Gabapentin is used to treat seizures in adults and children who are at least 3 years old. It also treats nerve pain in adults (including shingles) and restless legs syndrome.
Taking this medication with certain other drugs may cause dangerous side effects. Talk to your doctor before taking this medicine with opioid medications, sleeping pills, muscle relaxers, or other sedatives, or any other drug.
1. Relieves neuropathic pain
For adults with neuropathic pain, gabapentin is a first-line drug. It relieves nerve pain by blocking the transfer of pain signals to the brain. It also improves pain threshold. In one study, patients with cancer and neuropathic pain experienced significant pain relief with gabapentin (300 mg) compared to placebo.
When treating neuropathic pain, it is important to have a titration scheme in place so the dose can be gradually increased to reach therapeutic levels. The most effective dosage is 300 mg twice daily on day 1, then 300 mg three times a day on day 2.
Gabapentin may cause dizziness or drowsiness. Avoid driving or operating heavy machinery until you know how it affects you. Drinking alcohol can increase these effects. Talk to your doctor before taking this medication if you have kidney disease or are on dialysis. It is also not recommended for children under 12. Gabapentin may pass into breast milk and could harm a breastfeeding baby.
2. Treats seizures
Gabapentin can treat certain types of seizures, and it’s usually taken in combination with other seizure medicines. It helps control seizures by changing the way your brain responds to electrical signals.
It also treats nerve pain caused by shingles, a painful rash that occurs after you have the varicella zoster virus (chicken pox). Gabapentin’s mechanism of action isn’t fully understood. But it may change how your body senses pain, and reduce the activity of nerve cells that send pain signals to the brain.
This medicine can cause dizziness and drowsiness. Avoid driving or operating heavy machinery until you know how it affects you. This medicine can also interfere with the results of some medical tests. Tell any doctor who treats you that you’re taking this medication, Look at this website.
During clinical studies, gabapentin did not cause birth defects in humans. It did not increase the incidence of malformations in offspring of mice, rats, and rabbits at doses up to 2000 mg/kg/day (approximately five times the human daily dosage on a body surface area basis). It did, however, cause delayed ossification of the skull, vertebrae, forelimbs, and hindlimbs in rodents at high doses during organogenesis.
3. Treats fibromyalgia
Gabapentin works to balance the neurotransmitters glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in your brain. It’s used to treat seizures in people with epilepsy and also to help control pain from nerve damage in adults who have peripheral neuropathy. It’s sometimes prescribed as an off-label treatment for fibromyalgia, hot flashes, and restless legs syndrome.
It’s believed that fibromyalgia may be caused by changes in GABA levels. Gabapentin can change these levels and help reduce the pain, fatigue, and other symptoms of fibromyalgia.
Stop taking gabapentin and get emergency medical help if you have signs of a serious reaction to the drug, such as hives, difficulty breathing, or swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat. Other serious side effects include a rash that spreads, trouble urinating or blood in your urine, severe weakness, weight gain, or yellowing of your skin or eyes. You should tell your doctor if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have kidney problems.
4. Treats anxiety
Gabapentin works well to treat anxiety, particularly if the patient doesn’t respond to standard anti-anxiety medications. This medication has a unique property that makes it effective for treating anxiety, mainly because it is an analog of the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid). It mimics how the brain naturally works, and can help calm excited neurons that are firing in the brain.
Often, Gabapentin is used in combination with other medications to treat anxiety. It has been given alongside SSRIs such as fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine, and clomipramine to treat anxiety disorders.
Summary:
When taking Gabapentin, it’s important to let your doctor know about any other prescription or over-the-counter medications you may be taking. Some drugs can interact with gabapentin, and can have serious side effects if taken together. For instance, certain medications can interfere with how effective the drug is, and increase your risk of seizures. Moreover, it’s also crucial to tell your doctor about any herbs, vitamins, or supplements you’re taking.