Gabapentin For Pain

What is gabapentin?

Gabapentin is a prescription drug. It comes as an oral capsule, an immediate-release oral tablet, an extended-release oral tablet, and an oral solution.

Gabapentin oral capsule is available as the brand-name drug Neurontin. It’s also available as a generic drug. Generic drugs usually cost less than the brand-name version. In some cases, the brand-name drug and the generic version may be available in different forms and strengths.

Why it’s used?

Gabapentin oral capsule is used to treat the following conditions:

Seizures: Gabapentin is used to treat partial (focal) seizures. It’s taken together with other seizure medications in adults and in children 3 years of age and older who have epilepsy.
Postherpetic neuralgia: This is pain from nerve damage caused by shingles, a painful rash that affects adults. Shingles appears after infection with the varicella zoster virus. This virus occurs in people who have had chicken pox.

Gabapentin may be used as part of a combination therapy. This means you may need to take it with other drugs.

How it works?

Gabapentin belongs to a class of drugs called anticonvulsants. A class of drugs is a group of medications that work in a similar way. These drugs are often used to treat similar conditions.

It’s not fully understood how gabapentin works. For postherpetic neuralgia, it seems to prevent the increase in sensitivity to pain that occurs. For seizures, it may alter the effect of calcium (low levels of calcium may cause seizures).

Gabapentin is off label used for treatment of nerve pain not all kinds of pains. 65% patients think it is effective for pain but as high as 35% think it doesnot work.

bubba smith Reviewed it very good for nerve pain:

“I have severe spine damage. t7 t8 and disc in between basically gone, nerve pain unbelievable. I tried lyrica in large dose and no relief.

Then one doctor said some meds don’t work on some but do on others you just have to get the correct one. So I tried gabapentin and to me it was a life saver, within 3 days the pain was gone or close to gone. 1800 mgs a day ( 6x300mg) plus 40 mg of oxyneo (4x10mg) which is oxycodone time release formula.

The pain specialist say maybe more dose needed but I can’t function properly. That is my minimum dose even drop 1 pill out of them amounts I can feel the difference in pain.

The side effects to me are , tiredness, constipation, memory, blurred vision, moody, seems heat and humid days if outside I get really disoriented so I stay inside”

But a Anonymous guy reviewed it not good for Knee 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 it’s Cons certainly outweighed its Pros in his case.

Weight gain Excess gas Dizzyness Nausea Vomiting Diarrhoea Headaches…… Not a good one for him at all. UK Based.”

Because I am a recovering alcoholic it is crucial for me to find non-narcotic treatment for the persevering pain of my chronic pancreatitis.

I was feeling a bit hopeless with the repeated prescriptions of pain meds (which of course offer only temporary relief, and for me a danger of over-use), until my GI prescribed me Gabapentin.

This med has been incredibly successful in mitigating my pain, while also giving me huge energy (I’m a consistent runner so this factor is welcomed), and allowing me to move forward with my sobriety.

I give it four stars, though I realize like anything, it’s not for everyone. That said, good luck to you all with finding what works.

Gabapentin is Widely Used for Pain Relief

Gabapentin is approved to treat the type of nerve pain (neuralgia) that results from nerve damage. Gabapentin is used to treat neuralgia caused by a herpes zoster viral infection, also known as shingles. This pain is called post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), and it can be severe and chronic. Gabapentin is also used to treat pain from diabetic neuropathy, which happens when nerves in the feet damaged by diabetes cause chronic burning pain.

The exact way that gabapentin works to relieve pain is not known. It may change the way the body senses and reacts to pain. Gabapentin is used to manage long-term (chronic) pain, not to be taken for pain as needed. Chronic pain can interfere with sleep and work, and lead to depression.

Studies show that pain relief may start within one week and reach a maximum effect in about 4 weeks. It can take this long because gabapentin is usually started at a low dose and gradually increased over time until it works.

For treating neuralgia, gabapentin is often started at 300 mg per day and gradually raised by 300 mg per day. One 2017 review of 37 studies found that pain relief usually occurs at a dose of 1,200 mg or more.

The same review compared gabapentin to an inactive medicine (placebo) in almost 6,000 adults with chronic pain from PHN or diabetic neuropathy. Study participants were given either gabapentin or a placebo for 4 to at least 12 weeks. The results showed that 30-40% of people taking gabapentin were able to reduce their pain by half or more, compared to 10-20% of people taking the placebo.

Although some people may get significant relief, others may have side effects without relief of pain. More than half of people taking gabapentin did not get significant relief and had side effects from the drug.

According to the review, about 60% of people taking gabapentin had side effects, including:

Dizziness
Sleepiness
Water retention (edema)
Clumsiness while walking (ataxia)

It does not typically make pain worse: In trials comparing gabapentin side effects to placebo side effects, only 1% of people reported increased pain, and this was the same for gabapentin and placebo.

Once you find the dose that relieves neuralgia for you, it is important not to stop taking it suddenly. Stopping suddenly can lead to withdrawal symptoms such as:

Anxiety
Insomnia
Nausea
Pain
Sweating

What Is Gabapentin Off Label Usages ?

