Gabapentin has an average rating of 7.1 out of 10 from a total of 2,439 reviews on Drugs.com. 63% of reviewers reported a positive experience, while 22% reported a negative experience.
Gabapentin is used in a wide range of other conditions, though it is not always the most effective option for certain ailments:
- Menopausal symptoms
- Uremic pruritus in liver failure
- Restless leg syndrome
- Insomnia
- Anxiety disorders
- Preventing Migraines
Many of this product’s off-label uses are somewhat controversial, as some claim there is no evidence the medication provides any benefit in some of the above conditions, while others claim it produces good results for some individuals.
In other cases the medication is recognized as being effective, but is not typically the preferred treatment; in these situations Gabapentin may be given when first-line treatments are ill-advised for some reason.
Patients are not advised to buy Gabapentin for off-label use without doctor collaboration, particularly if there are any preexisting major medical conditions.
Gabapentin Can be used for a lot of Nerve Pain related health conditions including Cough, Hot Flashes, Alcohol Withdrawal, Anxiety 161 reviews, Bipolar Disorder, Trigeminal Neuralgia, Postherpetic Neuralgia, Migraine, Insomnia，Occipital Neuralgia，Peripheral Neuropathy，Vulvodynia, Benign Essential Tremor, Epilepsy, Fibromyalgia, Pain Relief, Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy , Neuropathic Pain，Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome，Periodic Limb Movement Disorder， Spondylolisthesis， Burning Mouth Syndrome，Pudendal Neuralgia， Small Fiber Neuropathy.
For Anxiety
I am being treated for treatment resistant depression, GAD with panic disorder and PTSD. I have been on many different combinations of meds with no relief. My psychiatrist recommended a more aggressive approach, electro convulsive therapy. I went home feeling defeated and cold turkey stopped all my meds. SUPER BAD IDEA!! I had very bad “discontinuation effects” they don’t call it withdrawals but it very much was. Luckily I have a supportive husband who helped me find a new doctor. She asked if I had tried gabapentin. I had never heard of it. I started at 100mg 3 times a day and am currently at 1200mg 3 times a day along with 225mg effexor and 45mg remeron for sleep. I no longer suffer! I haven’t had a panic attack in months and my mood is generally very good. I love the fact that I can still feel too. I still experience a full range of emotions appropriate for the situation. I laugh, I cry, I get excited, I get scared. I feel in control of myself for the first time in years.
For Alcohol Withdrawal
Been a cop for 25 years. Also worked for private contractors in Afghanistan. Needless to say, I retired with two gifts. PTSD and Alcohol abuse. Up to 1.75 (a handle as we drunks call it) a day. Gabapentin came to the rescue (800 mg twice a day.) at first there was dizziness and I had to walk with a cane. On day 3, I normalized. No cravings. Shakes disappeared. Nausea gone. Went to AA but that made me have cravings again after hearing the stories so, luckily, I stopped going. Miracle drug? It was for me. Did not stop the PTSD though, but found that medical THC did the trick at night before bed. Sober for a month now.
Started off innocently enough by just having a few beers on the weekend with my under age pals in the basement playing pool. Four decades later, was jugging vodka all day and messed up my bp and heart rate. Was 170 over 110 and bpm of 120 while resting. Ambulance took me to the hospital twice for chest pain. Went to get help for my alcohol issues a few months back. Was put on gabapentin 300 mg per day with a schedule to increase to 1800mg over the day. Believe it or not, I felt better day one and quit booze by day three with no wicked withdrawal or the usual cravings. I had tried to quit a zillion times before. My mind feels like I am 25 again. Please see your doctor! You do not need to live recklessly and damage your health and relationships further. I was spending 6 to 7 hundred a month for vodka. Now, well after Covid, I am going to take 3 vacations a year with the money I will save. Good luck all! Also I almost forgot to add Once on gabapentin my bp and heart rate went from 170 over 110, 120 heart rate resting to 118 over 88 and 66 heart rate resting. No more chest pain and trips to the hospital. Call your doctor or a rehab facility. I went to a confidential regional clinic. I was on course for a heart attack.
