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Home > Community Treatment Reports and Side Effects > Gabapentin Treatment Report

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What is Gabapentin?

Gabapentin is an anticonvulsant medication used as an adjunct treatment for partial seizures and for the management of postherpetic neuralgia and neuropathic pain.

Reported Purpose & Efficacy

Reasons and Efficacy
Purpose	# of patients	# of patients with evaluations Efficacy
Pain	988	241
Fibromyalgia	865	271
Nerve pain (neuralgia)	600	153
Numbness and Tingling with Pins and Needles	345	86
Stiffness/Spasticity	219	50
Other	196	19

See all 350 reasons taken ▼

See all 3825 patients currently taking Gabapentin

Mouse over the table for more information

Reported Side Effects

Side effects as an overall problem

Severe	146
Moderate	208
Mild	278
None	327

Commonly reported side effects, conditions, and hospitalizations associated with Gabapentin

See all 272 reported side effects ▼ See top 6 reported side effects ▲
Weight gain	108	108
Fatigue	73	73
Sleepiness	61	61
Increased Hunger	48	48
Brain fog	45	45
Grogginess	44	44
Dizziness	36	36
Word fishing	29	29
Drowsiness	28	28
Mood swings	27	27
Sedation	26	26
Extreme sedation	22	22
Tired when first up in morning	14	14
Dry mouth (xerostomia)	12	12
Double vision (diplopia)	10	10
Depressed mood	9	9
Tiredness	9	9
Excessive daytime sleepiness (somnolence)	9	9
Sensory changes	8	8
Decreased level of consciuosness	8	8
Headaches	8	8
Constipation	8	8
Swelling in legs, feet and ankles	7	7
Nausea	7	7
Memory problems	7	7
Blurry vision	6	6
Daytime sleepiness	6	6
Balance problems	5	5
Anxious mood	5	5
Vertigo	5	5
Muscle twitching (fasciculations)	5	5
Pain	4	4
Diarrhea	4	4
Ringing in ears (tinnitus)	3	3
Groggy in morning	3	3
Edema of extremities	3	3
Dizziness (vertigo)	3	3
Cognitive Confusion	3	3
Forgetfulness	3	3
Dry throat	3	3
Edema (fluid retention)	3	3
Swelling in feet	3	3
Increased appetite	3	3
Dizziness upon moving	3	3
Dizziness and feeling faint	3	3
Twitching	2	2
Insomnia	2	2
Poor Concentration	2	2
Speech problems	2	2
Swelling in hands	2	2
Cognitive impairment	2	2
Hospitalization	2	2
Numbness in hands	2	2
Tired legs	2	2
Water retention	2	2
Exhaustion	2	2
Feeling intoxicated	2	2
High feeling	2	2
Problems concentrating	2	2
Pain in lower back	2	2
Hands Tingling	2	2
Heart palpitations	2	2
Dizziness upon standing (ie too quickly)	2	2
Slowed thinking	2	2
Loss of balance	2	2
Constant brain fog	2	2
Loss of short term memory	2	2
Numbness and Tingling with Pins and Needles	2	2
Morning sleepiness	2	2
Difficulty thinking	2	2
Eye Twitching	2	2
Fluid retention weight gain	2	2
Dizziness with nausea	2	2
Visual disturbance	2	2
Itchy rash	2	2
Spaced out	2	2
Drunk feeling	2	2
Excitability	2	2
Irritability	2	2
Hair loss (alopecia)	2	2
Migraine headaches	2	2
Crying spells	1	1
Lack of concentration	1	1
Decreased reflexes	1	1
slowed reaction time	1	1
Allergic reaction	1	1
Increased fatigue	1	1
Edema in feet	1	1
Feet Tingling after sitting for a while	1	1
Muscle spasms	1	1
Neuropathic pain in feet and legs	1	1
Loss of appetite	1	1
Memory Loss	1	1
Rashes (redness, swelling)	1	1
I get awake instead of tired	1	1
Loss of spatial thinking	1	1
Edema in lower extremities	1	1
Teeth cracking	1	1
dizziness like jet lag, vagueness in my head with increasing intensity.	1	1
Fibro fog	1	1
Bee sting sensation	1	1
Hyperactivity	1	1
Sexual arousal	1	1
Drug dependence	1	1
Swelling	1	1
Muscle shaking	1	1
Feeling sick	1	1
Balance worsened	1	1
Convulsion	1	1
on edge	1	1
Voice changes	1	1
Unsteadiness	1	1
Intermittent swelling of hands	1	1
It made me lethargic (before I started the provigil)	1	1
Dry nose	1	1
Loss of focus	1	1
Ankle edema	1	1