Neurontin is the trade name for the generic drug gabapentin. It is useful as an anti-epileptic drug and as an analgesic, particularly for pain of the neuropathic or neurogenic type. (pain from irritation or inflammation of nerves). When used for controlling epilepsy, it is usually used in conjunction with another anti-epileptic drug.

It is used much more extensively in the medical field to treat pain than it is to treat epilepsy.

How Gabapentin Works

Gabapentin is believed to work by altering the release of glutamate and other neurotransmitters in your brain.1 Neurotransmitters send messages from one brain cell to another. Glutamate is really helpful for certain things, like learning new information. That’s because it gets your brain cells stirred up and active.

Kind of like a toddler with chocolate, though, if you have too much glutamate running around, your brain cells can become overstimulated. That can make all kinds of things go wrong.

Glutamate has more than one job, though. It also helps transmit pain signals in your brain and nerves. Too much glutamate may play a role in hyperalgesia, which essentially turns up the volume of pain.

To counter the effects of glutamate, you have another neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA).2 It calms your cells and quiets your brain. When GABA and glutamate exist in balance with each other, things go well. (It’s likely out of balance in fibromyalgia, though.)

Some diseases and conditions—including fibromyalgia—may interrupt this balance and let glutamate run amok. Gabapentin is believed to reduce your brain’s release of glutamate so the cells can calm down and your brain can function better.

Gabapentin belongs to a class of drugs known as anticonvulsants, used to help control seizures in the treatment of epilepsy. Neurontin will only be able to control seizures for as long as you take it. It can’t cure epilepsy. Gabapentin capsules, tablets, and oral solution are used to help control certain types of seizures in people who have epilepsy.

Gabapentin capsules, tablets, and oral solution are also used to relieve the pain of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN; the burning, stabbing pain or aches that may last for months or years after an attack of shingles). Gabapentin extended-release tablets (Horizant) are used to treat restless legs syndrome (RLS; a condition that causes discomfort in the legs and a strong urge to move the legs, especially at night and when sitting or lying down).

Gabapentin is in a class of medications called anticonvulsants. It has also been reported to be helpful in controlling the pain of fibromyalgia.

Gabapentin for Fibromyalgia

Research suggests that people with fibromyalgia have too much glutamate in certain parts of their brain, so gabapentin has long been prescribed for it. But is it effective? Research is mixed.

Two reviews of the evidence disagree. One released in 2016 found that gabapentin is an effective fibromyalgia treatment,3 while another, published in 2017,4 reported only low-quality evidence.

A 2014 review of gabapentin for fibromyalgia and neuropathy found that about 35 percent of study participants saw their pain drop by at least 50 percent while on the drug.5 It’s important to note, though, that 21 percent saw similar drops when taking a placebo.

In studies comparing gabapentin with pregabalin (Lyrica), including one published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, pregabalin appeared to perform better.

An extended-release form of gabapentin showed promise in one small trial published in Pain Practice.3 Researchers say it improved pain, sleep, and quality of life. This was a preliminary trial, though, so more work needs to be done before we’ll know for sure whether it’s safe and effective long term.

Gabapentin treats seizures by decreasing abnormal excitement in the brain. Gabapentin relieves the pain of PHN by changing the way the body senses pain. It is not known exactly how gabapentin works to treat restless legs syndrome.

Gabapentin Off Label Usages

Gabapentin is also sometimes used to relieve the pain of diabetic neuropathy (numbness or tingling due to nerve damage in people who have diabetes), and to treat and prevent hot flashes (sudden strong feelings of heat and sweating) in women who are being treated for breast cancer or who have experienced menopause (”change of life”, the end of monthly menstrual periods). Talk to your doctor about the risks of using this medication for your condition.

Pregabalin (Lyrica), a drug similar to gabapentin, was the first medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat fibromyalgia. While gabapentin hasn’t been approved by the FDA for the treatment of fibromyalgia, some doctors may prescribe it off-label for such use.

Gabapentin and pregabalin were originally approved to treat certain types of epilepsy and nerve pain. Both drugs work by limiting the release of pain-communicating chemicals by nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The most common side effects of both drugs are dizziness and drowsiness.

It is also used to control pain associated with shingles and has been evaluated for pain conditions, including migraine, as its pain-modulating properties may regulate the perception of pain.

Anticonvulsant drugs, such as gabapentin, are becoming increasingly popular for migraine prevention.

Efficacy of gabapentin in migraine prophylaxis research on a history of migraine episodes for a mean of about 21 years shows that Gabapentin is an effective prophylactic agent for patients with migraine. In addition, gabapentin appears generally well tolerated with mild to moderate somnolence and dizziness.

Gabapentin is generally well tolerated. The main side effects are dizziness and drowsiness. Occasionally there maybe some fluid retention, unsteadiness or G.I upset, mainly diarrhea.

The effective dose of gabapentin varies greatly. Some persons need only 200-300 mg a day whereas others may need 3000 mg or more a day. It may take several weeks to become effective, so it is important to stay on it for an adequate length of time.

Gabapentin has a lot of off-label usage. It is widely used nerve related diseases. Most of them are reviewed by patients and reviewed high.

