Gabapentin = weight gain

Hi. I was wondering if anyone else has taken gabapentin. I'm taking a really big dose (and I have been for over six months) and I'm starting to think it might be the culprit when it comes to my weight.

Initially I know I gained weight from depression (SUPER bad eating habits for at least a month) and a BIG dose of Seroquel. But I've cut way back on the Seroquel and I'm exercising and eating well and am not losing weight.

I am tapering off benzos (**very**slowly and safely). I have been reading online that people gain weight around their belly on gabapentin. Well I seem to have only gained on my belly too. But then again I know there is such a thing as babesia belly.

I find this all very confusing.

I am reducing the gabapentin. I know my sleep is going to suffer for a while but I want to see if I can make any headway in the weight loss area.

For treatment I'm on minocycline, amoxicillin, tindamax, alinia and coartem.

I am starting to see improvements on this regime of meds.

Would love any help in this topic. Thanks.

Post Edited (kayaklove) : 7/17/2015 10:33:44 AM (GMT-6)

Thanks so much. I don't have any pain. That has never been one of my symptoms. Insomnia is my major symptom.

When you say taper really slowly how slowly do you mean?

I am a little worried because I have notice a yellowing in my skin. I am wondering if that is a side-effect or means my liver has been damaged. It's kind of scary.

Yes my doctor put me on both amoxicillin and minocycline.

I find the tindamax incredibly brutal for depression. I was at 2,000 mgs and had to cut back to 250 mgs because I was so severely incapacitated.

Thanks for your reply. I have been on an inconsistent dose of Neurontin (albeit it is in the upper range dose).

No matter what I do I can't lose weight. This is what has led me to suspect that it is the Neurontin. I want to taper off.

I have been on the antibiotics for a few months. I have never had issues with my liver or kidneys. I was reading up that Neurontin is processed by the liver.

It certainly wouldn't hurt to get liver function tests done...just to be sure.

So, when I looked it up - weight gain was a 'less common' side effect.
But, my friend said she gained weight quite quickly on it.

So, it's hard to say if the weight gain is from gabapentin.

Have you had the thyroid testing done - as if you are hypothyroid - that could be responsible for the weight gain.

I am borderline hypothyroid. I'm on desiccated thyroid and I recently increased it because I was wondering if that could be the problem.

I suspect the gabapentin weight gain has been creeping up on me. I also usually get the rare side-effects for some reason.

So after you've been on that dose of the dessicated thyroid for awhile (several weeks) you should re-test and see where your TSH, Ft3 and FT4 are at.
The FT3 and FT4 should be in the upper end of the range. The TSH should be in the lower end of the range.
What were your TSH, FT3, and FT4 the last time you tested before the increase?

kayaklove,

I'm wondering what dose you are on for the Neurontin?

When I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, that was the one and only drug that I was offered. The doctor's exact words were "we'll just take care of your sleep and you'll be fine." This was a pain clinic doctor. He never actually told me the diagnosis, just wrote it on the charge sheet.

That was about 13 years ago and I have been on the Neurontin all that time. I know that it doesn't work for some people. I never had a problem with gaining weight. As a matter of fact, my weight has gone down and up and down and up. I do have the belly fat but that wasn't coincident with starting the neurontin.

It was prescribed because someone found out that it has the ability of helping people to stay in stage 4 sleep. It definitely helps with my sleep, but it's not the only thing I take. I also use it during the day for pain. I take 1200mg three times a day. At night I take the neurontin with melatonin, soma and ambient. Without any of those, I don't sleep. Even just trying to cut down the the dose on any of those means no sleep.

I believe that neurontin is considered pretty safe, but you would be best off getting the tests mentioned by Girlie.

If you want to cut down on the Neurontin, I would get the 100 mg capsules and then you could reduce it by 100mg at a time, then hold at the lower dose for a little while, then cut down another 100mg. That way if your body does have a dependence on it, it won't be such a big difference.

Your dose totals 2400mg which is really not that high. Thirty-six hundred is the maximum.

I started at 300mg at bedtime and over time worked up to 1200mg at bedtime as each dose became ineffective. But I heave held at that dose for bed time for a very long time. I added it in the morning and midday to see if it would help the pain because some doctors were using it for pain. It helped and eventually, I worked up that dosage as well. I've only had trouble if I reduce the night time dose.

Good Luck, Kim