Neurontin - how long does it take for the meds to work and make to pain go away?
Question posted by cheryl lowe on 26 June 2012
Last updated on 20 November 2019 by MCCalcutt
14 Answers
How long does it take Neurontin to get into your system and relieve the burning and tingling pain?
I am so sad reading the many sufferers of this and that. Mine of over 22 years is cervical dystonia. It instantly started allowing my muscle contracting to stop and therefore the pain. Even then, they knew (thank God for Dr George Paulson and his associates at Ohio State) narcotic level pain level medication wasn't acceptable. The cause needs fixed, rather than symptom only appeasement . I am fortunate something finally worked, and better than botox injections for me.
For other problems, pain... I KNOW from bad experiences, not all generics work for me. And I can take only capsule form. Only brand name dor Neurontin was available years back. Try it first. I paid a small mint on it before generics. I have been taking Cipla brand. And recommend it.
Hope all find what helps them. Please don't give up.
My husband has shingles of the eye. He just started taking neurontin (generative).
He started one pill on day one 2 pills day 2 and 3 a day it’s been now 6 days. He’s on 400 mg x 3 a day When will it taken full effect. He gets this pain through the eye to his ear to back of his heads
Hi, I'm 38 years old and have peripheral neuropathy. I've had this particular pain in my feet for about 3 years. Been diabetic (at least diagnosed with diabetes) for 5. My doctor originally diagnosed me with restless leg syndrome and put me on requip. It didn't help, but was told to keep taking that for a bit just to see, since I was having no side effects of the meds. During this time, I had stupidly slipped and fallen in the shower (about 3 years ago) and ended up with sciatica. Did the physical therapy bit but dang, that nerve pain is for real. Doc ended up putting me on norco and neurontin for awhile and I stopped taking requip at this time too. After a couple months, I started lowering the dose of norco slowly and was able to just completely switch to Tylenol ES for the general pain of it. (Physical therapy: read as yoga and sciatica stretching, helped immensely).
And During this time that i was lowering my opioid use for pain, I noticed the pain in my feet were gone. So I asked my doc to keep me on the neurontin as the pain in my feet were gone, and low and behold, neuropathy diagnosis. 600 mg 3 times a day works wonders for me and let's me sleep really decent.
I JUST started Neurontin literally 3 hours ago. Before I took one pill, 300mg, I could not walk without yelling in pain. I couldn't even just sit without very SHARP pains wrapping around me from my lower back to my abdomen.
I should probably let you know I have had 3 cervical fusions and 2 laminectomies in my lumbar, so I am VERY aware of spinal pain. This pain was different. It was off the charts. Tramadol, Flexerill and Hydrocodone didn't touch it.
My Neurosurgeon of 17 years, told me to get to the ER. At the ER, I had a Cat Scan. The resident doctor said everything look OK from what he could see. He said the pain is more than likely from muscle spasms in my lumbar.
I had an old prescription of Gabopentin on file with my pharmacy from a back surgery in May 2016. So, I ordered it and took one pill 3 hours ago. I am currently PAIN FREE. I don't know if this is common,but I am not going to question it. I'm just going to enjoy the absence of pain.
Good luck to everyone suffering from these horrific chronic illnesses. I pray you all find your relief soon.
Claire
My first time with sciatica and I've been in tremendous sharp pain with pins and needles down my right glute and leg.
Visited chiropractor for 6 sessions and didn't feel as though was getting anywhere.
Tried sports massage to loosen up muscles, No relief.
Tried osteopath for few sessions and still nothing. Ended up not being able to stand or sit.
Eventually went to A&E where doc prescribed co-codamol and Naproxen and advised to roll a towel and lay with it in small of my back ( which gave some relief ) but the codeine wasn't touching pain.
Tried acupuncture and she offered an MRI to speed things up which I snapped up at just £245. The very next day I was getting scanned and the day after I was given the results of bulging L5 S1.
I was told to try drugs before injections so...
I Visited my GP and begged for something stronger and he gave me Gabapentin and Tramadol by the box load ... within a few hours I can tell the difference, I can actually walk to the toilet now or even make a cupper. Things are looking up.
Ps I'm glad I may not need one of them epidural spinal injections!!!
Praise God you are getting some relief.
I just started lumbar injections 2 weeks ago. It hurt a little, bit nothing like you are already experiencing. I feel GREAT! I get my second shot on Tuesday. I'm actually looking forward to it.
When the meds don't do the job anymore, don't be afraid to try the injections.
Best of luck to you. Please let me know how it goes.