General speaking, Gabapentin can be off label used to treat Cough, Hot Flashes, Occipital Neuralgia, Trigeminal Neuralgia, Transverse Myelitis,
Alcohol Withdrawal, Pruritus, Bipolar Disorder, Migraine, Anxiety, Postherpetic Neuralgia, Insomnia, Restless Legs Syndrome, Vulvodynia, Benign Essential Tremor, Peripheral Neuropathy, Fibromyalgia, Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy, Pain, Neuropathic Pain, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome, Epilepsy, Hiccups, Syringomyelia, Periodic Limb Movement Disorder, Spondylolisthesis, Burning Mouth Syndrome, Pudendal Neuralgia, Small Fiber Neuropathy, Nausea/Vomiting, Chemotherapy Induced.

Gabapentin reviews for treating Insomnia

With gabapentin’s calming and anti-anxiety effects, it’s not surprising that studies have found it to be helpful in treating insomnia and sleep disorders.

Many anti-anxiety medications, particularly those with sedative-like effects, can help users fall asleep more easily.

One interesting aspect of gabapentin’s effect on sleep (in the limited research available) is its impact on quality of sleep.

In one 2010 study, gabapentin not only helped to treat study participants’ insomnia symptoms by decreasing spontaneous arousal — like waking up in the middle of the night — but it also improved their sleep quality by enhancing slow-wave sleep.

Slow-wave sleep, also known as deep sleep, is the type of sleep that makes individuals feel rested in the morning.

During this important stage of sleep, the pituitary gland secretes much-needed hormones, like the human growth hormone, which is essential to the repair and development of the cells in the body. During deep sleep, glucose metabolism in the brain also increases, supporting memory and learning.

Gabapentin was shown to increase sleep efficiency and allow for longer, deeper sleep.

How Does Gabapentin Affect Dreams?

There is limited research available on gabapentin’s effect on dreams, but many online reports and comments in online forums indicate users may experience especially vivid dreams, especially when they first begin taking the drug.
If users begin to experience problematic dreams or night terrors, they should immediately consult their doctor.

Why Is Gabapentin Used?

Gabapentin is a prescription drug most commonly used to treat seizures and postherpetic neuralgia (pain from nerve damage caused by shingles).

It also prescribed by psychiatrists to treat anxiety.

Gabapentin is taken orally, as a capsule, and it is available under the brand name Neurontin. Before choosing gabapentin as a medication option, it’s helpful to understand more about the drug, including how it actually affects sleep and sleep quality.

How Does Gabapentin Work?

Gabapentin is classified as an anticonvulsant drug.

Because of its name, many think gabapentin works by interacting with GABA (gamma-Aminobutyric acid) receptors in the central nervous system, as many other sedative-type medications do. This is not the case.

It’s not fully understood how gabapentin works, although there are indications it affects calcium levels to treat different disorders.

For postherpetic neuralgia, it is thought to prevent the increase in sensitivity that occurs as a result of the pain the condition causes. Thus, users feel less pain and reduced sensitivity.

This soothing of nerve sensitivity, and the relaxing effect it can produce, is also why gabapentin is prescribed by psychiatrists to treat anxiety.In its treatment of seizures, gabapentin seems to manipulate the effect and levels of calcium. Low levels of calcium may cause seizures.

Withdrawal and Sleep

While gabapentin may be considered a safer alternative to other sedative-like medications, like benzodiazepines, it has many side effects, including sleepiness, trouble speaking, hostility, and viral infections. Side effects may also include increased pain sensitivity and irritability.

More serious side effects include allergic reactions, dangerous drug interactions, and changes in mood or behavior. If it appears that a user is experiencing suicidal thoughts, emergency medical help should be sought after immediately. Gabapentin can increase the risk of suicide.

Users of gabapentin can become dependent on the drug, and withdrawal symptoms can be severe, including sweating, gastrointestinal problems, tremors, and increased heart rate. Reports indicate that users may begin to experience their worst withdrawal symptoms about three days after stopping the drug. Some of the most common withdrawal symptoms of gabapentin are sleeplessness and sleep problems.

Individuals with a history of mental problems or substance abuse problems may be at more risk for experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms from gabapentin and should not attempt to quit gabapentin “cold turkey” or without the supervision of a medical professional. Those with a history of epilepsy, bipolar disorder, psychosis, and depression should only undergo gabapentin withdrawal and detox in a medically supervised setting. Users should consult with a medical professional to determine a withdrawal plan for tapering off the drug rather than abruptly discontinuing use.

Conclusion

Gabapentin is considered a safe and effective treatment for seizures, nerve pain, and anxiety. It has also shown promise as a sleep aid and possible treatment for insomnia. It may even increase sleep quality and efficiency.
More evidence-based research is needed to conclude that gabapentin is safe for long-term use as a sleep medication, however, especially since it has shown some potential for abuse and the withdrawal symptoms may be severe, negatively impacting sleep.

Gabapentin users with a history of mental illness, substance abuse, or epilepsy should only attempt detox and withdrawal from gabapentin in a medically supervised setting.

Gabapentin reviews for treating Insomnia