How Many Years Has Gabapentin Been Shown To Remain Effective?

I have been on gabapentin for two years now. I am on 800 mg 3x daily. I was put on this due to severe facial pain due to severe trauma to my face in a car accident. My face slammed into the dashboard. My question is how long can gabapentin continue to work for me? I can not live in the pain I had before taking gabapentin. Drs. are so frightened to write me any pain meds, such as fiorinal with codeine when I have a break through of severe pain in my sinuses. I have been operated on my sinuses 4x since the accident. My nose no longer functions, therefore extreme pain. Neurologist not able to do much because I am on Prozac and Notriptyline for anxiety and depression. I just want to know from studies, how long can I live semi pain free on gabapentin. I have gained 25 lbs. Went from 100lbs to 125 lbs and I eat very little only very healthy choices. Can I lose this weight via exercise or will it come back due to Gabapentin? So actually I'm looking for two very important answers. Thank you for any help.

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To Debs, I am so sorry to hear of your problems you poor thing, you must be a very strong person to endure that kind of trauma and then the pain all without opiates! It should put things into perspective for a lot of us. I typically don't post questions or replies on these sites, I mainly use them for browsing an answer or review, but in your case I have to help you! Please listen and you will start to take back your life. You HAVE to first and foremost find a different doctor, a pain specialist, look around try to find one who specializes in injury pain in the face/neck area, you desperately need to be treated with some easy and strong type of opiate pain medication, why your docs would be afraid to put on the 2 you mentioned is beyond me they are like children's pain meds, if these are your surgeons' prescribing and that's it then that would make some sense cause they give you 1 medication usually not strong enough and a refill and that's it, also I don't think they understand how painful surgery is. so you need a pain management dr immediately, I would say maybe a 5mg oxycodone 2-3 times a day or as needed for your acute pain, and a 15-25mcg/hr fentanyl patch for the chronic pain, they last for 3 days and aren't metabolized by the liver so the associated GI side effects aren't that bad on you. I don't know your tolerance level to these types of meds so that's just a guess, be careful though and don't drink or mix other CNRs with them or you can overdose. Next, I personally think the amount of Gabapentin you're on daily is what you should be afraid of, especially with Prozac bad combo and both drugs actually have much worse severe long term side effects than opiates and if you don't get off Prozac now you will never be able to. It is way more addictive long term and it will cause worsening depression, anxiety and loss of all joy. I am the same weight as you and have Ankylosing Spondylitis, PCOS, and multiple other back and joint problems, as well as cervical cancer I was just diagnosed with so I have been seeing a neurosurgeon as I also need back and hip surgery and I took buropenephrine for 2 years prior to a year ago, because it just couldn't handle my widespread chronic pain, I now take 50mcg/hr fentanyl patch, and 15mg of oxycodone for severe pain, and I take an anti anxiety klonipin 1mg instead of an anti depressant which for me personally make me want to kill myself (really) also muscle relaxer to sleep zanaflex, and meloxicam which is like aleve but just stronger and smaller so I don't have to take 6 aleve a day, they just started me on gabapentin 300mg once at night and now are a month later already telling me to go to 2 a day which I feel is completely useless as all it does is make me tired and doesn't seem to add anything but more side effects and after all this I'm very careful to read every interaction, side effects, really the long term ones are most important to me and after reading the full insert as well as the webpage where you find a lot more like studies and male/female differences etc. I think the risk of this particular medication does have short term benefits for a lot of things, but at extremely high doses like you are on the risks defiantly outweigh the benefits. Sorry to be long spoken, I probably wont come back so I tried to say it all at once. Bless your heart and hang in there I know it gets hard but the best thing is to stay positive and don't let those doctors push you around you know your body and your pain level. I hope I could be of some help to you! P.S. I have found it best to research what you think the best medication for you is going to be and inform the doctor but don't ask for a specific dose! and bring your man, or brother or father along to enforce for you, for some reason they listen more to a man on these matters (even if its a women doctor) just a tip I have learned along the way I'm sure you'll get what you need! as far as addiction goes when you really need pain meds it is so much easier to control, when you want to get off butrans patch its subutex and is still a worthy pain killer its only partial opioid. that actually may be a good place for you to start. feel better!!!

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