Gabapentin (Neurontin)

[undecided]

I initially had a very negative opinion about Gabapentin, mostly because I have tried various quantities of its successor drug (Lyrica) with no effect whatsoever, totally useless drug.

However, mixing a simple cocktail of 300mg Gabapentin and 200mg Tegretol, I get a significant decrease on the pulsating component of my tinnitus (which is the most bothersome). I believe that anyone with pulsating tinnitus should try the above cocktail - if it works, it is a clear indication of some kind of vascular-nerve problem in the brain and it is definitely a reason for getting an MRA (I did get one and it showed a micro-vascular compression of the auditory nerve).

Problem is, the only solution for resolving such a condition is brain surgery... And I don't think I'm brave enough.

I also have a constant hissing sound in my left ear which is not effected by any drug (not even retigabine), only by large quantities of benzos. But that sound is very low, I only ever hear it in very quiet environments.

Anyway, sorry for the long post, just wanted to point out the Gabapentin can actually be a very useful drug, at least for people who suspect some sort of somatic or pulsatile tinnitus.

 

[markoana]

I initially had a very negative opinion about Gabapentin, mostly because I have tried various quantities of its successor drug (Lyrica) with no effect whatsoever, totally useless drug.

However, mixing a simple cocktail of 300mg Gabapentin and 200mg Tegretol, I get a significant decrease on the pulsating component of my tinnitus (which is the most bothersome). I believe that anyone with pulsating tinnitus should try the above cocktail - if it works, it is a clear indication of some kind of vascular-nerve problem in the brain and it is definitely a reason for getting an MRA (I did get one and it showed a micro-vascular compression of the auditory nerve).

Problem is, the only solution for resolving such a condition is brain surgery... And I don't think I'm brave enough.

I also have a constant hissing sound in my left ear which is not effected by any drug (not even retigabine), only by large quantities of benzos. But that sound is very low, I only ever hear it in very quiet environments.

Anyway, sorry for the long post, just wanted to point out the Gabapentin can actually be a very useful drug, at least for people who suspect some sort of somatic or pulsatile tinnitus.

Man, those surgeries are safe now, it is 2015. Get rid of that stupid noise when you know the right cause of it!

 

[undecided]

Things are certainly safer nowadays but those surgeries are anything but safe.
You can look up microvascular decompression surgery on Google.
It's usually done for treating trigeminal neuralgia, trying to fix the auditory nerve is even more complex.

 

[markoana]

Well u know better for sure...this is bit off topic, but, I think that I would accept any kind of surgery to get the silence again...Risk yes, but life itself is a risk... so...

But, we are all diferent, that is a fact...

 

[Inge]

1800 mg of Gabapentin over the course of six months did nothing to help my T. The concensus is Gaba molecules are to big to cross the blood brain barrier.

 

[LadyDi]

So here is the upshot on my Neurontin/gabapentin usage and tinnitus. You can catch my earlier posts on this topic up higher on this thread and on this one: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/why-do-doctors-say-tinnitus-wont-hurt-you.10831/#post-140708


Anyway: I just stopped taking Neurontin about a week ago. I started taking it around July 9, under my internist's supervision, for severe shingles pain. She worked my dosage up to 1800 mg daily, which I reached around July 19. I then stayed on that dosage until Sept. 8. Initially the drug made me feel pretty out of it but I built up a tolerance to the side effects quickly. And yes, my tinnitus definitely was quieter under the drug. Probably dropped from daily highs of about 5-6 to about 2-3. I would have some moments where I could barely hear it.

BUT: In early September, I suddenly starting feeling very weird. Disoriented, dizzy, feeling I was outside my own body. I sometimes would wake up at night and think I was not in my own bed. Asked the doctor if this could be related to the Neurontin and she said probably. So we started backing off on the drug slowly and I quit it completely last week. The disoriented feeling has gone away. And yes, my tinnitus is back to its former levels.

I experienced some anxiety symptoms while withdrawing. And my sleep, which was great under Neurontin, has now deteriorated again. But I was able to handle the anxiety without medication. And disrupted sleep has been part of my life for almost 15 years, long before T, so nothing new there.

So, is Neurontin worth it? Not for me. I believe this med was seriously screwing with my brain. The literature shows some people become suicidal on Neurontin. If you want to try it, you definitely need to do it under a doctor's care, increase your dosage very gradually, and cut back the same way. Also, many people here at TT have reported Neurontin did nothing for their tinnitus. But I believe in my case, it did tamp down the noise.

Also, everyone's reaction to this and many drugs will be different. I believe some here have reported no side effects from Neurontin. This just was my experience.

 

[CarloZ]

My tinnitus was caused by loud earphones that I used every day the past 4-5 years. I've heard neurontin can help people with noise induced tinnitus. Is this true?

