Gabapentin Makes Me Impaired And Not In A Good Way (Page 2)
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I was given gabapentin after a spinal injury that resulted in severe radiating pain down my legs. Thanks to a great physical therapist, and a lot of hard work, things are better now. Not perfect. But a lot better. I took the gabapentin for two days. The first day I felt fine (all things considered)... but the gabapentin didn't seem to have any real side effects. The second day, I honestly felt like I was on narcotics or something. I could barely move off the couch and, though I have never used heroin, I am very, very familiar with prescription opioids. I have never been that impaired in my life. It honestly scared me. No one else I know who has ever taken this medication has ever experienced anything like this. What gives?

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I have a friend that gabapentin has the same effect on her!! I also take gabapentins and I don’t notice anything different, except that the neuropathy in my feet and legs feel almost normal!! But my friend can take just one or two and then she MUST go to bed because she is SOOO ‘drunk’!!! So, you’re not alone, but its rare i think? Good luck.

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Forgot to mention, Gabapentin is on its way to being placed under controlled substance by the FDA. They are working on it as we speak. They also have a street name for the pills. They are called “Johnnies”

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I have the 800 mg of Gabapentin. I normally take half at a time. They are really good but becareful with them. To me they are just like opioids,

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I hated Gabapentin but it really helped with my nerve pain in my arm from a C spine injury. At one point my PCP suggested I take 100 mg a couple times during the day for pain. I was taking 600 mg at night, and had been, but recently I had really started having some daytime fatigue that was unbearable. Anyway, I tried her 100s for a couple days. I slept non stop pretty much. She told me the side effects would stop, but I couldn’t keep trying. Even after only two days I was wasted for 4. It was awful. When I stopped taking the night time gabapentin a year or so later I slowly weaned off it, per their instructions. I felt like crap. Some doctors say there aren’t gabapentin withdraws. They’re wrong. This year my new PCP thought Lyrica might be better because it is supposed to have less side effects. I tried 25 mg at night once on a Monday and I was in a cloud until I woke up Thursday. I went out and did stuff Wednesday, but I felt so stupid and foggy it was almost painful. Btw- the daytime fatigue was a lot better off the gabapentin, even though my PCP kept insisting it wouldn’t do that. Except that it says that it could in the pharmacy print out. Read everything.

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Might try a Quell unit, you can buy at Amazon for $250 but can return up to 60 days full refund. It only works on 81% of people but it has gotten my wife off of hydrocodone and gabapentin after 9 yrs of pain and meds. Look it up for yourself. I am not hooked up with them. Got info from a Duke prof.

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Re: David (# 1)

I just couldn't tolerate Gabapentin. The drug made me comatose. Finally seeing a Doctor in Oct for my back pain who specialize in spine problems. He is very busy, must be very common "Back injuries". My injury happened back in March 2018 removing clothes out of the dryer.L-4 and L-5. It has been a very long road trying every thing to get better.

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Tolerance rises quickly. I recommend taking it only when necessary. Your dose is probably way too high.

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I've never had any bad side effects my dose is 300mg at hs (night) for peripheral neuropathy I have been on it for 6 months and feel I need it 2 x's a day it may have bad effects on me taking it twice a day but has so far been really great until recently for my disorder I sleep very sound at night and blame it on gabapentin but now when I get up in the morning I've noticed that i have symptoms in my feet but no longer in my hands you may talk to your Dr about decrease in mg its been a wonder drug for me

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Hi Stephanie, sorry to hear about your experience with Gabapentin. Based on the list of possible side effects I'm seeing through NIH, it may help answer some questions as to why you were feeling a certain way... (and this is only some of the potential symptoms listed):

Coma
Confusion
Delusions
Dementia
Weakness or loss of strength
Incoordination
Impaired vision
Feeling faint, dizzy, or lightheadedness
Concentration problems
False sense of well-being
Rapidly changing moods
Reacting too quickly, too emotional, or overreacting
Restlessness
Suspiciousness or distrust

Ref: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0045606/#DDIC600709.side_effects_section

Perhaps it just took some time for enough Gabapentin to build up in your system to where it could cause such side effects, whereas if it were just a single dose your body could fend it off? Either way, I hope you feel better soon! Side effect lists such as what's noted above make me question the validity of most pharmaceutical preparations and whether it's actually poison vs medication...Things that make me go Hmmmmm...

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