Talk:Gabapentin

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I

—{{}}I have been prescribed gabapentin for my rehmatoid arthritis pain. This is the first time I have been without pain for over five (5) years. The drug has little or no adverse side effects and is much safer than some other drugs used to treat pain.

It's quite an unusual choice, as the RA pain is initially inflammatory and later simply frictionate. Gabapentin is typically used in neuropathic pain (pain due to compression or damage to nerves). Nevertheless: good to hear, and I hope the benefits will be sustained! JFW | T@lk 20:20, 6 November 2005 (UTC)

I was given it for disc pain - one of my lumbar region discs has a major issue which has yet to be diagnosed. It is helping me "function" while I wait for my MRI, medical evaluations, etc (YAY! US Medical system for being so slow), and for chiropractic care to hopefully work.

I did want to mention side effects, but not being a professional in the health care arena, i didn't want to edit the page: Side effects include short term memory difficulties (I can't remember if I took my medicine, or why I got up, etc), constipation, and a slight tired feeling where you kind of want to take a nap. For the first 3 days, until my body got used to the drug,a side effect was a complete and total high - I was totally stoned. This effect wore off as my body got used to the medicine.

Gabapentin & PTSD

As a non-professional, I didn't want to edit this page, but hopefully one or more of you are monitoring a RSS of the discussion page...

For context, I'm an individual with a 25+ year history of chronic anxiety &-> depression disorder(s) (mostly social) who has responded very dramatically to Gabapentin in the last six months, so of course I'm enthusiastic about the drug. A few comments about possible edits to the article.

1. I found the information about the off-label use of Gabapentin very interesting.. is that a 90% prescription rate for psychiatric purposes? If so, the article 'buries the lead' in this respect, and the introduction should make more mention of the topic.
2. My impression is that, in Canada at least, Gabapentin is being looked at seriously with specific regards to PTSD. I don't know if that's true elsewhere, of if the results have be anything other than the usual (vaugely promising, but mostly inconclusive). Pending node-local standards of attribution (ie, if you can verify this to your satisfaction), PTSD should probably get a specific mention in the list of anxiety disorders.
3. Secondhand, I've heard of research with regards to the treatment of fibromyalgia with Gabapentin.
4. One of the reasons that doctors are so willing to casually try Gabapentin is that it has a substantial history of use with well-understood and medically insignificant side effects, due to the original epilepsy population. This puts it in a different category than most modern psychiatric drugs, and would be significant information to psychiatric clients looking up the entry. And, of course, it's excreted by the kidney rather than the liver.

I'm afraid I have to run at the moment, but I hope I've been not-non-helpfull... my intent is to keep an eye out for replies. Thank you for reading this comment.

ml 12:10, 29 April 2006 (UTC)~

Gabapentin is actually being prescribed off-label for fibromyalgia. There are currently studies being run, and my doc prescribed it for me. This should be added somewhere, but I'd rather not have it immediately reverted.... Arinna 20:31, 25 June 2007 (UTC)

Gabapentin for hot flushes

Quick PubMed search found one mention of gabapentin use for hot flushes in a male patient undergoing antiandrogen treatment for prostate cancer: PMID 11895055

and several trials of gabapentin for hot flushes in postmenopausal women/women undergoing treatment for breast cancer. These seemed the most interesting:

Guttuso T Jr, Kurlan R, McDermott MP, Kieburtz K (2003). "Gabapentin's effects on hot flashes in postmenopausal women: a randomized controlled trial". Obstet Gynecol. 101 (2): 337–45. PMID 12576259.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Pandya KJ, Morrow GR, Roscoe JA; et al. (2005). "Gabapentin for hot flashes in 420 women with breast cancer: a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial". Lancet. 366 (9488): 818–24. PMID 16139656. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

I'll leave a relevance assessment/rewording in the article to other editors. Fvasconcellos 19:26, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

Just a question

If i had siezures when i was a baby, will this medication make me have siezures again? The only time i have them now is when i have a fever & go to sleep. If anyone can answer my question, please post it as a comment so i know what will happen if i start taking this medication!!! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 12.72.235.233 (talk) 20:34, 13 May 2007 (UTC).

