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1140169 tn?1370185076

Gabapentin gab

I've been using Gabapentin for a week now and have just increased dose to 600mg.

I've got a couple questions.

1- I'm taking 300 mg at bed time (8:00 pm {i must be getting old!}) and 300mg in the morning, is this the correct proceedure, or should I be taking all 600 at night?

2- Will this drug help stop headaches? So far it hasn't helped with that, but it seems to be slightly helping with other symptoms (too soon to expect much, I guess).

3- Are weird dreams/nightmares a side effect of Gabapentin?

4- Are you taking or have you tried Gabapentin?
    Hoe does/did it work for you?
    What dosage do/did you take?

Thanks all, looking forward to your comments.

Mike
15 Responses
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867787 tn?1318936230
I take 1800 mg.per day & split it up throughout the day. I thought I didn't need it & that it wasn't helping until I quit taking it & realized it does help with my pain. It doesn't help my headaches but seems to help with nerve pain, twitches, & restless leg syndrome. I started out with 300 mg.3x daily & moved up as needed. I do think weird dreams can be a side effect but so far I haven't experienced that.I have found that phenergan (usually prescribed for nausea) helps with the headaches but if that combined with exedrin migraine doesn't help I have percocet also. I try not to use the percocet but sometimes I have to give in & take it. I hope this helps some!! Best wishes!! :)
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi Mike,

I've been using it for over a year now and it does help the discomfort/pain in my back and legs.  My neuro told me a dose was supposed to last 8 hours, but I don't find that to be the case.  I've had to up my dose and adjust depending on what I'm doing that day.  

It has never done anything for my headaches, but I suppose it depends on what kind of headaches you get.  My neuro says my headaches are tension headaches and I get them in the back of my head - at the base of my skull, I guess.  Sometimes I feel as though my head just isn't connected properly.  He has me on Phrenilin as needed for the headaches.  I find if it helps most if I take it with a caffeinated soda. Of course, your headaches may vary.

The one thing I am really concerned about is that apparently all of this medication is causing me some major dental decline.  I was horrified at my last dental visit as apparently the dry mouth side effect is causing me trouble.  Wish I had realized earlier.

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi Mike, I realize I'm replying to your question over a hear after you posted it but I just stumbled across it researching my own headaches. I have MS and was prescribed 300mg of Gab 100mg 3x a day. So far not much help with the headaches and no weird side effects. I was also prescribed Pamelor for rebound headaches about a year ago but quit taking it due to side effects. The headaches have been so bad I've gone back to the Pamelor and still taking 300mg a day of the Gab. Starting to have some relief from the headaches, however, today I have a horrible one. Mine are on the sides of my head (temples) and feel like my head is being squeezed together. Horrible. Hope this helps. At this point you've finally found an answer and treatment for your headaches if you have please share!
Helpful - 0
1140169 tn?1370185076
Holy moley, lots of responses!!! Thanks everybody!

Unfortunatly I didn't get the answer I was hoping for re headaches. Oh well. I'm still getting bad headaches (like at 12:30 am last night), and I take Tramacet for that.

I was really hoping the Gabapentin would eventually fix the headaches and I could elliminate Tramacet.....but I guess not, not yet anyway, maybe once I build up the dosage. I'm not sure if I should keep increasing dosage till the headaches stop or if this drug will ever help with headaches. Hmmmmmm.

Sounds to me like most people need between 1200 and 1800 mg daily. I was hoping a lesser amount would do the trick.

I'm glad for the that this drug has helped most of you with sx relief, and with mostly no negative side effects,......that's encouraging.

It's interesting to hear limbo landers are prescribed this drug and it's helping. I wonder why it wasn't prescribed for me till I got a dx? Who cares what is causing neurological sx's. Maybe the dr's wanted to wait and see if my sx's dissapeared on there own. Oh well, what's done is done.

Thanks everyone for the responses! The info you provided me is invaluable and greatly appreciated!

Cheers, Mike
Helpful - 0
751951 tn?1406632863
Oops, Mike, I forgot to answer two of your questions.

I was originally (after my initial ramp-up) using 300 mg capsules 3x per day: with my other morning pills, early to mid afternoon, and at bedtime.  When it was upped to 4 of those per day, I took the extra one at bedtime.  At the next time I ran out of refills & had to get the neuro-ophtho dude to write a new Rx, he wrote it for 400 mg pills 3x per day, so I am back to the earlier schedule.  Never got an explanation as to why the switch, but since it didn't change my dosage and left me with fewer pills to take, I didn't really pursue that question much.

