Author: Charles Frank
Gabapentin: Uses, Side Effects & Warnings
You should contact your care team if your seizures get worse or if you have any new types of seizures. Do not stop taking this medication or any of your seizure medications unless instructed by your care team. Stopping your medication suddenly can increase your seizures or their severity. This medication can cause multiorgan hypersensitivity. This is also known as a drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS).
- Some examples include narcotic opioids, anti-anxiety medicines, antidepressants, and antihistamines.
- The following information includes only the average doses of this medicine.
- It comes with serious risks if you don’t take it as prescribed.
- For patients with epilepsy who take gabapentin three times per day, do not allow more than 12 hours to pass between any 2 doses.
Seek emergency medical attention if you have very slow breathing. This list may not describe all possible interactions. Give your health care provider a list of all the medicines, herbs, non-prescription drugs, or dietary supplements you use. Also tell them if you smoke, drink alcohol, or use illegal drugs. Using this medicine with any of the following medicines may cause an increased risk of certain side effects, but using both drugs may be the best treatment for you. If both medicines are prescribed together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use one or both of the medicines.
This medicine may cause respiratory depression, a serious breathing problem that can be life-threatening, when used together with narcotic pain medicines. Check with your doctor right away if you have pale or blue lips, fingernails, or skin, difficult or trouble breathing, or irregular, fast or slow, or shallow breathing. This medicine will add to the effects of alcohol and other CNS depressants (medicines that make you drowsy or less alert). Check with your medical doctor or dentist before taking any of the above while you or your child are using gabapentin.
The following information describes dosages that are commonly used or recommended. However, be sure to take the dosage your doctor prescribes for you. Your doctor will determine the best dosage to suit your needs. Typically, your doctor will start you on a low dosage and adjust it over time to reach the dosage that’s right for you.
More common side effects
This product may contain inactive ingredients, which can cause allergic reactions or other problems. Seek medical treatment if you have a serious drug reaction that can affect many parts of your body. Symptoms may include skin rash, fever, swollen glands, muscle aches, severe weakness, unusual bruising, or yellowing of your skin or eyes.
Alcohol or marijuana (cannabis) can make you more dizzy or drowsy. Do not drive, use machinery, or do anything that needs alertness or clear vision until you can do it safely. Talk to your doctor if you are using marijuana (cannabis). Different forms of gabapentin (such as immediate-release, sustained-release, enacarbil sustained-release) are absorbed in the body differently.
Gabapentin is from a group of medicines called anticonvulsants. The branded gabapentin products Neurontin and Gralise are approved for partial seizures and PHN. The branded gabapentin enacarbil product Horizant is approved for restless legs syndrome and PHN. Gabapentin can cause life-threatening breathing problems. Breathing problems may be more likely in older adults or in people with COPD.
Brand names
When used with gabapentin, certain drugs used to treat stomach acid problems can reduce the amount of gabapentin in your body. Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention. Ask your healthcare professional how you should dispose of any medicine you do not use.
This medicine can affect the results of certain medical tests. Tell any doctor who treats you that you are using gabapentin. If you break a tablet and take only half of it, take the other half at your next dose. Any tablet that has been broken should be used as soon as possible or within a few days.
Gabapentin Capsules or Tablets
Gabapentin is used to help control partial seizures (convulsions) in the treatment of epilepsy. This medicine cannot cure epilepsy and will only work to control seizures for as long as you continue to take it. Drugs.com provides accurate and independent information on more than 24,000 prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and natural products. This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
What should I avoid while taking gabapentin?
Store the liquid medicine in the refrigerator, do not freeze. Measure liquid medicine with the supplied measuring device (not a kitchen spoon). Swallow the capsule whole and do not crush, chew, break, or open the capsule. It is not known if gabapentin will harm an unborn baby. You should not take gabapentin if you are allergic to it. Gabapentin is not addictive, but this doesn’t mean that gabapentin can’t be abused.
Other drugs are available to treat your condition; some may be better suited for you than others. You’re at higher risk if you already have breathing problems. Gabapentin can cause sleepiness, and drinking alcohol can make you even more sleepy. Also, talk with your doctor if you are having thoughts of self-harm, including thoughts of suicide. Call your doctor if you start having more seizures or a different kind of seizure while taking this drug.
What should I do if I miss a dose of gabapentin?
This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions. Gabapentin can cause problems in children aged 3–12 years who have epilepsy. It raises their risk of thought and behavioral problems, such as being hyper and acting hostile or restless.
Your doctor may want you or your child to gradually reduce the amount you are taking before stopping it completely. It is very important that your doctor check your progress at regular visits, especially in the first few months if you have epilepsy. This will allow your doctor to see if the medicine is working properly and to decide if you should continue to take it. If you miss a dose of this medicine, take it as soon as possible. However, if it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular dosing schedule.