Gabapentinoids Do you need to take gabapentin with food to get high?

[Vexanize]

It's always been a question for me. I would like to know more info on if you HAVE to take gabapentin with food. I can't tell the difference taking it either way so it's hard for me to decide if the bioavailability increases or not. Thanks!

 

[Keif' Richards]

Hey Vexanize! So, the thing with Gabapentin (Neurontin) is that the bioavailability is effected by so many different variables to such a great extent, that maximizing your experience can be a bit of an exercise. In short, research and my own experience indicates that you can basically double your bioavailbility by ingesting your Gabapentin with a high-lipid environment. Also, you want to make sure that you stagger your dosage i.e. not all at the same time.

I have a trick that a lot of others have found success with. First, you take tablespoon of peanut butter, take a single Gabapentin and swallow with some whole milk. Split your dosages up by about 45 minutes and take maybe 5 doses total over the course of several hours. For an average person 2g-3g should be plenty of Gabapentin to demonstrate what the drug can do and how it will effect you.

Repeat this process until you reach where you want to be. You do not need to take this drug in such a fashion, but like I said, you can easily double your pleasure by taking these measures.

 

[Zeketgw]

I've actually found that taking Gabapentin on an empty stomach works best for me. I like to take it on the weekends early in the morning because it takes long to kick in but also lasts long. I get up around 8 or 9am and immediately swallow 3g (3000mg) which from my script means 5 600mg tabs. Then I go about my morning routine minus eating. Just water. Then I sit and watch TV for 2+ hours until it kicks in. It takes 2-3 hours for full effect but it lasts 12-13 hours. It's a very unique buzz. I personally can't put it into words other than dizzy(ish) and euphoric.
Something people might not know is that it's great to take after drinking before bed. It will allow you to sleep through the night without that usual 3am wake-up when all the alcohol turns to sugar and you can't get back to sleep. It also prevents a hangover, especially if you take 2 extra strength Excedrin with it.

Have fun but stay safe.
Z.

 

[Hodor]

Something people might not know is that it's great to take after drinking before bed. It will allow you to sleep through the night without that usual 3am wake-up when all the alcohol turns to sugar and you can't get back to sleep. It also prevents a hangover, especially if you take 2 extra strength Excedrin with it.

Alcohol doesn't "turn to sugar"; in fact, ethanol suppresses gluconeogenesis (the production of glucose by the human body) and presents a serious risk of hypoglycemia in diabetics.

Ethanol is known to cause disruptions in sleep architecture, but this is related more to its effects on neurotransmitters and hormone levels, rather than glucose levels.

Also, the last thing you'd want to take when going to bed after drinking is extra-strength excedrin. Besides the issue of increased hepatoxicity from the acetaminophen, excedrin also contains a relatively large amount of caffeine (65 mg per pill in the extra-strength formulation), which isn't exactly going to be beneficial for your sleep quality.

 

[Sahibben]

Really glad I ran across this website today. I have at least 1000+ left over 300mg gabapentin and recently heard a story about a person who took it at high dosage to get an opiate type high sensation. So last weekend I thought what the heck, I'll give it a shot. Around 5pm I took 2000mg at once and started drinking a pint of vodka. I did eat around 7pm because I don't like the crummy next day feeling of drinking like that if I don't eat something. Around 9pm I took 900mg more of gabapentin. I never felt really "high". Different, but not high if you get my drift. I think I was a little more off balance when walking, etc. than I normally would drinking that much. I took 25mg of quetiapine at 9pm also. I passed out around 10:30. Not a bad experience, but nothing special. But here's what happened next...I had one of the most realistic seeming dreams I have ever had in my life. It involved both current and present friends interacting together. Basically, we were all in a dystopian type setting and trying to leave an area where something bad was going to happen. Most of my friends tricked a few of us, took off with all of our belongings and left us behind. Very, very realistic though...like I woke up thinking it had really happened for a few minutes. I went back to sleep for another hour or so, woke up feeling just fine...no hangover, no withdrawal type feelings. So I figured it just took the gabapentin a long time to really take full effect.
Glad to hear others say it takes a few hours sometimes to kick in, strengths my own opinion. A couple of things before I tell you my plan for today. For whoever said a high lipid diet is best: I'm not into getting hypercholesterolemia (having high cholesterol) so no thanks. I'll just stick with what I normally eat. And for the other person who said something about the negative effects acetaminophen: you're right. Acetaminophen can affect a person negatively in a bunch of ways. I stay very far away from it.
So here's my plan for today since tomorrow is Labor Day and I have nothing going on. Take 2400mg of gabapentin at 2pm. Eat normally. Drink a pint of Vodka between 5-9pm. Take another 600-900mg of gabapentin around 6pm if I feel like it. Take 25mg of quetiapine if I think I need it to sleep. Watch some of the LSU vs FSU game. Watch some good movies and or series and then pass out. I'll give the results tomorrow.

