Generic Name: Gabapentin for Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (gabapentin)
"I was put on this for diabetic nerve pain. The starting dose was 300 mg twice a day. On the starting dose, I found I was slightly moody, had some stomach problems, and the nerve pain was just as bad as ever, if not continuing to get worse. My doctor raised the dose to 600 twice a day, and I became someone I did not even know. I was extremely moody, angry, difficult to be around. Horrid! It also affected my stomach more. I would eat, even just a small amount, and have stomach pain, vomiting, and so on. It got so bad I simply stopped eating. I simply lost the desire to eat, despite feeling hungry. Started having trouble with vision and intense headaches as well. There has to be another option. I can't live like this."
"My feet had severe pain, and my legs were jumping at night. The doctor put me on 300 mg per evening. My feet and legs are much, much better, and I am able to sleep during the night. After three weeks, I feel like a new person, able to walk in Home Depot and Walmart without the motorized buggy. Also, check your vitamin D level. This has been a miracle to me, I was not willing to give up a good life yet, and now I feel I have my life back."
"Was having horrible and excruciating pain in my feet due to type 2 diabetes that was recently diagnosed. 300 mg at night has allowed me to now sleep at night without foot pain and get a good night's rest."
"I have had burning pain in my feet and toes for years, and recently asked if there is any drug for the pain since I take Eliquis and cannot take any NSAID products and do not want to take opioids. He prescribed gabapentin 100 mg twice daily. I was concerned about possible side effects, but after taking the drug the first night and sleeping through the night without burning pain in my feet, I was convinced. I cannot tell that I have any side effects, so to me this is like a miracle drug."
"I am a DAV using the VA as my primary. I have been taking Gabapentin for a good 10 years. I had painful feet and toes. Burning and like thousands of bees stinging at time. I had problems with sheets over my feet while in bed. My Dr started me with gabapentin 200 mg a day. which helped but didn't change much, so he increased it to twice a day and that made a big difference. As a final Note I'm 75 yr old male and My Doses have increased to 600 MG three times a day and I can't feel my feet except when pain decides to turn them into FIRE and PAIN. If gabapentin is helping, I would hate to stop taking it."
"I was prescribed Gabapentin for peripheral neuropathy in my feet from type II diabetes. It was bad enough that I didn't even like bed sheets touching my toes at night. I started on 300 mg, taking one in the morning, one in the evening, and two at bedtime. It worked OK, but my physician raised the dosage to 400 mg, and it completely blocks the pain sensation. I have experienced no side effects. Note: I am a 68-year-old male."
"I was originally prescribed this medicine because of numbness I had in my feet. I was an alcoholic for about 10 years and had some nerve damage done to my feet. As part of quitting, I sought help for the side effects of new sobriety. This medicine makes the pain from numbness go away almost completely. I can finally wear any type of shoes that I want. I also have an issue with anxiety as my body chemistry had been impacted highly from addiction. This medicine helps me keep a calm and cool head. I take other things such as Atarax and Trazodone, but I notice a big difference if I don't take my Gabapentin. It makes my anxiety stay at a certain level and not escalate into anger and compulsiveness."
"I have diabetic neuropathy in my feet. It developed suddenly and was the initial indicator that I had diabetes. It feels like I'm walking on burning coals. I can't even let the sheets touch my feet at night because they are too rough. After my diabetes diagnosis and learning to give myself insulin shots, I talked with my doctor about the increasing debilitating pain in my feet. He prescribed gabapentin, and it was like a miracle! My pain was gone immediately. However, within two weeks, I called the doctor back complaining of increased foot pain. He increased the dose to one 300 mg capsule twice a day. My podiatrist says this is a good sign because the nerves in my feet are coming back to life. Now I'm calling asking for another increase."
"The medicine was prescribed for diabetic neuropathy of the feet, it worked in alleviating the pain in my feet. I gained weight while taking it but did not know why. About 3 months ago, I stopped it, and since then I have lost 25 lbs not trying to lose weight. I do have a little problem of insomnia since stopping, but not enough to take a sleeping pill. I wish I had known about the weight loss from stopping the medicine before now, as I thought there was really something wrong with me while dropping the weight."
"I had two major surgeries last year. A total hip and a total knee while in rehab for the total knee. I started experiencing diabetic neuropathy. The doctor gave me 900 mgs daily for it. I can tell you it was a great improvement and was very pleased. The 1st of the year, I tried a herbal medicine and it didn't work. I did give it a month. I am now back on the gabapentin. I am so thankful for it, never will I go without it."
"My doctor put me on this medication for the pain in my feet. At first, it seemed to be helping, but about a week after taking it, I started experiencing side effects like my feet burning and being so sensitive. My husband went to touch my feet, and I almost jumped out of my skin! When I go to the bathroom, I am in there for about 15 minutes, and the things happening in there are not good. I can't sleep at night because my feet are burning, and I have the same thought running through my head, and it won't stop. Now my stomach is bothering me more, and I have a terrible taste in my mouth. I know I can't just stop taking this medication, and I have a call in to my doctor, but it is Sunday, so another day of these awful side effects."
