2019-02-23 at 1:18 AM UTC
Well, my doctor prescribed me Gabapentin today for neuropathic problems I’m having with my legs, due to a botched surgery.
So tell me your experiences with it. I see some say it’s good for withdrawals, anxiety, and pain. I’ve even seen some say they use it for a buzz. So tell me about it. What should I expect?
2019-02-23 at 2:01 AM UTC
gadzooks
Dark Matter
[keratinize my mild-tasting blossoming]
It's one of the few psychopharmaceuticals I haven't tried yet, and, even more unlikely one of the very few GABA-based psychopharmacologicals I haven't tried.
The reason I have somewhat of an obsession with GABA-based drugs is because they are often targeted at anxiety management, and I am plagued by all kinds of anxiety and am trying to find something that works, but with minimal undesired side effects.
For comparative reference, the following drugs/medications influence GABA activity:
1. Benzodiazepines (alprazalom/xanax, clonazepam/Klonopin, diazepam/Valium, etc - there are many, all with slightly different GABA subunit specifity and different duration of effect).
2. Alcohol (kinda... Alcohol is surprisingly complex pharmacalogically speaking).
3. A broad range of anti-epilectics (this includes benzodiazepines as well).
It's actually pretty obscure on the black market, since it's recreational value is pretty low compared to, say, benzos.
I'm pretty sure I've seen at least one person mention having experimented with it around here, or it might have been pregabalin/Lyrica (I frequently mix them up because they're two of the more obscure GABA-targeting drugs out there).
GABA plays a major role in neural inhibition, and this is why it's often used for things like anxiety, sedation / inducing sleep, and for intentionally inducing amnesia (e.g. midazolam for surgery, etc), as well as reducing the chances of seizures / epileptic activity, and even in pain management in some cases (this is one way in which Gabapentin is kind of unique for a GABAergic drug).
2019-02-23 at 2:07 AM UTC
gadzooks
Dark Matter
[keratinize my mild-tasting blossoming]
Now in terms of differentiating different GABA-targeting drugs based on subunit specifity... That gets a bit more advanced, but it just so happens I'm currently working on something of a comprehensive GABA pharmacology visual aid to give a better feel for how these different drugs influence particular subunit activity, since, at least presumably, that's how they have differing effects from each other (i.e. some will render you absolutely unconscious, while others will keep you awake, but with little to know memory of your actions - KINDA SCARY, ACTUALLY: This is something definitely worth taking into consideration with ANY GABA-targeting drug).
The different GABA subunits are variations on GABA-α, GABA-β, and GABA-γ... i.e. There are essentially subtypes of subtypes.
2019-02-23 at 2:08 AM UTC
gadzooks
Dark Matter
[keratinize my mild-tasting blossoming]
By the way, for all I know, you knew a lot of this stuff already... You work in a medical field from what I gather?
But you likely won't get much response in the way of first-hand experience around here regarding Gabapentin specifically. Like I said, maybe one or two people, but I start threads about GABA-based meds all the time and they get very few posts.
2019-02-23 at 2:19 AM UTC
Hmmm I swear I’ve seen people discuss them for various reasons, that’s why I asked.
Being an xray Tech I know a lot about some things, a little about other things, and very little about meds. We administer meds, but nothing along these lines.
I read a bit about it today. Saw that some snort it, and it seems to have a speed-like affect. I read that they use it for anxiety, although it’s not widely accepted in treating anxiety. I wouldn’t mind a helper with anxiety.
This is for involuntary movements from my legs. Didn’t know if it could be a helper with some other things, it seems to treat a broad spectrum of ailments.
Thank you so much Gad.
Also,
What affect do benzos have on gaba?
2019-02-23 at 2:33 AM UTC
gadzooks
Dark Matter
[keratinize my mild-tasting blossoming]
Benzodiazepines have a relatively large cluster of effects. Their two main medical uses are for epilepsy and anxiety. They basically have a "calming" effect on the entire brain. Calling it a "calming" effect is a gross oversimplification at worst, and, at best, a bit of an anthropomorphizing of biochemical activity occuring WITHIN the brain, rather than the external, experiential activity we experience as the "effects" of such pharmacologicals).
But I use the word "calming" because, most of the activity of GABA synapses is inhibitory.
The opposite would be excitatory. NMDA/Glutamate activity is one such example. I actually wrote a bunch of undergraduate papers on their use for enhancing cognition. Super interesting stuff, but literally the opposite of GABA activity, so a tad off topic for this thread.
BTW: The overall inhibitory/excitatory mechanisms are describing the likelihood of propagation of an action potential occurring at a particular synapse. In macro-terms, this means that the more inhibited a particular region of the brain is (i.e. More GABA activity), the LESS LIKELY it is to achieve stimulation of that particular reaction.
This is why pretty much all GABA-based drugs have effects commonly described as being "CNS depressant".
Reduction in anxiety (due to "less active thinking", in a sense).
Reduced chances of epilepsy (since the epileptic events are less likely to be propagated due to the inhibitory activity).
Reduced memory storage (thus leading to the amnesic effects).
And so on...
2019-02-23 at 2:36 AM UTC
gadzooks
Dark Matter
[keratinize my mild-tasting blossoming]
The differences between Gabapentin and benzodiazepines more broadly are probably mostly differences of degree, not so much type (for the most part, there might be some unique effects that I'm not too familiar with - reduction of pain is kinda outside the typical scope of expected benzodiazepine effects, but, since GABA activity is primarily inhibitory, it does make sense on some intuitive level that it might affect pain in some ways).
2019-02-23 at 2:42 AM UTC
Pain is one way I thought it might help. I’ve been on tramadol for pain ever since this whole fiasco started, but I am slowly weaning off. I’ve cut my dose in half thus far. I’ll be completely off soon, so I had kinda hoped it might be a helper there as well.
2019-02-23 at 2:56 AM UTC
When he prescribed it for these jumpy nerves in my legs, I thought about some of the other things I’ve heard on here. If it helps anxiety, anddddd pain?....win win👍🏻
