Gabapentin

I didn't have any side effects from Gabapentin but, to be honest, after 3 months of religiously taking it twice a day, for a trapped nerve in my arm, and my GP doubling the dose, it had little or no effect. Eventually, my GP and I decided that it wasn't worth continuing with it and I just carried on with the Tramadol until the nerve healed and the pain subsided. Took about 6 months in all.

I too took Gabapentin, it did absolutely nothing for me.
I now wear a Fentanyl patch.
Bradfordlass, don't let that put you off.
Give it a go, we all react differently to painkillers.
I hope you feel better soon.

I have nerve damage and take Pregabalin.
Both Pregabalin and Gabapentin are antiepilptic drugs used for nerve problems.
Both (UK) are now class C drugs since begining of 2019.
I have had no ill affects by taking pregabalin
My DiL takes Gabapentin and has not reported any side affects.

Like you BradfordLass I was taking several painkillers which did unfortunately cause side affects.

Our son uses Gabapentin for chronic pain and finds it very useful, he has had few side effects. All medication comes with a list of side effects which the majority of people do not find troublesome. Why not try it? I believe though if you settle into a regime with Gabaoenti and then wish to stop it should be reduced gradually. Whatever you decide I hope the pain settles soon.

I’ve been dealing with nerve pain for nearly 20 years. Have tried various different medications and other devices. I currently take Palexia, use Versatis medicated plasters (numbing) and have various TENS type gadgets including an Actipatch. Gabapentin didn’t work for me but may well do for you.

All meds have side effects but to be honest I would be more worried personally about the Tramadol and Paracetamol and would take the gabapentin with the hope of weaning the others down!

Tramadol should be very short term use. Its an opiates. Opiates longer term can make pain worse, two ways. 1. Prolongued use creates resistance, effectively lowering your pain threshold and making that an other drugs "not work"
2. The withdrawl or breakthrough from regular opiates causes pain, it can be difficult to distinguish this from the original pain it was prescribed to treat.

Paracetamol is also seen as "safe" but it does accumulate in the body.

Gabapentin (& pregabalin) does need to be tapered (up or down) and used under supervision not ad hoc. BUT. It doesnt make pain relief, itself and others, less effective. It kinda does the opposite: the longer you use it the better it works!

The goal is to not have to keep moving up to stronger pills!

The down sides are A: relatively new in terms of being widely used for pain

B. It works better the longer you use it (opposite to opiates) and you have to taper up, dont expect instant relief (this is also a pro ad other meds work less the longer you use them)

C. You need to taper. Up or down - so you are following orders rather than chosing when you take it & how much. Wont work if you are fiddling with it as and when you do/dont have pain

Notanan2 what do you nean paracetamol accumulates in rhe body. I have just taken one and took 1 and 1/2 paracodol 2 days ago. Is that not safe?

Notanan can you cite some sources for the paracetamol accumulation, please? I can't find anything by googling. I take a paracetamol based medication so would like to know more as no one has mentioned that to me,

I was under the impression that it's safe to take up to 4g a day of paracetamol.

I got a lot of support and useful information from the Pain Support website. Quite a lot of information on the site and a forum where you can obtain information and support.

My husband has been taking Gabapentin for about a year with no side effects at all. He has found it really useful for the excruciating pain he had down his side and into his leg and foot.

I'd be much more concerned about taking Tramadol !

Thank you all for such great advice.

Perhaps the main side effect I did not want to trigger was weight gain. I'm a big woman but very active and my weight causes no problems whatsoever. I'd like to keep it that way.

Of course the doctor has warned me about how and when to take Gabapentin and if I decide to, I'll stick to her advice.

It was she who told me paracetamol was cumulative and works better in regular doses for chronic pain but can also be used "as needed" for things like headaches.

At the moment, it's needed all the time and I only take 1 Tramadol at night and that's when I'm supposed to take the Gabapentin too.

My thanks again

BradfordLass, I was on a high dose, taking it three times a day and it didn't trigger any weight gain for me.

Gabapentin is the only medication that helps my friend's chronic pain, she too takes a couple of paracetamols when needed as well. She had no weight gain, didn't know it was a side effect, but having seen the difference this drug has made I guess she would take it even if it meant she put some weight on.

There's a medication used for blood pressure which also eases nerve pain too. It's called Clonidine and to my mind isn't as drastic a medication such as Tramadol or any of the other.
As with a lot of pain it increases the blood pressure too.

I took Pregabalin for a couple of weeks and came out in a rash all over my body. I was aware I was not to stop the drug immediately - my GP did not know that- I just did my own thing until I had finished the drugs and the rash had subsided. I gave up taking all drugs after that.

I was on it some years ago for nerve pain and found it made me very tired. I remember going upstairs and thinking what a hard day I must have had then realised it was morning . However in recent years GP has said if you go onto it gradually this will not happen . Not done it so far .

Bradford Lass
Just want add re weight gain worry.
How I understood the side affect list, was that the drug could cause increased appetite which in turn could cause a weight increase.
I am mindful of this and try to eat a healthy diet.

I take Gabapentin for an ongoing back pain/mobility issue. I usually try to limit it to one a day (morning) but I occasionally take more. Absolutely no problems and it seems to help.

Taken both Gabapentin and Pregabalin for years at a time and luckily had no side effects. They work OK for my nerve pain but not other pain...I used to have Fentanyl patches but now have to make do with Naproxen, which doesn't work

Its a current area of sudy so a lot of the better currebt studies are not yet published but a lot of clinicisns are no longer widely prescribing paracetamol at the max dose, which is JUST on the borderline with the toxic dose, and a lot more people are being prescribed ONE tablet 4 times a day, 2g daily, not 4g daily.

Its not a "bad" drug but what IS bad about it is that it was previously considered universally safe, and no drug is. And because of this it wasnt properly studied. I believe another current area of research (which you wont find published yet) is the long term effects of excessive use of calpol on children (excessive not meaning overdose IYKWIM).

What is provisionally emerging, and being put into practice, is that paracetamol has its place but needs a lot more caution. Not more caution than other pain killers just an equal amount, when previously it had less.

www.nhs.uk/news/medication/is-long-term-paracetamol-use-not-as-safe-as-we-thought/

Quality of life is better than quantity. If the painkiller keeps you comfortable, mobile and has little or no side effects. I'd say, go for it....I take ibuprofen for my right knee pain....it's great. They say it causes tummy upsets, but I have no problems. At our age we shouldn't be worrying too much about long term side effects. Good luck to everyone and I hope you manage to cope with your pain in whatever way you choose xx

That's interesting, Notanan. I have a background in pharmacy and we were taught that paracetamol is ineffective unless the full dose of 1000g is taken.* The study you link to isn't hugely robust and tbh, I think if you're not taking large doses regularly, I wouldn't be too concerned.

* I knew an old lady who took one paracetamol tablet each night at bedtime because she claimed it helped her sleep. There's absolutely no evidence for that but the placebo effect can be huge!

No I agree the research is not robust because there is a lack of research which was identified as a problem a few years back and it is now a current area of interest so will be a while before that translates to publications. Particularly with bigger more useful studies.

But it is a "watch this space" topic. I think the first of the current research to emerge will be a change in how childrens paracetamol/calpol is licenced for over the counter sales. My prediction is that it will remain on sale for treating fevers but will not include on the label that it is also for minor aches and pains. It will need to be presctibed for pain use in children to reduce long term over use