Intermittent drooping eyelid	1	1
Ear pressure	1	1
Craving sweets sugar	1	1
Bumping into things (clumsiness)	1	1
Word finding difficulty	1	1
Bipolar manic episodes	1	1
Sex drive (libido) increased	1	1
Agitation with irritability	1	1
Can't focus	1	1
Pain worsened	1	1
Cognitive decline	1	1
Spasms in arms	1	1
Suicidal behavior	1	1
Anxiety attacks	1	1
Affects memory	1	1
Repeating words (palilalia)	1	1
Whole body shaking	1	1
neck stifness, creaky, fatigue	1	1
Excessive sleeping (hypersomnia)	1	1
Joints ache	1	1
Worsening suicidal ideation	1	1
Increased or worsened depression	1	1
cheese effect	1	1
Bone Pain	1	1
Increased anxiety	1	1
Conjunctivitis	1	1
Drugged feeling	1	1
Sleep disturbances	1	1
Drowsy in a.m.	1	1
Woozy	1	1
Listlessness	1	1
Pain in throat	1	1
Back pain worsened	1	1
Pain throughout body	1	1
Memory and cognition problems	1	1
at first very sleepy not now though	1	1
red spots and red bumps	1	1
Stupidity or "stupids" effect	1	1
Muscle twitching in face	1	1
Hallucinations	1	1
Craving carbs	1	1
Heavy sensation in head	1	1
Gum dysplaysia	1	1
Increased sleepiness	1	1
I had experienceds a brief period of nervousness, as the dosage was increased.	1	1
I mess up when speaking . I'll say words out of order .	1	1
dragging leg, other neurological symptoms	1	1
Chronic constipation	1	1
Fluid retention in lower extremities	1	1
Headaches which last for 5 days at a time	1	1
sleepy-loopy	1	1
Leg edema	1	1
Electric shock sensations	1	1
Swelling in arms	1	1
Tiredness increased	1	1
Swelling in legs	1	1
Swelling in ankles	1	1
Stoned feeling	1	1
Skin desensitization	1	1
Tired eyes	1	1
Edema in hands	1	1
Difficulty losing weight	1	1
Sleeping better	1	1
Spasms in thighs	1	1
Sudden blasts of hunger	1	1
Jerky movements of hands	1	1
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)	1	1
Allergic reaction when taken with Alkaselzer	1	1
Not relaxing	1	1
Hypertension	1	1
Pancreatitis	1	1
Erectile Dysfunction	1	1
Sleep Paralysis	1	1
Sleep Walking	1	1
Heavy sweating anytime, day or night	1	1
Head Tingling	1	1
Numbness	1	1
Breathing difficulty	1	1
Swollen feet	1	1
Tremor	1	1
Slurred speech	1	1
Itching (pruritus)	1	1
Heartburn	1	1
Low blood pressure	1	1
Sexual dysfunction	1	1
Spasms	1	1
Acid reflux	1	1
Cramps in feet	1	1
Tremor in hands	1	1
Heat intolerance	1	1
Memory lapses (brain blinks)	1	1
Urinary retention	1	1
Chills/fever	1	1
Rash or skin problems	1	1
Cough	1	1
Peripheral neuritis	1	1
Feeling of lump in throat	1	1
Bowel irritability	1	1
Sweating	1	1
Sore throat (Pharyngitis)	1	1
Nerve pain (neuralgia)	1	1
Stuttering	1	1
Restless feeling in legs	1	1
Swallowing difficulty (dysphagia)	1	1
Muscle spasm in stomach	1	1
Stomach pain	1	1
Sneezing	1	1
Falls	1	1
Seizures (grand mal or tonic-clonic)	1	1
Back pain	1	1
Muscle weakness	1	1
Gait problems	1	1
Lip compression, rolling lips together	1	1
Agitation	1	1
Chest pain	1	1
Panic attacks	1	1
Nightmares	1	1
Joint pain	1	1
Sweating excessive	1	1
Lack of motivation	1	1
Sleeplessness	1	1
Cold hands and feet	1	1
Sex drive (libido) decreased	1	1
Feet Tingling	1	1
Burning sensation in feet	1	1
Pain in shoulders	1	1
Muscle fatigue	1	1
Burning Pain	1	1
Difficulty waking up	1	1
Amnesia	1	1
Neck pain	1	1
Acne	1	1
Confusion	1	1
Lightheadedness	1	1
Suicidal thoughts or urges	1	1
Aphasia	1	1
Frustration	1	1
Orthostatic/Postural Hypotension	1	1
Anger	1	1
Depersonalization-derealization	1	1
Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)	1	1
Pain in hands	1	1
Difficulty with orgasm	1	1
Stroke	1	1
Unbearable stinging all over	1	1
Taste changed	1	1
Shakiness	1	1
Jittery feeling	1	1
Nervousness	1	1
Sensitivity to sun	1	1
Nausea and vomiting	1	1
Overly talkative (talk too much)	1	1
Loss of sex drive (libido)	1	1
Nausea sometimes	1	1
Moodiness	1	1