For Insomnia
Used to wake up many many times each night and be tired in the morning even after 9+hours in bed. First tried hydroxyzine but I was soooo groggy all morning. Gabapentin at 400mg about two hours before bed is perfect for me, get a much better quality of sleep and wake up with no side effects. Been using over 6 months. Soooo helpful!
Peripheral Neuropathy
I’ve been taking Gabapentin for a year. I’ve tried all the drugs used for neuropathy & it’s the only one that helps without side effects. This disease has caused electrical sparks through my feet & legs, numbness in my toes & balls of the feet, cramping, a hard wooden-like swelling in the balls of the feet that makes it so I can’t walk flat foot anymore. I can’t walk without my Birkenstocks, I can’t run, jump or exercise on my feet. There is rippling that runs through my feet & legs. All this madness is eased a little with the Gabapentin so I can at least live day to day. I’m taking 600 mg 3 times a day. I was taking 900 3 times a day, but have been able to cut back some. It truly awful way to live & I’m only 61.
I was prescribed 100mg gabapentin at night first, then 200mg at 5pm and the 100mg hour before bed. Took 3 weeks for results. Interestingly, it was pretty constant relief after it took effect. Helped legs and feet and as time went on, my back was relieved. I’m such a fan of this drug, hope it works out for a long time. Great to have legs and feet feeling better!
I have been taking Gabapentin for about two weeks now, starting at 300mg at night which knocked me out! I had been having terrible pain in hips and legs, and sciatic pain at night, and tingling/ numbness in hands in the morning. It made me sleepy the first week but now starting to get used to it. Still a little clumsy but getting better. Now increased dose to 300mg at bedtime and 300mg in the morning after breakfast. I feel so much better now. Side effects other than sleepiness are not apparent so I am much encouraged.
For Pain
Lumbar fusion, cervical fusion. 12 years of opiate treatment for the pain led to a large tolerance for these medicines. I’m opiate free now. I have been put on Gabapentin. I love it. For me the build up of stiffness is more of a problem than the pain is. Don’t get me wrong, it hurts!, but I seize up the more I do a physical activity. I’m on day 4. The stiffness is all gone. The pain is reduced to the lumbar area only, and only a 2 or 3 on the pain scale after a full day of housework. So many good reports out here, I thought I would share…
I have metastatic breast cancer and I had a spinal tumor that was causing intense wrap around pain in my right rib. I had radiation which helped a lot but I still experience very severe pain in my lower rib. I am only 35 and married with 3 kids and on so much OxyContin and Oxycodone for breakthrough pain that it causes me to feel like a zombie. I asked about gabapentin because my oncologist said it could be pain from damaged nerves from the tumor in my spine. I was started on 300 mg once a day yesterday to see if it works for me (my main goal is being able to take less opiates). It works GREAT! When I was just on opiates for the pain they worked ok but I still couldn’t sleep on my right side or even touch my right ribs without severe pain. With the added Gabapentin I can’t feel the pain at all and I’m so happy about this. I don’t have to use as much of my breakthrough Oxycodone either. Another perk is that it helps with my hot flashes due to medically induced menopause.
For Fibromyalgia
Pain medications have never worked on me. I am 72 and have severe arthritis and every joint hurts, I have had one knee replacement and will have the other one done very soon. I worked hard all my life. Some days I wonder why I keep getting out of bed. I was finally prescribed GABAPENTIN because nothing else worked. And it gives me the relief I never had before. I wish I had known about this sooner because I wasted a lot of my life in pain.
My new doctor just prescribed Neurontin. For the first time in years, I had a good night’s sleep and woke up with less pain and stiffness. It’s the first “Good morning” I can truly say. Only 300 mg dosage. Thrilled. My previous doctor tried other medications, always an epic failure. My new doctor listened to my “story”, paid attention, and believed me when I brought up my Fibromyalgia.
