A couple Gabapentin questions.

[marti]

First of all... I've read that a lot of people compare Gabapentin to poison. Lots of people say it's a terrible drug. I've found it helpful for certain pain like burning. So I just wondered why some find this med scary. I don't like taking medication, but there are some that are helpful to me.

Then... the smallest dose it comes in is 100 mg, as far as I know. Even at that low dose I have a terrible day after effect. Can I open the capsule and empty about half of it? I had a doctor tell me once that I could do that. But I wanted to check with you all.

Thanks.

[Kimba22]

Hi Marti,

It's best you follow your doctor's advice. There would be no way to determine the exact dose you were receiving, but I have heard of emptying the entire contents of a capsule into food (like applesauce) before. If it's not all eaten, then there's no way to know what dose was consumed, either.

By the way, I've taken this drug for a long time, since my diagnosis. An early symptom of mine was episodes of intense itching. There were times I'd wake up to find I'd stratched myself bloody because of it. Took my body awhile to adjust to the medication initially (also started Baclofen at the same time, so hard to know which drug was causing which side effect). Believe me, if it were not how badly MS was affecting me, I might have just given up on the medication before my body adjusted to taking it.

I'd also prefer not to put any of this stuff into my body, but I also don't want a disease that's attacking my CNS and causing my symptoms, either! It's either suffer through my symptoms, or put something into my body that will help relieve some of it. Sure not much of a choice.

[90stangg]

Just started this drug on the 20th. The right side of my face is itchy, feels like I was rolling around in insulation. No side effects so far. To early to tell if it's helping