4 Essential Questions About Taking Gabapentin for Pain

If you have nerve pain, you probably already discovered that over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen simply aren’t up to the job. So how do you find relief from the burning, tingling or sharp pains that can affect your everyday life?

 

Your doctor might recommend that you try gabapentin. (You might also see it called by its brand names: Neurontin®, Horizant® and Gralise®.) Gabapentin is widely used and can be very effective, says Rohan Arora, MD. He’s an assistant professor of neurology at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell in New York and director of the Stroke Program at Long Island Jewish Forest Hills hospital.

 

Wondering what to expect if you’ve been given a gabapentin prescription? Here’s what you need to know. (And don’t forget to bring this free prescription discount card with you to the pharmacy. It could save you up to 80% on your medications.)

 

How does gabapentin work?

Gabapentin belongs to a class of medications called anticonvulsants, so it’s frequently prescribed to help control certain types of seizures in people with epilepsy. What does that have to do with pain? The medication works by reducing the sensitivity of certain nerve cells in the brain. These nerve cells play a role in seizures as well as in transmitting pain signals.

 

Imagine the nerve cell is a thin wire, Dr. Arora says. “Since you can’t physically cut the nerve cell to give the patient relief from pain, you ‘cut’ the nerve cell chemically by giving gabapentin,” Dr. Arora explains.  

 

What else is gabapentin prescribed for?

In addition to helping people who have seizures, gabapentin is frequently prescribed to relieve nerve pain in adults after they have shingles. The virus that causes you to get chickenpox as a kid stays dormant in a part of a spinal nerve root. In some people, the dormant virus may get reactivated many years later and cause a shingles rash (doctors aren’t quite sure why). 

 

That’s bad enough, but some people continue to have pain for months or even years after the rash goes away.

 

The medication can also work for people with diabetes who’ve developed pain, numbness or tingling due to nerve damage (known as diabetic neuropathy). And it’s been shown to be helpful in treating restless legs syndrome, a condition that causes a strong desire to move the legs.

 

What gabapentin isn’t used for: everyday pain associated with, say, a sprained ankle or arthritis. Buy gabapentin online from USA.