How It Works, Side Effects, and Common Dosages
Gabapentin is often prescribed as an off-label treatment forfibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia is believed to be caused in part by altered glutamate levels.
This article discusses gabapentin for fibromyalgia, including dosage and side effects.
TS Photography / Getty Images
What Is Gabapentin?
It’s often prescribed off-label.
However, the drug is chemically related toLyrica (pregabalin), which is approved for fibromyalgia.
In fact, Lyrica is sometimes referred to as the “son of Neurontin.”
Gabapentin is classified as an anti-seizure drug.
Fibromyalgia pain is similar to neuropathy, but whether this condition involves nerve damage still isn’t clear.
Glutamate is helpful for certain things, like learning new information.
That’s because it makes your brain cells more active.
Though, if you have too much glutamate, your brain cells can become overstimulated.
That can make all kinds of things go wrong.
Glutamate also helps transmit pain signals in your brain and nerves.
Too much glutamate may play a role inhyperalgesia, which essentially turns up the volume of pain.
When GABA and glutamate exist in balance with each other, things go well.
(It’s likely out of balance in fibromyalgia, though.)
Some diseases and conditionsincluding fibromyalgiamay interrupt this balance and let glutamate run amok.
But is it effective?
Two reviews of the evidence disagree.
Gabapentin Dosage
Gabapentin is usually started at a low dose and then gradually increased.
Be sure to follow your healthcare provider’s instructions.
A typical dose ranges between 900 milligrams (mg) and 1,800 mg daily, divided into three doses.
You shouldn’t stop taking gabapentin suddenly.
Be sure to talk to your healthcare provider about the proper weaning procedure for the dose you’re taking.
Contact your healthcare provider immediately for the following:
Gabapentin may interact negatively with other drugs.
Be sure your healthcare provider and pharmacist know everything you’re taking.
Is Gabapentin Right for You?
Price, however, is far less important than efficacy.
We all react differently to medications.
Talk to your healthcare provider about the benefits and drawbacks gabapentin may have for your overall treatment regimen.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on your symptoms.
Amitriptyline is better at relieving muscular pain while pregabalin is better at easing neuropathic pain.Gabapentin also treats neuropathy.
Weight gain is a reported side effect of taking gabapentin.
The medication may increase appetite and can also cause water retention.
Gabapentin is typically taken in three daily doses that add up to between 900 mg and 2,400 mg.
There is no standard dosage of gabapentin for fibromyalgia because it is an off-label use.
2011;(3):CD007938.
2013;(11):CD010567.
2016;16(6):720-729. doi: 10.1111/papr.12319.
Cooper TE, Derry S, Wiffen PJ, Moore RA.Gabapentin for fibromyalgia pain in adults.Cochrane Database Syst Rev.
2017;1:CD012188.
2016;16(11):1263-1277. doi: 10.1080/14737175.2016.1202764.
