Gabapentin 300Mg Capsules.

[Sir Alec]

Has anybody had these painkillers, please? If so, what side effects did you experience?
I took one yesterday and have to take two today, three tomorrow, then stay on three a day.
I can feel todays beginning to work, as I'm feeling light-headed, my hands and feet feel 'floaty' if that makes sense.
Last night, I took the first one at 6pm and fell asleep for an hour and a half. That's not like me at all!
Taking one was bad enough, I'm dreading taking three. I don't want to feel like this all day. I've got a puppy to look after and it's very inconvenient feeling this way. Do the side effects wear off? They must be quite serious tablets as the leaflet inside says that you can't stop them immediately, you have to be weaned off them. I had the same thing with Duragesic patches. My repeat prescription didn't arrive in time and I had appalling withdrawal symptoms. My Mum said that I was behaving exactly like a junkie she'd seen in hospital, who was suffering 'cold turkey'. It was vile and I don't want a repeat performance.
Any advice would be very welcome.

[RATTER15]

I think the floaty feeling is quite normal until you get used to it. I get the same from codeine for the first day or two. It should settle down, if not get back to your GP.

[Sir Alec]

Thanks, Ratter. I take cocodamol 30/100's and Acupan/Nefopam hydrochloride too on a regular basis, but I've never had this feeling before and they don't seem to be doing much for the pain. I don't know how, but the doctor seemed to think I'd got nerve damage.

[RATTER15]

I wont say too much as im not qualified to do so but I would stick with it and give you pharmacist or GP a call and get their advice. If it were me I wouldn't be over concerned at this stage.

[vakayu]

With a lot of painkillers trial and error is the only way to find out which is suitable and agrees with someone,I found these to be ineffective for my type of pain so had several different kinds before settling on one which sort of works.If the side effects(which are different for everyone) are troubling you have a word with the doc.

[Sir Alec]

Will stick with it and see how I go, but the pain is awful! It is a shooting pain radiating from my kidneys to my spine every time I stand up. It was worrying me as I have a damaged left kidney and a small stone in it too.

[Pete65]

I was on Gabapentin for several months, Sir Alec.
Two things I noticed about them.
One, I slept very well.
Two, they gave me an increased appetite and I gained weight..
The did not help much with nerve pain, for me.
I did better on Lyrica/Pregabalin.
Persevere with them and see how you go.

[Sir Alec]

Thanks Pete65. I was given Lyrica for kidney pain and all I got was a huge list of side effects, it was awful! I've often thought I'd make a great 'guinea pig' for testing new drugs. If there's a side effect going, I'll get it!

[Sqad]

Early days....who knows how you will tolerate these strong pain killers who certainly have sedation as a side effect, certainly not a pharmacist or your GP........or any medical doctor.

\\\\ Do the side effects wear off?\\\\

They might.............and there again , they might not.

On and a half hours of sedation is not that serious...is it?.......even with a puppy to look after. Taking one at 6pm sounds fine.......how about taking the second one at about 3-4 a.m in the morning so that you will not notice the sedation.

Get back to us on Sunday.

[Grandma_Yiddo]

My son took it for a while,it gave him nightmares.

[Eve]

I had the floaty feeling when I started Pregabalin and really enjoyed it, although it wasn't much good for doing much. It wore off quite quickly though. I've found I got it when upping the drug too though when upping it to double then treble the amount within days (as instructed) I had some very unpleasant thought. As I'd read about it as a potential side effect I took myself to bed and then went back to the last step dose and it was ok.

Different drug and I see you've been on it before but meant to be similar.

I hope it works for you and you can take the time to get used to the doses and increases that you need. Could someone help out in the meantime while you adjust to it as it seems a shame to be put off the potential benefit.

[Matheous-2]

Having seen what this did to my wife- we would strongly advise checking the huge list of side effects gabapentin has- so much so, we wonder how this drug was ever approved! Apart from side effects there is also a list of more than 500 interactions with other drugs and foods!!
None of these things were explained or warned of to my wife.
We would not touch this stuff....

[Peter Pedant]

good advice from Sqad - basically try it and see

yes drowsiness is common

I dont think you have tried it long enough - addiction is not really a problem and the drug is very different to things like codeine

[Peter Pedant]

see here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabapentin

bit technical

it seems very obvious it works in some people and not in others

[Matheous-2]

My wife developed stroke like symptoms after only a few days on gabapentin before coming off 'cold turkey' also about which she wasn't told. You cannot just stop taking it! I assume all of you who are on this were advised in advance?

[Matheous-2]

http://mentalhealthdaily.com/2014/04/19/gabapentin-neurontin-withdrawal-symptoms-duration/

[Peter Pedant]

Thx matheous
modern droogs have a draw back in that they work !

( and you might say - wha' feeling your head had been blown off - you call that working ? )

[Matheous-2]

Other names under the guise of Gabapentin:
Trade names Fanatrex, Gabarone, Gralise, Neurontin, Nupentin, Neogab
Sourced from Wikiepedia.

[Eve]

Googling many drugs will bring up all kinds of horror stories and even leaflets with them will have long lists. I'd stick to the more formal sites, NHS, Patient UK etc... and advice from your GP or pharmacist.

Drugs will work differently for different people but there is a reason they were prescribed for you and it should be a decision for you personally on a balance of the benefit verses side effects for you in discussion with your GP/consultant. They could make a big difference for you, initial effects could calm down but please don't scare yourself with horror stories on the internet.

[Sqad]

Good post by Eve ^^^^^

Drug interaction is a grossly overplayed tune.

[Matheous-2]

Eve, my wife was given this drug with no warnings whatsoever. Would you accept a prescription pain killer that you could not stop taking without suffering withdrawal symptoms? Both the side effects & withdrawal symptoms are actually WORSE than the pain it was meant to relieve.
This experience has now made both of us extremely cautious of any new prescription without first asking obvious questions.....GP's are too ready to browse a drugs catalogue and say 'try this' just to get you quickly out of the surgery without enough concern for our future well being.
My wife had a consultation with a neurologist who said it was 'quite common' for gabapentin to cause stroke-like symptoms, which is what occurred!- That possibility alone would be enough for me to say 'no thanks'- however, I do appreciate that everyone is different as is their individual reactions, but I would just like GPs to inform us of possible consequences- in this case it would be a very lengthy process.