For Bipolar Disorder
Gabapentin saved my life. I have suffered from bipolar disorder and PTSD for the past 7 years. The anxiety, severe depression and PTSD were ruling my life. I lost all my friends, couldn’t hold a job or relationship, I lived alone moving from place to place searching for what I lost or didn’t have as far as normality and balance in my body, mind and soul. The constant hurricane of thoughts in my head, good or bad, caused an inhibition of social ability so I could never be comfortable in any given social situation. After struggling for so long while taking just about every medication out there, I went med free for a while. The last episode I had made me lose just about everything I worked for to build myself back up. I became worried and desperate so I saw a doctor. After taking this, it all stopped. I can sleep, eat, I am stable and motivated. It has been so long since I have been happy. This medication is a miracle for me, I hope it is further prescribed to more suffering from mental illnesses.
For Neuropathic Pain
Starting about 4 years ago I started having headaches that started at the left side of the back of my head and migrated to the top back. It felt like a large knife was being pushed into my head and twisted. It was as horrible a pain as I could imagine. They woke me up in the middle of the night and would last hours. I have bi-polar 2 which I am treated for. When they were over I was totally exhausted and my day was shot. My psychiatrist finally had me try gabapentin, two 300 mg capsules per day. It worked immediately. I have had no full blown headaches since then. It saved my life. I am lucky I did not lose my job. At times my life was so miserable. They can only say I had atypical cluster headaches. Gabapentin saved me with no side effects.
Restless Legs Syndrome
Hello everyone, Feeling great this morning! I started gabapentin 2 weeks ago for RLS. Last night I was in bed at 10.15, RLS a tiny bit and then got up to the bathroom, dropped off at 11 p.m., slept like a baby until 5.40 a.m. I’ve had RLS for 25 years, bad, very bad, extreme, intolerable at various times, but always avoided meds. The past 6 months RLS has been intolerable, all night every night. I’ve been taking Gabapentin for two weeks, 300mg at night. Side effects at first red flushing, dizziness, clumsiness and for one morning (1 hour) weird dark mental thoughts . Now body adjusted I’m sleeping great, RLS and side effects gone. I feel happier. Having RLS so long and lack of sleep I thought my normal mind was normal, but now I feel happier I am not sure if it is that I am now sleeping or the gabapentin itself or combination. Don’t know, don’t care. Its early days, but promising. Just arrived at work, pouring with rain as usual (Manchester, England), but KC and the Sunshine Band are playing on the radio.
For Migraine
As a migraine sufferer since I was 13 yrs old. I am now 56 yrs old. I tried it all. Imitrex, Fiorinol, Maxalt, Fioricet, Relpax, Zomig, Treximet, Cafergot, you name it. Sometimes I ended up in the E.R for a shot of Toradol. Finally I saw a general practitioner. He put me on gabapentin, 400 mg 3x a day. What a miracle. I’ve been on it for over a year now and been TOTALLY headache free. Wish all my other doctors were up with this. Would have saved me a lot of suffering.
For Occipital Neuralgia
I take four 800 mg doses per day. The pain is barely at bay, but anything else I’ve tried had zero effect. I also take flexeril at night I don’t think it does anything. There is a bald spot on the back of my skull where I constantly press down bc of the pain. I do everything with my left hand now bc I can’t keep my right hand off the spot. The pain never goes away. I’ve had facet injections, nerve blocks, massage, 6 weeks of PT. My Occipital Neuralgia has bankrupted my family and is ruining our lives. I fear losing my job- becoming homeless with no health insurance. I also live with Depression and Anxiety disorder which are exacerbated by the ON. I take so many pills every day I can’t imagine what it’s doing to my organs. I’ve tried exercise, yoga, meditation I’ve done everything I was told to try. Gabapentin is the only thing that helps at all. If I were not a mother, I would end my life. The pain is constant and unrelenting. No one should have to live like this.
For Hot Flashes
I have started to take gabapentin 100mg, It is working for ME and fybromyalgia, but also seems to be helping with menopause which I never expected so much so that I am considering stopping my Everol patches…… so am very happy my hot flashes and night sweats are less. I only take one about 7pm but am thinking of taking two to help more. I was wondering though has anyone gained or lost weight on these or stayed the same and has anyone had problems with swelling or fluid?