I'm not sure how critical that might be; I think I do fare better generally if I do it per the above-described plan, but I often find myself getting preoccupied or distracted (here, for example) & forgetting the morning doses of everything until mid morning, sometimes even lunch.  I also do the same with the mid afternoon gabapentin dose, so I often take it with my suppertime meds.  Sometiimes I forget all the PM pills until bedtime, so I've taken 800 mg at once (along with my carvedilol, paroxetine, bupropion, & Vytorin) and suffered no noticeable ill effects.  I might have a bit of residual sleepiness this morning.

As for dreams, I've been on it long enough and have had so many significant life events during this past year that I really can't remember anything about that.  If I did, I might not have made any connection with any of the drugs.  I am known to have had bizarre, vivid, and realistic dreams from time-to-time anyway, sometimes throwing punches or shouting commands, either of these being enough to shake me awake.  Such things occurred for me once in a while even before this illness struck (whatever it is; I'm still in limbo).

Uf2, I'm obviously not an MD or NP, but I would really be surprised to hear of much neuropathic pain relief in an adult taking only 400 mg of this stuff per day.  I've read that there is a wide dosing range possible, but that sounds to me like it might be below the bottom end for effective therapy.  FWIW; what do I know, eh?

Shalom.
Helpful - 0
983008 tn?1329925830
Hi Mike, another Gabapentin user here, I've been on it about 2 months now (came off Pregabalin due to side effects to try this one), take it same way as most of the others - 400 morning, afternoon and night and I'm still trying find the right dose to stop the jellylegs

300 x 3 per day worked for about 4 wks ( had to build up slowly) but have needed to increase lately

side effects have been minimal except I've started snoring - waking myself up as well as my husband!

don't want to come off it as this one has helped the symptoms but funnily enough had really bad headaches for the first 4 weeks and then they just stopped

Val

Helpful - 0
1207048 tn?1282174304
I'm also taking it, I have for about a week and a half. (I'm in limboland) From what I understand, I'm taking it a bit different then everyone else. I only take it at night. I started off at 100mg, then increased every night until I found the right dose. My doctor said the right dose will make me sleepy about 2 hours after I take it. Well, I have 6 kids, and I'm not really comfortable being too drowsy overnight in case they need me. My husband is very good at getting up with the kids but I just worry LOL I never got any higher then 400mg.

I'm pretty comfortable taking 300mg every night, it helps me sleep but I'm still able to wake up to hear the baby if she cries (she is going to be 1 on Friday, and has been fussy due to her molars coming in) Last friday I did not take it at all. Partly because I wanted to see if I *really* needed it. I tossed and turned that night. So, now I know I absolutely sleep better when I use it. Which is going to be hard for me to accept, I really dislike taking medicine.

I have not noticed any side effects, but, again, I've only been taking it for just over a week.

~Jess
Helpful - 0
531519 tn?1307632685
Hi Mike my names is Julie and i too am on Gabapentin.
I have suffered no adverse effects from this medication i.e no bad dreams no side effects ect. My dosage is 900mgs in the morning and 900mgs at bed time. I was given this med for the feelings in my legs it has taken the edge off but not cured it. I wish you well and hope you get some reliefe from taking gabapentin.
Kindest Regards and Best Wishes
Julie x
Helpful - 0
560501 tn?1383612740
  I am another Gabapentin (neurontin) taker. Ditto on what others have said, it is a good med for that type of sx. As for your questions......

* I get no bad dreams from it
* No weird side affects
* I take mine throughout the day
  Not just in A.M and P.M

I hope you find some help /relief from this med.
~Tonya

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
i have been on and off it. at first, 300mg in the am was too much for me so i took it at bedtime. it helped some with sleep but not much. i can't really say it helped much for some neuro pains i have.

i'm now back on 300mg at nite. i may, start taking 100mg in the a.m. too just to experiment with it.

it doesn't phase some of my pains -- and these pains i am almost sure are nerve type due to they feel like internal shingles. as for the mechanical pains, (herniations, and disk disease) it may be helping me. nor does it do a thing for my right eye right face/jaw pain.

but, dosage is important, and i might have to ask for an increase and keep giving it a try.

one thing is, it is a safe drug for the most part.

i take baclofen formytremors. they are the mild shakey type that radiates from my spine to other areas. i prbobably notice thme more than others although a shrink recently commented on them when i was at his office this year.

baclofen has been a good med for me. it is subtle but works gnetly.

best of luck Mike. good to see you are making good progress.

