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Gabapentin--when should I see results?

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Chronic Pain
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Posted 6/20/2015 10:07 PM (GMT -6)
My arthritis doc swears that gabapentin will help my pain. I started on 900 mg three weeks ago with no reduced pain, but awesome sleep and a little fuzzy head. He told me to go up to 1200 and 1500 if that doesn't help. I'm tiny (110 lbs) so I worry about high dosages. I'm loving the sleep, but wonder how long to keep trying this med. thoughts? Thanks
Posted 6/21/2015 12:13 AM (GMT -6)
I tried it for about 3-4 months, increasing the dose throughout.

It never really helped for me, but I do know people who have had great relief from it.

I hope it kicks in for you so you can get some sort of pain relief.
Posted 6/21/2015 3:05 AM (GMT -6)
The funny thing about this class of drugs is one will work great for one person and do absolutely nothing for the next regardless of the dose. What we see that works after a month of trying one of them at maxed out doses and getting no relief whatsoever is switching to another such as lyrica, cymbalta etc does the trick and should you be one of those who is not effected by the entire class going to topomax or one of the old meds with a new twist usually works to some degree.

If after a month at those dosing directions you have not seen any results your probably not going to. Sorry I know you have high hopes for a new med.
Posted 6/21/2015 2:22 PM (GMT -6)
It depends on what you are taking it for. Gabapentin has a huge dosage range, from 100 mg to 3600 mg per day. For nerve related pain, the typical dosage is somewhere between 1800-2400 mg per day, but you need to slowly increase the dose to get the benefits of the medication. It can take some time before you see it helping.
Posted 6/21/2015 8:31 PM (GMT -6)
thanks for your thoughts. I am not really having nerve pain--it is all bone on bone pain. I'll hope for some help and give it a few more weeks. I saw a surgeon last week and he didn't think surgery would help my pain, so I am now getting rid of the new normal of chronic pain.
Posted 6/22/2015 12:57 AM (GMT -6)
I have never seen a great response to taking gabapenten but I sure do see a difference whend I miss a dose. I have been taking it for a couple years now and don't miss a does if I can help it!
Posted 6/22/2015 8:57 PM (GMT -6)
It helps my nerve pain but it makes me pretty stupid so I only take it at night and low dose. I have never found it to help my bone pain. Not sure if much does other than rest. Take care.
Posted 6/26/2015 7:55 AM (GMT -6)
I'm up to 1500 mg now and I think it I helping! Pain is down some which hasn't happened in years. I'm having some diarrhea, but it's always something, right? Thanks as always for being there!
Posted 7/18/2015 11:12 PM (GMT -6)
Just wanted to check back and tell you the 1500 mg is really helping my neck pain (several levels of degenerative disks there) but not my lumbar arthritis pain. I'm scheduled for a lumbar steroid injection in a couple weeks and hoping that helps, but my neck is so much better--hurray!
Posted 7/18/2015 11:20 PM (GMT -6)
Glad to hear your getting some relief and for most of us CPers we take what we can get however and whenever we can get it. Let us know how your injection turns out and just fyi it sometimes is given in rounds of three before actually seeing great deal of relief and like the neurontin it can take some time to work or not and varies in how much relief and for how long in individual persons.
Posted 7/19/2015 12:57 PM (GMT -6)

Sgober13 said...
I have never seen a great response to taking gabapenten but I sure do see a difference whend I miss a dose. I have been taking it for a couple years now and don't miss a does if I can help it!

what happens when you miss a dose?
Posted 7/19/2015 5:10 PM (GMT -6)
Most people see an increase in their symptoms. Many have stopped taking it thinking it was not helping all that much only to find out it really was doing something for them.
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