Claire
I suffer from neck shoulder middle and lower back pain. I recently devolped a pain in my hip. It got worse and then it went down my leg. Long story short. I tried everything. My pain meds wouldn't touch it. I found out i have no disc left in L4 L5 n only very little in L3. The pain is so bad i am in a wheel chair. I can walk with a cane on some days. I have had injections and the pain clinic took away my pain meds. And gave me nothing in place of them. The pain is so bad. I have thought of going to the streets to get something to help. I didn't!!! My reg dr. Just put me on Gabapentin. I know this pain clinic is not going to be happy. But i am hoping this will work.
I noticed immediately that it helped my pain! Chronic back pain and fibromyalgia here. I love it. But seems to wear off fast. Is that normal?
Im not sure when you posted (its says 25th of January 2017), but the thread is years old so im unsure being new here.
Anyway, to shed light on your closing question: Gabapentin has a half life of ~5-7 hours, meaning after approximately 5 to 7 hours after intake of the medication it will effectively be 50% of initial dose/concentration (hence "half life"). This a relatively short half life, so this is precisely why patients are either prescribed a higher dose, or take a quantity through the day at specified intervals. This is why you feel that it wears off fast. However, I'm not a medical professional so I'm sure there are better explanations.
I have been taking neuron tin for 2 weeks now 1200mg for pain and imsomnia . My pain has completely gone it took about a week for this to happen I feel great but for imsomnia I cannot sleep for more than 1 hour and I n have started wetting the bed which I found out it is a side effect. As for the nerve pain it worked great for me I just don't know if I can handle the side effects or put up withe pain. How much dosage are you taking and how long have you been on it my dosage is split up 300mg 2xdaily and 600mg at bedtime.hag in there and I wish you the best. Loretta
I am a 38 year old woman that just found out that she is diagnosed with lumbar spondylosis also a bulging disc also I have poly neuropathy all over my body and I've got a deteriorating disc disease along with osteoporosis I've got one hip that's higher than the other and I also have scoliosis and I just got this medicine gabapentin 300 milligrams once a day at bedtime but the problem is with that is that I've got to take it sooner then bedtime because of my flare ups that I have so much and then on top of that it has been a blessing I mean a a blessing gabapentin has changed my life and I want to thank the big man upstairs for what he has done to give these doctors the knowledge to figure out ways to help someone right now because right now I have been dealing with this pain for 15 years did not have any insurance whatsoever so when I finally got insurance then I went and found out what everything was wrong with me and it was too late so if I fall break it or ...
anything its my l5 s1 it's the lumbar spondylosis is where is not fused and it's like a tail and it dangles so it rubs against the butt bone of course so that severe pain also but if I do fall and it cracks or anything I'm going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life because they said it will paralyze me so I am taking it day by day and all I did was want to tell the doctors out there thank you so much because it has helped me tremendously I love it thank you that is my story
It takes about a week for gabapentin to start reducing nerve pain, and two weeks for it to take full effect.
Source: Gabapentin for the Symptomatic Treatment of Painful Neuropathy in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus A Randomized Controlled Trial, Backonja et al. (1998).
Dear Cheryl:
I just started taking Neurontin a week ago, I worry about the weight gain because I gained 30 lbs with the Lyrica. I'm hoping with the Neurontin doesn't have that affect. I'm desparate in losing weight, not to mention to control this pain of fibromyalgia... it is very painful.
I hope Neurontin helps with the pain.
-Abby
Different meds affect people differently. Just because you gained weight on Lyrica, doesn't mean that will happen with gabapentin. How are you feeling, since you posted this over a week ago??
I'm doing pretty good with the fibromyalgia pain Neurotin seems to work. I'm on 300 mg 3 x a day. I haven't been having those pins-in-needles pain... that is great! About time. Don't get me wrong Lyrica is a good drug, it does work it is just that it lost its effectiveness, and needed something else for the fibro pain.
You're right everybody is different, I agreech of own. Today is a new day.
-Abby
I'm so glad that you found the help that you needed. (That doesn't sound right does it :-) ) Anyhow,, like I said, I LOVE neurontin! It's just that I swell really badly, so I'm limited to 300mg once at night. At least I get out of bed in the AM, right?? I STILL have problems with swelling with that small dose. That's just MY body. I really wish that I could have taken the entire dosage. It helped me so much. And I understand what you are saying about Lyrica. It's my same complaint about gabapentin... it's a great drug, but just not for ME.
My layperson's opinion is it took a combination of two weeks and the right dosage for Neurontin to kick in, and once it did - it has been highly effective. Background: I had/have chronic migraines about 15 days a month. This pattern was disrupted by my neurologist - and I'll have pain almost every day, but, it can be low level which is much more tolerable than super high level migraines. I was on a two preventatives and hormones (pill / patch). I switched one preventative drug to Neurontin in the middle/end of April for migraines. This is for two reasons: When I had nerve-block injections at the neurologists, it really worked (for about 5 days) so we thought Neurontin might be worth a try. Also - this other drug that I suspected was having some side effects (Nortriptyline). The transition was tough for me. At 200 mg and with weather changes, I was having a lot of pain.