 

[Sailboardman]

Use the search tab, click on more options, search under Neurontin. you'll see all the posts.

I tried it for a month and it gave me earaches, headaches and occasional ringing in my good ear. It did zip for my T.

 

[suera]

It did nothing for me.

 

[LadyDi]

Lessened my tinnitus (I was taking it for nerve pain and took high doses). But for me, did not find the side effects worth the benefit.

 

[RicoS]

Did nothing for my T....used it very short...

 

[Knitpick22]

I was prescribed GABA when I got Shingles last year. The Urgent care DR said it would stop me from having any deep nerve pain after it resolves. I still have some left. I really fear taking something that would make my T worse.

 

[LadyDi]

Hi @Knitpick22: My guess is you run a much higher risk of a nerve pain drug messing with your thought process than making your tinnitus worse. As you can see above, Neurontin actually made my T better. A lot. Just isn't worth the side effects for me. Some anti seizure drugs are used off label for nerve pain and, more experimentally, for T.

So If you are looking for nerve pain relief, you might want to try your GABA (I assuming this means a prescription drug under the generic gabapentin, not the nutritional supplement GABA. They are not one in the same.) But do it under a doc's supervision. These are serious drugs.

Re shingles: My Neurontin protocol seems to have thwarted chronic deep nerve pain (and my shingles outbreak was hell). I still have occasional symptoms at four months, but it's more like intense itching, not pain. But my dosage was very high: 1800 mg daily for a minimum of eight weeks. This is the protocol now suggested to docs under new guidelines released a couple of years ago. Even lower doses could help your nerve pain.

 

[Christian78]

I find I also experience the relationship of sleep and tinnitus.

@markoana here is connection... there is 2 people who used gabapentin and t went worse

Do you have trigeminal Neuralgia? I take 1mg of clonazepam for my facial nerve pain and it works. Research it and good luck

I think I have it but I dont think no one in Sweden will help me....

Hi @Knitpick22: My guess is you run a much higher risk of a nerve pain drug messing with your thought process than making your tinnitus worse. As you can see above, Neurontin actually made my T better. A lot. Just isn't worth the side effects for me. Some anti seizure drugs are used off label for nerve pain and, more experimentally, for T.

So If you are looking for nerve pain relief, you might want to try your GABA (I assuming this means a prescription drug under the generic gabapentin, not the nutritional supplement GABA. They are not one in the same.) But do it under a doc's supervision. These are serious drugs.

Re shingles: My Neurontin protocol seems to have thwarted chronic deep nerve pain (and my shingles outbreak was hell). I still have occasional symptoms at four months, but it's more like intense itching, not pain. But my dosage was very high: 1800 mg daily for a minimum of eight weeks. This is the protocol now suggested to docs under new guidelines released a couple of years ago. Even lower doses could help your nerve pain.

Do you want to say it can lower nerve pains in legs that come when you are walking like tiredness so i get demotivated? I am afraid gabapentin might worsen my tinnitus. Lyrica did. Tell me what you think.

Sailboardman, did your tinnitus go back down? my neurologist prescribed this to me for fibromyalgia.

How did you react on gabapentin?

Today doctor prescribed me Gabapentin for a nerve problem (backache). I'll let you know if/how it will affect my T

Hi how did it affect your tinnitus?

Taking 1800 mg of gabapentin for 4 months had no effect on my T. For sleep I take trazodone, no risk of tolerance and addiction.

Did trazadone worsen your hearing and tinnitus? 50-100mg?

 

[LadyDi]

Hi, @Christian78: As I mentioned above, Neurontin (a drug in the gabapentin family) made my tinnitus lower, not higher. I have no experience with Lyrica, so can't answer there. Neurontin is commonly prescribed for nerve pain. So yes, if your doc is suggesting you try it for your leg pain, it very well might help you. As always, this disclaimer: experience may vary by user, particularly for drugs.

I would not worry about Neurontin making your tinnitus worse. If it bothers you, stop taking it and your tinnitus should return to its baseline. In the majority of cases, tinnitus aggravation caused by medications resolves once you stop the med.

However, as I also said above: use Neurontin under a doctor's supervision and with caution! It can seriously affect your brain chemistry. You can read my above posts for details. DO NOT quit this drug cold turkey and be on the lookout for side effects.

 

[Christian78]

Hi, @Christian78: As I mentioned above, Neurontin (a drug in the gabapentin family) made my tinnitus lower, not higher. I have no experience with Lyrica, so can't answer there. Neurontin is commonly prescribed for nerve pain. So yes, if your doc is suggesting you try it for your leg pain, it very well might help you. As always, this disclaimer: experience may vary by user, particularly for drugs.

