Tag: diabetic neuropathy

Does gabapentin help nerve pain?

Gabapentin is approved to treat the type of nerve pain (neuralgia) that results from nerve damage. Gabapentin is used to treat neuralgia caused by a herpes zoster viral infection, also known as shingles.

This pain is called post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), and it can be severe and chronic. Gabapentin is also used to treat pain from diabetic neuropathy, which happens when nerves in the feet damaged by diabetes cause chronic burning pain.

The exact way that gabapentin works to relieve pain is not known. It may change the way the body senses and reacts to pain. Gabapentin is used to manage long-term (chronic) pain, not to be taken for pain as needed. Chronic pain can interfere with sleep and work, and lead to depression.

Studies show that pain relief may start within one week and reach a maximum effect in about 4 weeks. It can take this long because gabapentin is usually started at a low dose and gradually increased over time until it works.

For treating neuralgia, gabapentin is often started at 300 mg per day and gradually raised by 300 mg per day. One 2017 review of 37 studies found that pain relief usually occurs at a dose of 1,200 mg or more.

The same review compared gabapentin to an inactive medicine (placebo) in almost 6,000 adults with chronic pain from PHN or diabetic neuropathy. Study participants were given either gabapentin or a placebo for 4 to at least 12 weeks. The results showed that 30-40% of people taking gabapentin were able to reduce their pain by half or more, compared to 10-20% of people taking the placebo.

Although some people may get significant relief, others may have side effects without relief of pain. More than half of people taking gabapentin did not get significant relief and had side effects from the drug.

According to the review, about 60% of people taking gabapentin had side effects, including:

      • Dizziness
      • Sleepiness
      • Water retention (edema)
      • Clumsiness while walking (ataxia)

It does not typically make pain worse: In trials comparing gabapentin side effects to placebo side effects, only 1% of people reported increased pain, and this was the same for gabapentin and placebo.

Once you find the dose that relieves neuralgia for you, it is important not to stop taking it suddenly. Stopping suddenly can lead to withdrawal symptoms such as:

      • Anxiety
      • Insomnia
      • Nausea
      • Pain
      • Sweating

Gabapentin is used to treat Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy

What is Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy: A common complication of diabetes mellitus in which nerves are damaged as a result of hyperglycemia (high blood sugar levels)

Not many people are aware of the medical condition that is known as Diabetic Neuropathy however more and more people are being diagnosed with having it, and if you have been recently diagnosed with Diabetic Neuropathy then you will need to start to take drug to help manage and control that condition.

Causes of Neuropathic Pain

Exposure to drugs, alcohol, toxins Neuropathic Pain Surgical procedures/ Amputation Traumatic Nerve injury/ compression Metabolic disturbance Viral infection Neuropathic pain is a disease, like myocardial infarction is a disease. Myocardial infarction may be caused by smoking, or hypertension, or diabetes. Multiple different things contribute to the cause of myocardial infarction, but myocardial infarction is the disease. Similarly, neuropathic pain is a disease, and this slide shows many of the different conditions that can result in neuropathic pain.

But the pain is nonprotective. It is something that persists and behaves separately as a disease itself. Cancer related (disease or treatment Vascular related neurodegenerative Nutritional deficiency

The best drug you can take is the fast acting Gabapentin and one of the main reasons why many people who do have Diabetic Neuropathy will take that drug is that it is not only fast acting as mentioned but it is also a very low cost drug to purchase too.

Drugs associated with Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy

If you do want to take Gabapentin to treat diabetic neuropathy then please do be aware there can be some side effects, and before you make a purchase of Gabapentin you will be best advised to find out what the side effect of Gabapentin when taking it to treat diabetic neuropathy, and if at any time you start to experience any of those side effects then please seek the advice of a Doctor or a medical professional.

Pharmacologic Treatment for Neuropathic pain

Lidocaine patch 5%, capsaicinOpioidsOxycodone, Tramadol, Fentanyl, Morphine, HydrocodoneAntidepressantsTricyclic AntidepressantsAmitryptiline, Nortryptiline, Desipramine, Imipramine, DoxepinSelective Noredrinaline reuptake inhibitorsDuloxetine, VenlafaxineAnticonvulsantsCarbamazepine, Valproate, Lamotrigine, Topiramate, Gabapentin, Pregabalin