Gabapentin Ruined My Life: The Dangers of This Prescription Medication

Awareness of the opioid crisis continues to heighten and reshape the conversation around addiction in the United States. Healthcare providers have been compelled in recent years to rethink how prescription painkillers like fentanyl — once deemed safe — have created unintended misuse and a flurry of overdose deaths.

In response, alternative medications have come to the fore, aiming to mimic the efficacy yet offset the dangers of opioids, but now, abuse of these drugs is on the rise.

Understanding what gabapentin is used for, most commonly for treating epilepsy and other conditions, is one example. Originally positioned as a non-addictive, non-narcotic option, its own rising incidence of abuse poses health and addiction complications both in opioid patients and others alike.

“Although gabapentin has long been perceived as lacking abuse potential,” notes a study from the National Library of Medicine, “the evidence has begun to accumulate to suggest otherwise.”

Now, for many, the phrase “gabapentin ruined my life,” unheard of before, captures the profound harm it can cause when the risks are overlooked, both when prescribed or used as an illicit recreational drug.

What Is Gabapentin?

Gabapentin arrived on the market in 1993 to help assuage neuropathic pain and seizure disorders. It’s primarily taken orally in tablet or capsule form.

In a 2022 study, gabapentin was among one of the top 10 most prescribed medications in the U.S., where between 2012 and 2016, according to research, gabapentin prescriptions increased 64%, from 39 million to 64 million in four years’ time.

What Does Gabapentin Treat?

By the brand name Neurontin, gabapentin is an anticonvulsant often prescribed to prevent and control partial epileptic seizures,  which originate in a single part of the brain, in both adults and children. As Neurontin and Gralise, it can also treat postherpetic neuralgia, or PHN, stress-triggered nerve damage from shingles, the virus that causes chickenpox. The effect of gabapentin in treating PHN works since the resultant nerve pain can last for months, even after one’s rash has subsided.

In treating seizures and nerve pain, gabapentin works to reduce irregular electrical activity in the brain’s nerve cells by promoting the production of a chemical called GABA, or gamma-aminobutyric acid analog.

Gabapentin is also prescribed as a Horizant to treat moderate-to-severe restless legs syndrome (which can cause uncomfortable sensations in the legs and a sleep-disrupting urge to move them around at night). However, it’s not well known why gabapentin works to alleviate restless legs syndrome.

There are other “off-label” conditions treated by gabapentin, such as:

• Pain from diabetic neuropathy
• Sciatic nerve pain in the neck and back
• Hot flashes from menopause or breast cancer treatment in women
• Alcohol abuse disorder and detoxification

Gabapentin for Anxiety

Research indicates that although one of the other gabapentin uses is the increased treatment of generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD, there is little known clinically about its proven effectiveness, mostly due to a lack of scientific evidence.

“There are no randomized controlled trials on the effectiveness of this medication in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and there are only a few case reports,” notes the study.

How Can Gabapentin Ruin Your Life?

Why is gabapentin bad? Its remarkably potent ability to alleviate pain and regulate neurological activity for epilepsy, among other medicinal benefits, makes gabapentin highly appealing, but it also poses significant risks. Is gabapentin addictive? Although it is not an opioid, gabapentin can produce euphoric, opioid-like effects when taken in high doses, making it prone to misuse, even if unintentionally at first.

Studies show that the prevalence of gabapentin misuse within the general population is reported to be only 1%, but among individuals with a prescription, those numbers rise to 40% to 65% and between 15% to 22% for those who abuse opioids.

In fact, research from the Pharmacy Times reveals that gabapentin and opioid co-abuse are common; nearly 24% of patients in the study with prescriptions for both gabapentin and opioids had at least three prescription claims that surpassing specified dosage thresholds, compared to the lesser 3% and 8% of people prescribed, respectively, just gabapentin or opioids alone.

Gabapentin vs Opioids

Gabapentin’s abuse potential, notes the publication, is for its potential to mimic the effects of opioids. The study “Substance Abuse of Gabapentin” notes that “individuals describe varying experiences with gabapentin abuse, including euphoria, improved sociability, a marijuana-like ‘high,’ relaxation and sense of calm, although not all reports are positive (for example, ‘zombie-like’ effects).” Researchers concluded that gabapentin “was primarily misused for recreational purposes, self-medication or intentional self-harm, and was misused alone or in combination with other substances, especially opioids, benzodiazepines and/or alcohol.” The study notes that people with histories of drug abuse were also more likely to abuse gabapentin.

Though gabapentin is a non-controlled drug on the federal level since it was approved more than 30 years ago by the Federal Drug Administration, some states have enacted restrictions on it, mainly due to increased reports of misuse, either on its own or co-abused with opioids.

Gabapentin Across the Country

To date, Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, North Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia classify gabapentin as a controlled substance. Meanwhile, many other states, including Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, Washington, D.C., Wisconsin,n, and Wyoming, require monitoring of gabapentin prescriptions.

Gabapentin’s dangers stem not only from its potential misuse but also from t the serious gabapentin side effects it may pose. These can include drowsiness, blurred vision, headache, trouble with coordination, aggressive behavior, nausea/vomiting, and in rare cases, hallucinations, panic attacks, respiratory distress,s, and even suicidal ideation.

The risk of gabapentin overdose increases when combined with other substances, particularly alcohol. As with opiates, a gabapentin overdose can prove fatal, and there is no antidote, unlike opioids — one key difference between both drugs. Unfortunately, for many, the realization that gabapentin ruined their life comes too late after they potentially experience its consequences.