreme much of the time. My Pharmacist said not to expect this medication to work over night. In fact he stated I was on a low dose and it was best to increase it gradually likely 4 months! I will keep you posted!"

• Chris
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 27, 2018

"I just increased Gabapentin to 900mg three times a day. It has helped with the sciatic nerve pain. Only complaint is that I feel high and tired. Limits my everyday living skills and driving. Otherwise 2700mg a day has been a good relief"

• Glory
• June 28, 2016

"My Doctor put me on Gabapentin after my neck surgery for nerve damage. I couldn't take it. It caused strange out of body experiences. He next tried Lycia and no problems. Actually I feel much much better taking the Lycia. It doesn't completely get rid of the pain but it does make it bearable."

• Foxtr...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 24, 2016

"I have a damaged nerve bundle on the heal of my foot along with a crushed nerve on my arm. This medicine really helps the numbness and some of the pain to alleviate. My only problem with this medication is the hassle of needing to take it every 4 hours to work."

• BessR
• February 25, 2017

"I was worried gabapentin would make me a zombie but to my surprise, it didn't. My pain management Dr gave me this for nerve pain in my face and fibromyalgia. It seems to help. I have been taking a very low dose of hydrocodone 2.5 to 5 mg as needed to take the edge off pain for several years. I don't like hydrocodone or the feeling it gives me. I don't like the sleepy groggy feeling. If I feel like that, I am over medicated. But a little bit helps the pain...maybe I am an oddball but I only take the opioid when I am in real pain. I also take 300 Wellbutrin XL daily which works okay. Nothing has really worked on my depression but at least I am doing okay. So I'll see how the gabapentin does. If it causes weight gain, I'll quit it"

• Salem...
• August 13, 2015

"I got prescribed Neurontin(gabopentin) back last year for nerve pain due to a damaged sciatic nerve from an epidural gone wrong, however I have also noticed that it helps with my seizures as well, and I strained my lower back, and had to go to the ER but got out and took some Neurontin and I have hardly any pain now while I recooperate and the only side effect is that it makes me slow and sleepy. I have been nodding off a lot, but I slept awesomely last night and barely even budged. I also take Wellbutrin and Buspirone as well, for anxiety and depression."

• Gigi
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 5, 2017

"My doctor ordered gabapentin 100 mg, three times a day, it did not help the pain it made me extremely tired tired. She then upped the dose to 300 mg, three times a day, after the first dose at 300 mg, I felt terrible, my son and I both noticed, Gabapentin was affecting my mood, generally I'm extremely friendly by nature and in a good mood but I became cranky and extremely tired I had no energy to do anything, I went back to the doctor she took me off of Gabapentin, I also did not experience much pain relief."

• Morri...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 28, 2015

"I've been taking Gabapentin for neuropathy in my left knee due to a 7.62mm round blew up my knee in combat. It works great. I also take MS Contin 100 mg. in order for me to have enough comfort for a bulging disc in my neck due to a roll over Humm-Vee. If I was not wearing my kevlar it could have been much worse. Probably be a quadriplegic. I'm also suffering from Bipolar I, GAD,SAD, PTSD & Panic Disorder. So on top of pain meds and a lot of psych meds. This dose of 900mg. b.i.d. has helped tremendously. I need to try some Lyrica a.k.a. "super gabapentin"."

• 1Moto...
• February 20, 2016

"One week ago a MRI revealed a large central protrusion at L4-5 which is causing excruciating sciatica down my left leg. Orthopedic surgeon referred me to Spine & Sports Rehab who happily provided a prescription for Gabapentin. Took one, nothing. Started taking 300mg every 8 hours. It basically does nothing. No more pain reduction than taking 800mg of ibuprofen twice a day. Drs. these days know narcotics will help with nerve pain but they want you to suffer a long time before they prescribe it. A laminectomy is coming my way. I can barely walk. I just wish they could give me something to survive on until the surgery."

• Shay
• August 24, 2015

"I am on 600 mg morning, 600 mg mid day and 1200 mg at bedtime for nerve pain (complex regional pain syndrome), I notice little relief. A lot of side effects, sleepy, foggy minded just to name a few. I have been on it for almost 6 months, started at 300mg 3 times a day. Hoping for relief."

• Rondag
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 30, 2019

"Prescribed Gabapentin for nerve pain, Pharmacist said don't drive and take at night because you will feel sleepy. I took it at 10:00 pm and only got 5 minutes of sleep. Pain seemed worse in my neck and arm and I ended up with a upset stomach. They said it will take 4 days or more to get it in my system. If I can't sleep it obviously is in my system. I'm worried about taking it. Nurse said to take it in the afternoon if I can't sleep."