That would be something to ask your doctor..... Arinna 20:32, 25 June 2007 (UTC)

Gabapentin and Fibromyalgia

My doc prescribed this for my fibromyalgia, and I read somewhere that there are studies being done to prove it's effectiveness for that use. It is currently being prescribed off-label for fibro... could this be added anywhere? Arinna 20:31, 25 June 2007 (UTC)

According to the clinical study by Lesley Arnold and others (et al) entitled "Gabapeentin in the treatment of Fibromyalgia" (I.D.I.S. # 574153) there was a 30% reduction in the BPI Brief Pain Inventory scale, ans was an iprovement over placebo in the Medical Outcomes Study but also was inconclusive in the mean tender point pain threshold and the Montgomery Asberg Depression rating. Also there was some evidence that gabapentin would influence sleep, which would traditionally be to the advantage of those with fibromyalgia who report problems sleeping. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.30.201.151 (talk) 00:45, 26 October 2007 (UTC)

Under Clinical Uses

"Outrageously expensive"? Isn't that a rather opinionated turn of phrase for a wikipedia article?

eveningscribe 14:32, 29 June 2007 (UTC)

It's an interesting phrase to be sure. Here a box of 100 600mg pills costs $215, or $30 with an authoritative prescription (that's 22 days worth). In contrast a box of 20 20mg oxycontin costs $70 ($5.95 with authority) (10 days worth). Given the difference in abuse potential and general 'strength' I think the double the price rate is a bit steep. WierdJohn (talk) 07:02, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

Low-sodium diet

I have a question I someone can answer:) I have been put on a NO sodium diet and need to know whether Gabapentin contains salt of any kind? any ideas on where I might find an answer? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 201.170.80.144 (talk • contribs) 17:47, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

Gabapentin is not marketed as a sodium salt; some excipients/inactive ingredients may contain sodium, though. Your local pharmacist should certainly be able to provide an answer. Fvasconcellos (t·c) 23:08, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

"abuse potential"

what does the article mean by this? according to the Drug Abuse article, the term is pretty broadly defined, and it's unclear what definition the article uses. is it referring to the potential for addiction? someone clarify. 71.60.151.41 14:47, 29 September 2007 (UTC)

A lot of care needs to be taken with words like, "abuse", "addiction", and "dependence". In the context of gabapentin, there has been some research that has suggested that it can be "abused". This simply means that it is possible for people to use it (often in doses exceeding normal treatment) to "feel good" when there is no underlying condition. In other words: people might "use" it in a way that they should not be doing for effects different than what it was intended for.

In terms of "physical dependence", there is some risk of seizure if someone has been on high doses for some time and suddenly stops taking the medication...so, it needs to be tapered gradually. There may also be some mild withdrawal symptoms. Generally, though, the research suggests that gabapentin really doesen't precipitate a "physical withdrawal syndrome".

As far as "psychological dependence" is concerned, this is anyone's bet as just about any activity can cause this in the right person. Generally, though, there doesn't seem to be too great a potential for this to happen, either.

Lastly, then, we look at "addiction". Is it possible with gabapentin? Well, the answer is mixed. First, it would be impossible for an abuser to increase dosing beyond a certain point (maybe 5000mg per day) and achieve any increased benefit (this is due to the decreasing bioavailability of gabapentin as dose increases....see the PI sheet on this for more info). So, the "depth" potential of addiction is pretty shallow. Also, a user is unlikely to physically "crave" the medication if they stop taking it (other than to prevent the chance of a seizure). They may psychologically crave it, "I need it to get by today"...but even the chances of that are pretty modest.

