... I've taken gabapentin for a very short stint about three months ago. I titrated up to 600mg/day and it did alleviate my back pain, however I became forgetful and clumsy and developed a dry cough. When I developed a purple rash on my forearms called it quits, titrated down and ceased to take the drug. All the symptoms quickly abated except for the rash. The purple rash persists to this date, it blooms and ebbs. I can go to sleep with no rash and wake up with a new one in bloom. I've scheduled an appointment with a dermatologist to see what's going on. It could be something else but I believe this rash is due to the drug and it remains once off the drug. If anyone has similar experience please let me know. I'd like to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible
Has anyone had a persistent rash after going off gabapentin?
Question posted by ssilberstang on 14 Feb 2015
Last updated on 31 January 2020 by Erric12
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10 Answers
I did a search about rash after Gabapentin and found this discussion. I was put on for nerve pain after multiple surgeries on my right arm. Well, I developed a rash on my face that won’t go away!!! It subsided and then returns just like you are all describing. I have NEVER had any problem with my skin and I’m 46 years old. I’m REALLY angry about it!!!
I asked about the rash about four years ago suspecting it was caused by the drug. Was told by doctors that the condition was unrelated and likely due to scratching. Until this day I get this same rash periodically - it comes and goes - now much less frequently. It manifests itself as a purple rash that starts as a small spot on the forearm and often spreads from a spot to a larger blotch. If I leave it alone it fades and disappears after a few days. If scratch the itchy rash it seems to be very near the skin surface and bleeds very easily. I read the side effects of the drug but could not get a definitive answer if this is a known side effect. I never experienced this condition before taking gabapentin.
I stopped taking it . I started getting rashes. All looked like shingles but in multiple places on the body. I had a biopsy done and will get the results on feb 6
I had a rash as you are describe ing for a 1 1/2 Years. I could not figure out what caused or why I could not get rid of it. Purple in color , very itchy, start to go away & then return worse than ever. I now know from your posts..It was that gabepentin! I researched & read to use unrefined coconut oil on it. Keep applying everyday as often as needed. Don't stop. This worked! I couldn't believe it. It went away in about a month & I hardly have a scar. Do this & promise it will be gone.
I've had exactly the same response to gabapentin now I have a rash on my legs and on my arms when I wake up and it's staying all day long. I've had double vision. I'm having trouble thinking of words. I believe it's all because of this drug. I was so very concerned after seeing the dermatologist who said that it could be lymphoma. Finding your email and your symptoms has at least given me a new path to follow.
I took Gabapentin for two months for nerve pain in my feet. After 3 weeks, I started getting large red welts that I figure is hives. It took around six weeks for it to go away and now around a year later, out of the blue, I have the large red welts again. I figure this is what I will be dealing with the rest of my life.
When I first started on a low dose of Gabapentin I started getting hives on my neck and torso which were itchy but after a few weeks they got smaller and less and then not at all. I’ve been on it for a year and have had no reoccurrence.
Yes. this is not the first time I've heard of this.
My dermatologist put me on Gabapentin for an autoimmune disease,
which comes with a terrible rash that takes forever to go away - the
Gabapentin stopped the maddening itching and started to take away some
of my rash - they go away and come back. They don't know the reason it
happens and have no cure for it.
Better check with your doctor. I have read the side effects of Gaba. and I
don't recall seeing anything about a rash. Good luck and God bless. Trish
My concern is that rash is a known side effect of Gabapentin and it comes in a frightening array of varieties. I'm off the drug for two or three months and the rash fades and blooms. I thought it would stop by now.
There are several different rashes associated with it. Its in the side effects.
If kaisamama says that there is listed within the side effects of Gabapentin,
then perhaps she is right - she usually is spot on.
I'd still go to another doctor or I can strongly recommend you go to a dermatologist.
Trish
Kasimama, I must be forgetting the side effects - they are quite long - if you
say Gabapentin has several different rashes, then I'll take your word for it.
I am on Gabapentin to get rid of an autoimmune disease - Prurigo Nodularis,
look it up and read it and look at the pictures. Gabapentin - at 300mg, twice
a day was prescribed and stopped the maddening itching, and started to
take some of the sores away, but I became increasingly clumsy and began
falling - I've fallen about 10 times and haven't broken anything - I never
break anything - just bruise the heck out of myself and falling makes my
arthritis worse. I went down to 1 - 300 mg per day, at night and I'm not as
clumsy as much - the sores are taking longer to disappear and I have had
some come back, but I keep hacking at it. I am learning that I have what
i have and treat it in my mind, that it is something I can't do too much about,
so I willingly give up worrying over it - just keep applying my extra strength
cream, which works. I see I have just about repeated my comment on the
Answer - so pardon me for doing this twice. I just feel concerned for this
person who feels so bad and so I have given what I do know. I told
him/her (sorry, can't remember name) that if you, Kasimama, says it has
various rashes then it must be true, for I know you to be in the know and
full of good advice.
Thanks for listening, all of you. And thanks for setting me straight on the
rashes Gabapentin might cause.
God bless, Trish
My rash was on forearms too. Quit taking and it went away after a couple weeks. Dr said I could try again, but am not too sure about doing that. Was taking for RLS.
My forearm rash is deep purple, lingers for a few days then seems to fade. In a day or two or three a see it recur. The blotch runs from a small area the size of a dime to a redness over much of my forearm. I've scratched it a few times and it bled and stopped with a bit of difficulty.
Try not to scratch the area of the rash. It sounds to me as if you've got
blood bleeding through your collagen. See a Dermatologist who is well
known and does a great job. Let him/her do a biopsy of one of places you
have not scratched. I have an autoimmune disease called Prurigo Nodularis,
although other diseases or rashes act differently, mine is kind of rare. I'm not saying this is what you have. If you have Restless Leg Syndrome,
then perhaps the dermatologist can prescribe something else for it.
My intention to my answer to you is to let you know what I have, not to act
as your doctor. I sympathize with you and wish you good luck, and God
bless you - I hope you get some good dermatologist who knows what he/she is doing.
Trish
You may very well be right. It causes several different types of rash. Good thing you are going to the dr.
Related topics
cough, back pain, skin rash, gabapentin
Further information
- Gabapentin uses and safety info
- Gabapentin prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Gabapentin (detailed)
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