I would not worry about Neurontin making your tinnitus worse. If it bothers you, stop taking it and your tinnitus should return to its baseline. In the majority of cases, tinnitus aggravation caused by medications resolves once you stop the med.

However, as I also said above: use Neurontin under a doctor's supervision and with caution! It can seriously affect your brain chemistry. You can read my above posts for details. DO NOT quit this drug cold turkey and be on the lookout for side effects.

my tinnitus got doubled after injection of corticosteroids

it got worse after Lyrica

and i got hearing damage with ibuprofen and paracetamol.

 

[Carlos1]

I've been on gabapentin for 6 months and it has helped me with my nerve pain and it had no adverse effect on my T if anything it might have lowered it a bit

 

[dhode]

For me, I take 300 mg at night to help with sleep and definitely desensitizes it for me where I can sleep for a few hours.

 

[jeannie]

Christian,I was only taking 200 mg of gabapentine a day because I was afraid it would make tinnitus worse.but ithink you will be just fine.you sound like you are very sensitive to medications,as I am and I did just fine on my low dosage.just start slow and work your way up..hugs.

 

[no life]

I take 900mg a day doesn't do anything for my T

 

[just1morething]

I am currently prescribed Gabapentin 800mg x up to 3/day for some spine and feet pain + tinnitus. I also had 2 injections of botox into my left TMJ area. I sometimes take the Gabapentin with Robaxin. That combo seems to work quite well at times. I will update in a week or so on the botox injections affect, if any. I don't like my noisy head at this time at all, but what are our options? Maybe WNG's would be worth trying?

 

[Marxman]

It lessened my tinnitus for a few weeks. Actually, I was super excited with the initial impact. However, after awhile my tinnitus returned to normal volume......so i stopped it for a couple of months. Since it also helps a little with anxiety, i thought i would try it again. Again, it seems to be having a positive impact on my tinnitus.

 

[Jahhsoul]

It´ my second day on Trobalt(1,2g day) + Neurontin(2,4g day). My baselane T is 3/10, according with the annoyance 3/10. Today I have 3/10 T but 1/10 annoyance. I will post results in the trobalt formularies when finish my treatment.

 

[Marxman]

Low doses (100 - 200mg/ day) of Gabapentin actually seemed to lower my tinnitus noise for a few weeks. I was super excited for awhile....but then the noise returned to normal levels....and then I stopped taking Gabapentin. After a few months, I decided to try it again. Again....it seems to have lowered the noise. Hopefully, it will work a little longer this time.

 

[Mithrandir]

@Marxman ask to @LadyDi , she had good improvements with important dosage. Gabapentin can have good results on acoustic trauma/NIHL (told in a clinical study where 1/3 of patients had an improvement).

 

[just1morething]

I use to have good luck with it, but it seems the brain grows tolerant or resistant in time and doesn't work.
I was using a high amount recently 800mg x 3/day as I have some spinal issues or perhaps neuropathy with my feet. I used Klonopin in addition and changed to Robaxin recently. My spinal issues could be related to my noise also, I'm not sure. Or it could be caused by HFHL as most audiologists and ENT's will tell you. I have a low pitched static hiss at the moment.

 

[Mithrandir]

@just1morething did you keep improvement after stopping Neurontin ?

 

[just1morething]

@Mithrandir, No I don't have any permanent lessening of my noise by taking Neurontin + Klonopin or Robaxin
Just really trying anything to help (other than Potiga) until OTO-311 or something else gets thru trials and FDA approval etc., and becomes available to the public.

 

[Joan A.]

I use to have good luck with it, but it seems the brain grows tolerant or resistant in time and doesn't work.
I was using a high amount recently 800mg x 3/day as I have some spinal issues or perhaps neuropathy with my feet. I used Klonopin in addition and changed to Robaxin recently. My spinal issues could be related to my noise also, I'm not sure. Or it could be caused by HFHL as most audiologists and ENT's will tell you.

Similar happened to me. I will never forgot the 7th December 2013 when I started to take 300mg of gabapentin. The day after I didn't hear anything. I remained on 300mg for a week then suddenly the T went back and I increased the dosage first to 300x2 and after 300x3... nothing. The gift had short time and when I decided to come off the drug (also due to a strange and massive panick attack) I had a rebound effect with awful and uncontrollable spykes in the whole head for few months. It's a strange drug but probably the most manageable expecially about the side effects. It's worth give it a chance expecially if others can't be prescribed or tolerate the others two drugs that works on tinnitus; tegretol and trobalt

 

[Dana]

@just1morething
How do you take Neurontin +Klonopin? Dosages, how many dosages per day.
Thank you,