These are all of the reasons why gabapentin isn't scheduled...it's really a borderline case and pretty darned hard to become "addicted" to in any bad way.

By the way, pregabalin (Lyrica) was scheduled (DEA Schedule V....the lowest / least risk of scheduled medications) because it has a much better bioavailability and was shown to be somewhat "liked" in a study done with prisoners. Again, it probably has a pretty low chance of ever being "addictive"...but it's not a "zero" chance.

Unless you have a super - high risk profile for abusing drugs, I wouldn't worry about gabapentin. Heck, it's used (in one protocol) to *treat* cocaine and alcohol addicts through detox...and these folks (by definition) have a pretty high disposition toward drug abuse. So, take that for what it's worth. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.9.32.49 (talk) 14:22, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

I believe the abuse/misuse potential is grossly under-stated. I work in a pharmacy in Boston and probably half of the patients on this drug clearly have no neropathic pain, are not diabetic, and are just looking for a way to get high. The only mood disorders they have is when they get mad at me when we won't fill it for them because "someone stole their meds." I'm amazed this drug isn't a schedule V because that would make it just that much harder to get, since the laws get much stricter when you're dealing with a controlled, verses almost uncontrolled drugs.Gleb Budilovsky (talk) 21:48, 20 January 2009 (UTC)

Yes, Gleb, I'm sure we all know exactly how easy it is for an untrained person to figure out which people have "real" pain or "real" mood disorders by watching them stand in line for a couple of minutes while they're on medications that adequately treat their medical conditions.

But this isn't a chat board for your opinions or personal experiences. If you can find a reliable source that discusses this issue, then we can use that to expand the article. Editors' personal experience cannot be used. WhatamIdoing (talk) 20:42, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

"are not diabetic"? Gleb, either you're entirely ignorant or you're confusing two different drugs. Regardless, based on personal experience, I will tell you that it is simply not possible to "get high" by taking Gabapentin. 69.49.44.11 (talk) 02:22, 29 March 2009 (UTC

Presumably, Gleb was referring to diabetic neuropathic pain. I agree that sources are required for any useful contribution, but it's unreasonable to dismiss those points entirely without investigating them. Jddriessen (talk) 12:09, 1 May 2009 (UTC)

I take gabapentin, and honestly it does have a great, long-lasting buzz . . . the first couple times you take it. Then, nothing. Your tolerance builds so fast even a massive dose won't re-capture the effects, unless you abstain for a week or more. The high does seem to happen to everyone, but even for those for whom it does, attempts at long-term abuse will be frustrated. 98.246.184.50 (talk) 17:14, 11 June 2009 (UTC)

A quick google of "gabapentin abuse" may just link one to erowid and certain forums and it may just link one to personal reports of abuse. It is an abused drug, it just isn't dangerous or noteworthy. It is possible to get physically hooked, actually, just not so much mentally. Diminishing recreational returns are fast and steep. Two nice days equal one regular day, and under constant use thereafter it's more regular days. The body will notice if the mind won't, says a google search of "gabapentin withdrawals," where recreational users report the withdrawals of gabapentin are hell. These users whose reports I read were mostly using it to stave off opiate withdrawals, so that may be the link. Or it may not, as no one seemed to mention if they stopped the GABA after their opiate withdrawals would have subsided anyway. I don't doubt there is any even slightly psychoactive drug that people won't try to abuse and keep abusing even in the face of much better more destructive more pleasurable and more longer lasting drugs available cheaply and quickly off the streets. Attacking a pharmacist is stupid. She probably knows more from looking at people awaiting their scrips than the doctors of those patients do. I've had a fun time once or twice watching the scrip counter and overhearing scrip names and watching people pep up at the very sight of their medication, and I keep sleezy friends, and those sleezy friends look and act just like some scrip-holders who salivate at the sound of "hydrocodone." A peek at timestamps reveals certain habits or non-habits and unless there is concomitant use of other medications, such as for arthritis, neuropathy, or other chronic conditions, it's obvious who's doctor shopping and who genuinely needs to be on stuff. It's just not encyclopedic, and it's not a pharmacist's business beyond the actual business, and neither is it anyone elses business to tell that woman she doesn't know what she's talking about when she's probably been able over the course of time to form a formulaic if discriminatory profile of users and abusers. But nowadays you can't really tell who's using and who's not since it seems half the damned country is. Yalk (talk) 16:24, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Muscle relaxant

