Gabapentin?? side effects?

[Wobbly]

Hi there, the MS specialist wants me to up the dose of gabapentin, I'm not taking much right now, only 1 pill 300 mg at night as it really tires me out.

She wants me to take 100 mg twice a day in the daytime, but I'm taking amantadine twice a day to help with fatigue.  Now the gabapentine twice a day makes me tired?  

does gabapentin have a side effect that effects you mouth...my teeth, gums.. etc..get so sore everyday for the past few days, not sure why.  I though maybe one tooth, but the other parts of my mouth get sore as well?

plus I'm so out of it, that I can't go outside... I'm so tired and can't seem to sit for long.  

I don't know if its the meds...cause the amount isn't that high... if not the meds...why is this happening?

I'm not sure what to do about it..

take care
wobbly
dx

[Wobbly]

Hi there.. I'm not taking it for headaches...I don't get them... I'm taking it for leg pains, and tingling, numbness etc.. it's supposed to help with neuro pain...

what I can tell you now is take it at a low dose to start and go up slowly, otherwise you might get side effects... some people do and others do not.  

good luck.
wobbly

[kmil1999]

My husband takes it for headaches.  Doesn't always keep them at bay, but it definitely helps.

Good luck,
Karen

[meg321]

Yes, she said she was starting me at a low dose, and i trust her a lot since she is my MS dr.

and, Karen, i am so glad it helps your husbands headaches.

I am concerned about starting them right now because I am going to have some extraction soon and i dont know if they can be taken with pain meds, which i will need for litte while.

hugs, meg

[kellieg71]

Gabapentin does make you sleepy and sometimes foggy in the brain.  
Just FYI, I have been researching MS alot lately and saw that sometimes oral pain or toothache's can also be a symptom of ms.  

[tingling803]

I also take gabapentin for leg tingling  and pain in legs as spasms prescribed by my neurologist.. I take 400 mgs.. it helps my energy level, i take it 4times dailey.It does help also with the leg spasms, but not the tingling.  I have not been diagnosed with ms, which i feel is what i probably have-have had these symptoms for over 20 years.  I have vertigo, dizziness, fatigue, leg pins and needles and spasms.  I have had several mri's, one did show some leisons.  It is very frusturating, have had every test other than a recent spinal tap, which i do not want to have.Last one was 15 years ago, and was clear.I take effexor also, this does help for some reason with the head noise and vertigo.

[PastorDan]

Gabapentin was one of the most difficult medicines to which I've ever had to become acclimated, but since I did, it has been well worth it.  I was having severe eye pain, particularly orbital pain.  It was frequently debilitating.  I had the pain nearly all of every day.  On a 1-10 scale I'd have rated it at least a 6, usually 7 or 8, and sometimes pushing a 9.  (This is from someone who has a history of kidney stones with complications that once required a 17 day hospitalization.)  Now I still have it nearly every day, but for less than an hour almost every day that it occurs, and at a level of 2 to 4 for severity.

I started with 300 mg 1x/day, and was to do three days, then 2x/day for 3 more, then 3x/day.  Well, to make a long story short (HA! Me?!), my 3-day steps wound up being closer to 3-week steps.  After a month or so at 900, the neuro-ophthalmologist agreed with my proposal to up it to 1200 mg/day.  Also, I recently began taking them more nearly around the clock rather than all at bedtime, and this also seems to have helped quite a bit.

Overall, I rate gabapentin as the only thing that has had any lasting positive effect for any  of my symptoms.  That might have something to do with the fact that this was the only doctor who seemed to genuinely listen to all I had to say before leaping to any conclusions.