Helpful - 0
929431 tn?1247394932
Hi Mike

I started taking Gabapentin in March, started like u on 300mg a day for the first week at night and then increase to 600mg the next week with increase of another 300mg per week. As advised by my doc took them same as u one at night then one in morning the next week and 3rd week one in afternoon,  now on 4 tabs a day but doc told me to take two at night and wen go on 5 tabs next week to take two in morning increasing them that way till up to 6tabs (1800mg) per day.  

They have helped with my sleep issue and burning pains , but not with tremors or muscle weekness maybe that will come when get to the higher dose!  Did have a few weird dreams at start but ok now.  But the fact they help me sleep really helps me feel alot stronger durning day so thats one big plus for me.  Don't really get headaches so cant comment on that.
Hope that you get some good benfits from them.

Val
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi there,
and welcome to the MS forum, sorry this is just my belated welcome as I don't think we have met before, I am so sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis and I am sure with it there must be mixed emotions.  This forum is a great place for info and venting.

I have been taking Gabapentin now for a few years and find it fantastic, I had some very weird dreams when I first started upping my dose.  Just do it as everybody says, gradually and go of it gradually too, should you decide to stop if for any reason.

At first I was very sleepy when I increased my dose but it didn't take long for my  body to get used to it, I also found that I had a bit of a dry mouth,  I'm on 1800mg a day (300mg tablets), I just take one in the morning (6am), I'm an early riser, one at lunch (noon) and one at tea time (6pm) and one when I go to bed at 10pm or there abouts.. I have never taken them all at the one time, you are meant to divide the dose.

I hope you get some relief from this drug and not too many side affects, if you are concerned about anything I would always either ring the MS nurse (if you have a case nurse allocated or ring your local pharmacy or neuro.

Best wishes,
Udkas. (hope it gives you some symptom relief)
Helpful - 0
751951 tn?1406632863
I'm probably repeating myself, but Gabapentin is the only drug that's provided any lasting relief, this from the deeply bruised feeling on the backs of my eyeballs.  I started with an Rx for 900 mg/day (in 3 doses).  Was directed to ramp up each weeek, starting with 300 mg/day.  Had to back off the 600 and 900 level each for a few more weeks; it was knocking me flat.  Once I got there, though, it helped considerably.  It was upped to 1200 mg/day after the eye pain came back; that was probably last October, and so far so good.

Just be prepared to take those upward steps more slowly if it takes too much out of you.

Not much of one for headaches either.

I have noticed that my sometimes-horribly-painful right knee has bothered me almost none in recent months.  Injury to it was during the Ford Administration, but the ortho wizards have all said it was nerve damage, with a 1 in 3 chance of helping it through microsurgery.  Same probability that it would be worse, they said.

Unfortunately, I'm getting a nasty stabbing burning feeling in the left knee lately.  Comes & goes, but when it comes back, it's with a vengeance.

Best wishes.
Helpful - 0
279234 tn?1363105249
I'm on Gabapentin. My neuro decided to start me out slow, because I'm more prone to side effects when started out on higher levels. I have found that each neuro/doctor is different in prescribing meds.

I started out on 100mg of Gabapentin 3x a day.  I split up the pills, of course, morning, mid-day, before bed. Then my neuro wanted me to take 600mg a day after a month of being on it. I would split up the pills the same way (morning, midday, bed). My pills were still in the 100mg dosage, so I could do this.

If your pills are in 300mg dosage, I would do, what you are doing, and split the dosage up. As far as having strange dreams, I've always had strange dreams, even before medication. I know I'm just weird like that..I'm also on another medication (Topamax) for headaches/seizure prevention, so it's hard to say which medication is helping what. The Topamx is mostly used for the seizure prevention in my case.

Take Care :)




Helpful - 0
233622 tn?1279334905
Hi Mike,
I am taking Gabapentin.  I am on 1800 mgs right now.  It helps a great deal.

I think taking 300 at night and 300 in the morning is correct.  

Not sure about the head aches.  I have never been one to have head aches.

Weird dreams could probably be a side effect.  I seem to remember I had that problem at first also.  

It is working well for me.  It helps with nerve pain.  I started out on 600mgs a day and took it like you are.  

It was increased as I needed it.


If it is not working well for you I know there is another medication that can be used for the same purpose.  

Like with any medications there can be side effects.  You just have to hang in there for a couple of weeks and see if things start to calm down.

Unless it is really causing you awful symptoms then call your doctor.  I have done alright on it but it does make me sleepy.  Nap time!! :~}

LA dx'd MS Feb 2008
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