"Was placed on gabapentin 30 days ago, 100 mg, 3 times a day for neuropathy of hands and feet. Also have severe agoraphobia with panic attacks. Most hand and leg pain much better. Remarkable is that I can now leave my house and do my own grocery shopping. Only possible side effect is I have no sleep pattern now. I sleep when tired and wake when rested. Can be in bed at 10 a.m. or 6 a.m., sleep just about any time and wake 8 to 10 hours later. Yesterday I fell asleep at 6 a.m. I got up at 7 p.m. Day before, I fell asleep at 11 p.m. and got up at 9:30 a.m. See doctor in 2 days, will ask what can be done. I can't take sleeping pills because they and Valium do exactly the reverse in my body. I took Ambien 1 time, was up 2 days. Ambien also causes restless legs syndrome."
"I have severe neuropathy in my feet, legs, and hands. Now that I'm on 800 mg 3x a day, my pain is not gone, but it eases enough that I can tolerate it. I have no insurance and go to our local Health Department for medicine, so the Gabapentin is my only pain reliever. Thanks for this medication."
"I was on Gabapentin, and there were 3 other medications that caused some of the same side effects, and after a few years, it stopped helping. I stopped it for about 2 months, and now the pain in my legs is back. I started taking 2 capsules a day, and the pain in my legs is a lot better. The problem is the unsteadiness, I can't hold things and drop them. This is after I took it for one day, and this is happening on day two. I may just take it when the pain becomes unbearable. I get it from the VA, so I don't know if they have any other medication that treats the same problem, and if so, I will ask to be given it for a while to see if it works. The VA covers my expenses after billing my outside insurance first, then covers the rest for service-connected."
"I take 900 mgs a day. It makes the burning sensation in my hands and feet go away. But the pain in my shoulders and arms is still present and the side effects are worse than the disease!!! I experience tremors, blurred vision, loss of memory, dizziness and drowsiness. I'm a mother of three and I can hardly function, but I do anyway. I still have very little use of my left side. If my neurologist thinks it's best, then who am I to argue. It does work. But for ME, the side effects are a tad bit annoying for a full time mom."
"Originally prescribed for seizures, once I developed neuropathy my dose was more than doubled (300x3 to 800x3). It works pretty well, though it has a bit of an odd sedation about it at the higher dose. It also makes me a bit clumsy. Overall pretty good, not quite as good as painkillers, but without the nausea and tolerance problems of all that."
"Gabapentin reduced the amount and in some areas eliminated my nerve pain. The imbalance, constant stumbling, long lasting stomach upset, the vomiting, the diarrhea seem to outweigh the good effect on my neuropathy thereby causing a deterioration in the quality of my life."
"I had severe skin neuropathy pain, so severe I would rate it a 8.5 - 9 out of 10.. I heard about a new clinical study using gabapentin and nortriptyline for neuropathic pain. When I was only on gabapentin, no reduction in pain.. then saw study, asked my doctor and was put on 30 mg Cymbalta. Within three days felt a substantial reduction in pain to a 0.5 - 1 most days, sometimes a 2. No longer had to use pain killers like Tylenol 3! Unbelievable, the combination of the two drugs works on neuropathic pain like you wouldn't believe."
"I'm scared to even start taking this medicine bc of the side effects. I have depression however the doctor still prescribed the medicine. I've had suicidal thoughts before. For now I'm not taking it until I've aired my concerns with my doctors. Also getting a second opinion. My feet and hands didn't bother me until my diabetes medicine was changed 6 weeks ago. Hopefully something good will happen"
"Within hours of starting Gabapentin 400 MG...my feet and hands started swelling and my pain level increased two fold. Without knowing anything about any side effects, I started giving things away and lost all desire for things that I once cared about. My doctor was ill during this time and I stopped taking the drug on my own and now the pain level has decreased some but the swelling in my feet has NOT gone way and is quite DISABLING!!!. My quality of life has gone from not so good to horrible !."
"I was prescribed gabapentin for diabetic peripheral neuropathy and was gradually increased to 2400mg per day which I have taken for almost 2 years and I had no adverse side affects. I found it did help my sleep but it had absolutely no affect at all relieving my pain, zero!"
"I am using this for severe pain from a botched lung surgery for pneumonia. Have been using Percocet & Oxycontin but all they did was irritate the pain. I startied using this when I figured out that my surgery had caused nerve damage. I was in so much pain so I took double the dosage & felt like I was on an acid trip...it wasn't fun...but now I use it as prescribed and it helps. My pain is way down. Makes me drowsy but it is worth it."
"I’ve been taking various doses of gabapentin and lyrica for over a year. No relief whatsoever. I haven’t stopped taking it because I don’t know what else to do. I believe it’s all hype from these pharmaceutical companies. Oh and advertising all over the doctors office"
"Have used this medication for three years, gradually increasing the dose. Take 600mg three times a day. I have repeatedly asked doctor for to change medicine because it does nothing for my diabetic neuropathy."
"Tried Lyrica and could not drive due to impact on awareness. Tried ibuprofen which works when combined with acetaminophen in nighttime cough medicine but takes too long to relieve pain. Tried gabapentin(Neurontin)generic 100 mg three times per day. It works good for the pain in the feet but does not work for my back pain. Side affects are minor, a slight impact on alertness but not much so I have no problem driving safely."
Neurontin, Gralise, Gabarone
Neurontin, Gralise