Reported Dosages

Frequently reported dosages based on patients currently taking Gabapentin. See all 112 dosages ►

100 mg daily	200 mg daily	300 mg daily	400 mg daily	600 mg daily	900 mg daily	1,200 mg daily	1,800 mg daily	2,400 mg daily	3,600 mg daily
198	122	623	116	483	631	388	421	264	110

Reported Stop Reasons

Why Patients Stopped Taking Gabapentin (multiple reasons could be selected)
Reason	# Patients	Percentage of patients
Did not seem to work	403
Side effects too severe	313
Doctor's advice	165
Other	141
Course of treatment ended	52
Personal research	38
Expense	34
Not indicated	18
Change in health plan coverage	12

See all 887 patients who’ve stopped taking Gabapentin

Reported Duration See details about how long patients take this treatment ▼ Reported Duration Hide details ▲

Currently Taking Gabapentin

A bar graph

0-1 month	1-3 months	3-6 months	6 months-1year	1-2 years	2 years or more
12	53	76	180	308	872

Stopped Taking Gabapentin

A bar graph

0-1 month	1-3 months	3-6 months	6 months-1year	1-2 years	2 years or more
137	139	142	157	140	169

Reported Adherence, Burden & Cost See details from patient evaluations ▼

Adherence

Taking treatment as prescribed

Adherence of Gabapentin

Always	722	75%
Usually	153	16%
Sometimes	46	5%
Never	38	4%

Burden

Difficulty being on treatment

Burden of Gabapentin

Very	54	6%
Somewhat	123	13%
A little	157	16%
Not at all	625	65%

Cost

Paid out of pocket

Cost of Gabapentin

$200+	13	2%
$100-199	15	2%
$50-99	29	4%
$25-49	50	8%
< $25	537	83%

See more information, including instructions, precautions, side effects, and interactions.

Patient Evaluations

See all 959 patient evaluations

LEXUSpain14

Sex: F

Pain: Most

Fatigue: All

Sleep: Some

Stiffness: All

function: None

external_stress: Some

Stickman: most
Description:F50y
CFS:6y Dx
FM:2y Dx
LEXUSpain14

since Mar 23, 2010
Efficacy Slight for Pain in lower back
Side Effects Moderate
Advice/Tips this medication did not help me that much. I still experience moderate to severe pain in my lower back, neck, hips, hands, arms, calf, thighs, fingers, shou... See full evaluation

jenniT.

Sex: F

Pain: Most

Fatigue: All

Sleep: All

Stiffness: All

function: None

external_stress: Some

Stickman: all
Description:F32y
CFS:?y
FM:4y Dx
jenniT.

200 mg daily

since Aug 07, 2010
Efficacy ?Can't tell for Fibromyalgia
Side Effects Mild
Advice/Tips Made me gain weight. Even with diet and exercise. Not great for morale. See full evaluation

Big Baz

Data Quality: 0 stars
- Sex: M
- Age: 66
Condition: Bronchitis
Quality of Life:
- Social: Unreported
- Mental: Unreported
- Physical: Unreported
I am: n
Big Baz

1200 mg daily

since Feb 18, 2010
Efficacy Major for Nerve pain (neuralgia)
Side Effects Moderate
Advice/Tips Will have to wait and see. See full evaluation

See all 959 patient evaluations

Report created on February 11, 2012.

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