It helps me somewhat. I don't take it everyday because it makes me so sleepy and foggy brained and I only take 300 mg at night. I have lumbar DDD and cannot seem to get a clear answer from any doctor about how severe, what I should be doing, etc. I have had PT four different times this year, and two injections which did not work for me.

I took it for my back and had zero success for pain/burning pain relief and had horrible side effects. However, in the past I took it for migraine headaches and it did help. So I guess that it works differently with everyone's body chemistry. Also, as your chemistry changes, it reacts differently to you.

As for my pain management, it is a combination of Norco, muscle relaxers, Celebrex, and Lyrica to just make the pain tolerable. I have a pain management doctor that is really trying hard to reduce my pain as much as possible. If this does not work, my only next step would be either stronger narcotics or a pain pump that is implanted.

Pain is a horrible thing to deal with, so I hope that you can find something to relieve any of your pain. I know your frustration very well. I wish I had more answers, but it is crap shot as to what works for each person.

Beth

I've been taking Neurontin for years for my MS. Now my rheumatologist recommends it for Fibromyalgia, tendonitis and osteoarthritis. But he wants me to increase the dose. I am and have always taken just 100 mg. I'm very small and I always get the hangover effect the next day. I've just never been able to increase the dose. But, it does help to a point.

Thanks guys... I quit taking it.. I felt like I couldn't remember anything. Today I'm heading to pain doc... I'm so tired of trying so many different medications... he will no doubt try to give more today. I wish I could get an accurate prognosis. You know? They just keep throwing meds at me leading me to believe this is all temporary. What if its not and the pain is only going to get worse through the rest of my life? I hate managing the pain I would love to fix the problem..... Sorry thanks for the feedback just frustrated... :/

Might be a bit late but how about Tramadol? I'm on this for my DDD (lower lumbar L5-S1) and because it's effects are wearing off after several years, they're now suggesting Gabapentin!
It does make me drowsy, but I think the drowsiness increases over time.

I've taken tramadol once and it made my pulse and breathing slow down to where I thought I was going to die. I'm now taking gabapentin but it doesn't help much and I'm on the max amount. I'm taking it for sciatic nerve pain in my legs. It did help a little bit in the beginning but kept getting immune. Hope it works for you.

I have used it in the past on and off it just was not working enough for me good medication just I was going higher and higher on it and did not feel good. Hope it works for you. Lily

Hi I'm Jenni and I am also on gabapentin, but only 600mg. It seems to work a little but I think the dose needs to be higher. I have only been on it a month, so I guess I will see after some time. I have not had any epidurals yet I am getting one in September, yes far away but that was the next appointment available. I am also on muscle relaxers and arthiritis meds. I have two discs that have collapsed so far and third working on it. How bad Is yours? I hope you find some relief I know where you are coming from.

Thanks in advance.

Gabapentin is for nerve pain. I was given it for sciatic nerve which didn't do much. Took epidural and steroids shot directly in the nerve thru the hip. It worked until the 3 rd one. Good news sciatic pain does go away when you get older.
Gabapentin now works on my feet which were messed up by chemo therapy. A friend had it diagnosed for fibromyalgia but it didn't work that well. Anti-depressants can help in addition to pain meds. Good Luck!

It did not help me but my cousin swears by it. Best wishes in finding relief.

Gabapentin was working well for me and stopped the pain in my feet. Ended up breaking out in rashes and had to stop. Dr put me on Lyria 500mg day and still have foot pain tha feels like I am walking on glass and toes that feel like they are being cut off. I have been on lyrical about a month now and no relief.

I’ve been using it off and on for a couple of years. My pain levels are usually pretty manageable until I aggravate my spine.At least up until recently. When I do use it it only seems to work partially. I prefer the cbd approach for immediate pain relief. It also helps with my shooting pains into the legs and spasms.

Hi. I’ve been on Gaba for about 5 years now. It was prescribed for nerve pain. I take 900-1200 mg at night. I also take amitriptiline, and duloxetine (anti-depressant as these increase your seratonin to help managing the pain), all of these I take at night as the all make you very drowsy. I didn’t like to take so many meds, but is the only way to control your aches and pain. During the day I sometimes take 10 mg of methadone as needed for pain. I have had about 10 epidural shots in my back during the last 5 years. The worse part of this, is that doctors don’t give you a complete prognosis. They just keep on giving you meds. It seems that they only care about managing your pain and not finding a solution.