However, now, with a week of 300 mg under my belt, the weather has been all over the place and my pain has been under control. So - (cross fingers) - I may be an official fan of Neurontin right now. I am also on a health plan and losing some excess pounds gained on Nortryp (seemingly impossibly with Nortryp). I can also exercise more vigorously - first time in about a year. So - again, all good stuff. Hope this helps some other "Migraine People" out there!
Have you tried raspberry ketones by nutriboiticals (these just take for 3 months stRt again after 1 month. I take them ever days with all my supplements and medications and I have no side effects garcinia cambogia + by pureGenix
I lose over 100 pounds within a year and worked at a car wash though. I was 230 lbs after my last child and I've been 125 to 135 lbs ever since. It's mostly all natural and inexpensive . It's worth it and the products have other help benifits too.
Hopefully for you, by now the neurontin is working. That being said, it doesn't work for everybody. some people love it, and some people hate it. The side effects can be debilitating, so if the medication is not working for you, I suggest that you contact your doctor, and let them know. I happen to have loved neurontin, EXCEPT that I gained 80 lbs of fluid without realizing that I wasn't over eating as my doctors kept telling me!! I wish that I could continue taking the med at the dose that I was taking it, but I can only take 300mg once a day now at night to help me get out of bed in the AM.
There are plenty of other pain meds in the same category as neurontin, and you do have other options. So DON'T keep taking a med that is not working. Contact your doctor, and try another.
Best of luck to you, and I hope that you find your answers!!
Neurontin can make pain go away. I have RSD- I had nerve blocks-stellate ganglion- Several of the fingers on my right hand were black and flopped around. I was ready to commit suicide when my doctors sent me to a good pain clinic. I couldn't sleep for more than a few hours, etc. I'm saying this to show that I had visible physical results from the RSD. Pure Codiene, etc didn't give any relief. My body was able to regenerate after the nerve blocks. I had an accident, and the RSD flared up with pain and loss of fine motor control. I was immediately sent to the VA pain clinic, where they put me on Neutrontin to reduce pain until they had an opening for a nerve block. The pain was reduced by 2 weeks-the pain was gone in about 4-after I saw the pain doctors-we reduced the dosage, and I stopped taking it. A few years later, i had another accident.
Same thing-only I wasn't scheduled for a nerve block-the VA had me use the neurontin - after several pain free weeks- I slowly reduced the neurontin until I was off of it. About a 4 month process each time. There was another incident and the primary care doctor took care of it herself. Yes, it's for nerve damage-many types of nerve damage-but it can make pain go away- It's been over 10 years since I needed to take any Neurontin. Whenever I get a new doctor-that is the first thing I talk about. For me, I know that I've reached the right amount when the tips of my fingers and toes start feeling numb-I stay that way for about a week-then start reducing the dosage. Good luck- but when the pain goes away-and you stop taking the medication and the pain stays gone-it makes the pain go away. Like one of the accidents, A young man came running around a building and slammed into my chest, and knocked me down. That night I was in agony.
RSD is a nightmare. Sorry that you're one of the chosen few. After a large, nasty partial thickness burn to my right thigh, any kind of bump or prolonged pressure makes it feel like the burn is happening all over again. Neurontin is the only thing that's worked for me and I've found it takes about 5 days to kick in when I'm working and a day or two more if I'm on leave.
That being said... My god, man, how many fingers do you have on your right hand!?
I have been on this med for 10 years it takes about 5-7 days for the med to get into your system to help you. It will only help your nerve pain that is all it will do it will not work on any other pain.
This drug was not intentened for this use it came out as a drug for spastic reaction but it did not work for it's intended use it turned out to be a excellent pain reliver for nerve damage.
This is a med when used for pain is often used for nerve pain and may take a few days to kick in. That said. pain meds are not designed nor intended to make pain "go away rather to "help" us deal with (or manage) it better. Hope this helps.
I had the same question? My nerve pain is so out of control that I just started taking it though I can't function on it . When do you start feeling normal again?
I could barley walk due to pain & weakness in my legs. I have pretty bad sciatica. I started taking Neurontin a few weeks ago. The relief is unbelievable. I can move and walk & the pain is soo manageable now. I'm not on any opioid. Just the Neurontin.
What strength are you on and how often? Looking for help after just starting it.
Related topics
Further information
- Neurontin uses and safety info
- Neurontin prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Neurontin (detailed)
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