Some other articles link here mentioning this as a muscle relaxant, yet there's no info on the article about that...? --212.159.16.241 (talk) 00:03, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

Gabapentin and Breastfeeding?

The article doesn't mention what category gabapentin is for breastfeeding. Anybody know? I had a prescription but went off while I was pregnant and want to know if I can take this now. 71.197.31.63 (talk) 05:01, 9 December 2007 (UTC)MMurray

dosage- how much/how long

I have been put on 300mg x times a day, this is my saecond day. I have Trigeminal Neuralgia and the pain is still there. How long do you have to give the drug to take effect before you concider increacing the dosage.does anyone has any experience with this ?--Tn pain (talk) 04:37, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

You really need to have this conversation with your health care team. Call your doctor tomorrow, and let him/her know that you're not exactly happy with the results so far. Gentgeen (talk) 05:22, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

Last Line of "Clinical Uses" Section Looks to Be Redundant

It looks like the last line of the Clinical Uses section should be deleted because the information is already in the 10th paragraph. Or perhaps they should be merged.

Ex2golem (talk) 18:05, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

Thank you for your suggestion. When you feel an article needs improvement, please feel free to make those changes. Wikipedia is a wiki, so anyone can edit almost any article by simply following the edit this page link at the top. The Wikipedia community encourages you to be bold in updating pages. Don't worry too much about making honest mistakes — they're likely to be found and corrected quickly. If you're not sure how editing works, check out how to edit a page, or use the sandbox to try out your editing skills. New contributors are always welcome. You don't even need to log in (although there are many reasons why you might want to).

I have removed the duplicate sentence and split the excessively long section into others. You might like to look at the suggestions at WP:MEDMOS#Sections for more ideas about organizing the article. WhatamIdoing (talk) 20:10, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

Side affects of Gabapentin question

I do not wish to edit this page but I have a question.

I have been taking Lyrica for Fibromyalgia, the side affects of falling asleep while talking to someone or while eating or driving (with no warning) has made it impossible for me to take it during the day. Taking this medicine for over a month has not changed this. I have tried this with 75 mg dosage as well as 50 mg dosages. I take 50 mg at night and none during the day and am able to stay awake but the pain is dibilitating and really has affected my life. Also the weight gain is terrible and I don't need this either. I believe it adds to the stress on my muscles. I have two choices, I can take the Lyrica during the day and stay home and sleep or I can not take it and hurt so badly I can barely function. I don't like either choice.

My insurance company has suggested Gabapentin as a replacement. I read one of the comments on this discussion page and am led to believe the sleepiness disappears after taking Gabapentin for a couple of weeks, is this the norm? Also what about weight gain? I saw nothing about this on the discussion page. I have talked to my pharmacist and got wishy-washy answers. I hope you can help me to make an informed decision about whether to ask my doctor to change my medication.64.24.48.2 (talk) 23:24, 28 September 2008 (UTC)

This is not an appropriate place to ask such questions, or even a safe place to ask such questions. Please take this question to your own qualified physician. This is not a general chat board, and Wikipedia does not give medical advice. Asking this question here is likely to get you an answer by a young student pretending to be an experienced physician. WhatamIdoing (talk) 18:37, 29 September 2008 (UTC)

You may want to check out whether there is a) any substance to the rumors that Pfizer tried to suppress studies that found side-effects and/or counterindications, and b) see whether this applies to you; then discuss this with your MD. I have not found anything yet (not that I have looked), the news just came in. Some editor might want to check it out. Dysmorodrepanis (talk) 17:41, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

U.S.-centric

If you read through this article, it only makes references to the legal status of gabapentin in the United States' Controlled Substances Act. We need more data about the legal status of the drug worldwide.--Metalhead94 (talk) 19:58, 25 October 2008 (UTC)

Gabapentin vs. "other benzos" ?

