The hidden hazards of off label med usage. Do doctors reveal they are prescribing medicines for unapproved uses? The rogue Rx of gabapentin. Gabapentin has become one of the most frequently prescribed pain pills in America. Over 10.5 million patients take it daily. Prescriptions are up, in large part because doctors have cut back on opioid prescribing. Do doctors adequately warn patients about gabapentin side effects and withdrawal reactions? Opioids scare patients and prescribers. Many doctors have turned to gabapentin for pain management. How well does it work? Side effects? The most common gabapentin (Neurontin) side effects are dizziness and drowsiness. This may affect your ability to drive or perform other activities. Other gabapentin side effects include edema (fluid buildup), weight gain, and eye problems, but these aren’t as common. Rare but serious gabapentin side effects include mood changes in children. Join over 150,000 Subscribers at The People's Pharmacy We're empowering you to make wise decisions about your own health, by providing you with essential health information about both medical and alternative treatment options. Gabapentin is prescribed for pain and many other health problems. But the drug can trigger serious side effects including depression and suicidal thoughts. A: The Food and Drug Administration approved gabapentin (Neurontin) for treating seizures and for the pain that may linger after shingles. Many doctors prescribe it “off-label” for other types Gabapentin is commonly used to treat and prevent seizures in people with epilepsy or to treat nerve pain (postherpetic neuralgia) that can occur after a viral infection called shingles. The study found adults taking gabapentin for chronic lower back pain faced a 29 per cent increased risk of dementia and an 85 per cent higher risk of mild cognitive impairment within a decade, compared to back pain sufferers not prescribed the drug. Benefits of a Mediterranean Diet as Women Grow Older Blood Clots, Travel and Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) Black Friday SALE for People’s Pharmacy Urea Skin Relief! Beware Mixing Xarelto or Eliquis and OTC Pain Relievers (NSAIDs) Busting Myths and Offering Unique Leg Cramp Remedies Beware Brain Fog after COVID! Get Peoples Custom Rx pharmacy hours and information. Save on all of your prescription drugs at Peoples Custom Rx at 785 E BROOKHAVEN CIR, MEMPHIS, TN 38117 with InsideRx. Q. Doctors are increasingly prescribing gabapentin to treat nerve pain. My wife recently showed me a column you had written on a link between gabapentin and dementia. She has taken this drug Gabapentin is taken by nine million Americans. Many of those prescriptions are off label. What are some gabapentin risks? Beware confusion and depression. Gabapentin is a drug for epilepsy that is also prescribed for pain following a shingles attack. Many doctors prescribe it off label for neuropathy (nerve pain). Q. I swear by gabapentin for hot flashes. Effexor gave me dry mouth, constipation, dizziness, inability to concentrate and a general feeling of being spaced out. Gabapentin gives me great relief. A. Although doctors prescribe the anticonvulsant gabapentin (Neurontin) to control hot flashes, this is not an FDA-approved use. The drug can increase the risk for suicidal thoughts as well as A report from ISMP QuarterWatch (March 27, 2019) warns about the inappropriate use of GABA drugs like gabapentin and pregabalin. Mental impairment, confusion and memory loss are recognized side effects. Evidence also shows that people taking gabapentin are significantly more likely to develop dementia than those not using it (Frontiers in Pharmacology, May 30, 2023). At our full-service, integrative pharmacy with 4 Austin locations, our knowledgeable, caring pharmacists and technicians know you by your name, not by a number. The opioid epidemic has doctors looking for alternative treatments to ease pain. Many have turned to a category of medications called gabapentinoids. What Are Gabapentinoids? This category includes the anti-seizure drug gabapentin (Neurontin) as well as pregabalin (Lyrica). Both drugs are prescribed for nerve pain. Pregabalin is also prescribed for pain due to fibromyalgia, while gabapentin is Terry Graedon Terry Graedon, PhD, is a medical anthropologist and co-host of The People’s Pharmacy radio show, co-author of The People’s Pharmacy syndicated newspaper columns and numerous books, and co-founder of The People’s Pharmacy website.
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