Posted by Catling on March 14, 2013, at 4:16:46
In reply to neurontin for anxiety, posted by joe d on March 13, 2013, at 22:45:26
I was on generic gabapentin manufactured by Teva for around three years to treat anxiety (general anxiety, job anxiety and anxiety around crowds which is crucial when you live in big cities). I never experienced any side effects. I don't recall the specific dose I was taking but it was a "middle of the road" dose. Teva stopped manufacturing gabapentin and I tried every other generic the pharmacy could order in, as well as name brand which took them about two weeks to get because they said no one takes name brand anymore, and none of them were effective on my anxiety at the same dose that I had been taking previously. (Much like I cannot take any of the forms of generic Wellbutrin, apparently I only responded to this one formulation of gabapentin.)
I did some research on my own and found out that Pfizer had developed another drug, Lyrica, which is more potent than gabapentin but essentially the same kind of medication (similar to the relationship between Lexapro and Celexa). Lyrica, in addition to being approved in the EU for treatment of general anxiety disorder, has a much higher bioavailability of the medication than gabapentin and is also more quickly absorbed.
I have had the same benefit from the Lyrica that I had with the Teva gabapentin. I've been on it off and on (due to insurance issues) for about four years now with no weight gain or other side effects, taking 100mg 3x daily.
poster:Catling
thread:1040282
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20130308/msgs/1040297.html