That line toward the bottom about use of Gabapentin rather than "other benzos" implies that it's a benzodiazapine! It is not. Plus, slang like "benzos" should not be used in the interests of accuracy. I'm not doing any editing today but I do suggest somebody remove the word "other." 63.22.170.236 (talk) 15:03, 19 February 2009 (UTC)Ellie

Epilepsy

Does it actually work for epilepsy? Or is it not used to treat that any more? 129.31.243.59 (talk) 18:13, 14 April 2009 (UTC)

I can't say for sure since I am not sure (yet) as to whether I have been professionally diagnosed as having epilepsy, rather than a seizure disorder (accompanied by about a half a dozen other disorders (PTSD?, TBI, bipolar, and others I can't recall due to recent grand mals; all prior to gabapentin use...). But to quote www.epilepsy.com/medications: "Brain cells need to work (fire) at a certain rate to function normally. During a seizure, brain cells are forced to work much more rapidly than normal. Gabapentin helps prevent brain cells from working as fast as a seizure requires them to. In this way, seizures can be stopped when they are just beginning." Hope this helps some. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.97.147.217 (talk) 03:56, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Uncommonly used, its anti-seizure effect is kinda weak. 202.146.15.12 (talk) 07:30, 30 May 2009 (UTC)

Does Gababentin cause weight gain? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.110.70.59 (talk) 22:16, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

overdose on gabapentin

im wondering what would happen if you were to take to many gabapentin in a short period of time. not meaning to just not 8 hours in between taking them —Preceding unsigned comment added by 123.3.164.32 (talk) 01:56, 31 July 2009 (UTC)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12645962 This study examined the effects of gabapentin consumption ranging from 50mg to 35,000mg (35g). Although sedation, dizziness, vomiting and other effects occurred, none of them were severe enough to warrant medical attention.

"CONCLUSION: In this cases series, gabapentin exposures caused no or minimal toxicity."

There are also many anecdotal reports of doses up to 52 grams with no life-threatening medical problems. Gabapentin is a drug of diminishing returns. the more you take, the less is actually usable by your body.

"Outcome Reporting in Industry-Sponsored Trials of Gabapentin for Off-Label Use"

[1][2] -Shootbamboo (talk) 01:45, 15 November 2009 (UTC)

Akathasia is not "rare"

This article states that restlessness associated with anti-psychotic medications is rare. This is simply not the case, particularly with the older, 'typical' anti-psychotic drugs such as Haloperidol. See this article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10647977?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_SingleItemSupl.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=2&log$=relatedreviews&logdbfrom=pubmed This should be changed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.15.30.72 (talk) 14:35, 13 December 2009 (UTC)

Gabapentin is not an antipsychotic, it is an anticonvulsant and mood stabaliser.--Literaturegeek | T@1k? 01:01, 27 July 2010 (UTC)

Gabapentin for Panic Disorder

From the article is appears that you dismiss Gabapentins use in Anxiety related illnesses, yet in the referenced document ^ Chouinard, G (May 2006). "The search for new off-label indications for antidepressant, antianxiety, antipsychotic and anticonvulsant drugs". J Psychiatry Neurosci 31 (3): 168–176. ISSN 1180-4882. PMID 16699602. statements are made about its possible effectiveness with severe cases of Panic Disorder, would it not be appropriate to include this within the article as at the moment is appears misleading. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.115.163.68 (talk) 16:09, 29 July 2010 (UTC)

I don't see why not.--Literaturegeek | T@1k? 01:45, 4 August 2010 (UTC)