 

[Wormwood44]

Dude - never a smart idea to mix any drug with alcohol. I have a lot of experience with Gabapentin - it has its pros and cons. But it is a terrible drug to come off of. Please don't do what you are planning to do again. I don't know anything about you but I have stupidly done what you are about to try often. In the past, I was doing dumb stuff like that, and I regretted it. 2400 Gaba is a high dose. IF you are going to do it, bypass the alcohol - all that is going to happen is that you'll have a shitty high and fall asleep for a day and feel shitty for a day or two.

 

[Sahibben]

Dude - never a smart idea to mix any drug with alcohol. I have a lot of experience with Gabapentin - it has its pros and cons. But it is a terrible drug to come off of. Please don't do what you are planning to do again. I don't know anything about you but I have stupidly done what you are about to try often. In the past, I was doing dumb stuff like that, and I regretted it. 2400 Gaba is a high dose. IF you are going to do it, bypass the alcohol - all that is going to happen is that you'll have a shitty high and fall asleep for a day and feel shitty for a day or two.

I get it and I believe you. I drink alcohol with other drugs almost every time I take drugs, which is not often at all. I really believe you with the gabapentin though. The reason why is because last week when I did that, I didn't feel much of the effect from gabapentin until I fell asleep and the alcohol started wearing thin I had that really weird dream and I think it was from the gabapentin finally showing up. I'm feeling a minor effect from the gabapentin right now. I'm going to have one 3oz vodka drink at 5pm. I'll give it 2hrs and if I feel like drinking 3 more oz I will. The thing about last weekend that I forgot to mention was this: After my first drink or two, I didn't really feel like wanting more which is unusual for me and drinking alcohol. I think I'm kinda alcoholic because of that. Drink one, want 3 or 4 more and keep at it until I finish a bottle (pint). I never have more than one pint on hand when I plan on drinking because of that. And I drink once or twice a month on average. I really watch it so to speak. I know it is binge drinking. I don't do it in a bar, I very rarely go to bars...not my thing. I don't do it outside of my own house as a matter of fact. Sometimes I do it with friends at my place... I've taken away keys from friends many times. I had a cousin who died from drinking and driving. Definitely drink within a planned schedule/atmosphere. Sometimes it's alone. I know that's not supposed to be good. But I really enjoy watching a movie/series under the influence. If I did it more than I do, I'd seek some help. I'm a pretty open and honest person. No worries my friend. I'll watch it, and I really appreciate the info, care, and concern. Like I said, I'll post in tomorrow and give the results. Just because I have a pint doesn't necessarily mean I'll knock the whole bottle down.

 

[Sahibben]

Oh yeah, and do you think taking that much gabapentin in two weekends is going to get me hooked or have a rough come down tomorrow? I felt fine the next day last weekend. No withdrawal and no feeling like I needed to take extra gabapentin the next day.

 

[Sahibben]

Okay, so it's 6am and I'm up and going. I feel completely normal, no withdrawal feelings, no headache. It's all good. I didn't have any weird dreams last night. Thing is, I don't know that the amount of gabapentin I took yesterday (2400 mg) affected me much at all. Maybe slowed me down and allowed me to focus more but that's a stretch. I ended up drinking about 12fl oz of vodka between 5-9pm. I took 25mg of sertraline around 10 and passed out at about 10:30. Woke up once around 12am, took a leak and then passed right out again. Personally, I don't see what the big deal is in trying to get high with it. Here's what I do know it does for me:
1. I am prescribed to take 300mg three times a day. The pills come in 100mg capsules.
2. I'm a 56yr old, 6'2" 250lb male. Not a small dude, not out of shape. Just getting old.
3. I don't always take my dosage. Sometimes I forget. Sometimes I just don't want to take it. And sometimes I reduce the amount because I want to. I told my primary care Dr about this around a year ago. She said it's all good, just don't drop it all at once for multiple days. And if I want to taper it all down to zero, to contact her and she would prescribe it the right way for me to follow in order to do that.
4. Gabapentin helps me in a few ways for sure. It reduces my anxiety, stress, and eventual depression and anger. It normalizes me. I think it is a great drug for that.

That's it folks. Remember, this is my experience...not yours. The person who texted me about drinking and using drugs at the same time is right. You shouldn't do it, it can have very adverse results. Those of you who use it for opiate withdrawal: I bet it will help you, but don't overuse it. Why give up one drug just to become addicted to a similar one that doesn't even work as well? Those of you who use it for anxiety/depression: Use it as prescribed for at least two weeks. If it still isn't working, see your primary again and they will change the dosage for you. Sometimes it takes this drug 10-14 days to balance out. For me it made me feel very lethargic the first few times I took it. Then I felt no change at all. I went to my primary, she changed it for me and I take it the way I stated earlier.
One last thing. Every day I run across an article, news report, etc. about fentanyl. If you haven't ever used it before, please don't. I've never heard one positive thing about it. If you have any your hooked, please get some help. And if you slip/relapse, jump right back into receiving the help as soon as you can, don't give up.
Love the site, glad I came across it. Using drugs/alcohol on occasion is human nature. It is not just drug addicts/alcoholics that do it. That is ridiculous thinking. We all need a break from reality on occasion. It's like hitting the reset button for me. I almost always feel better/refreshed when I do it once or twice a month. Being able to read actual experiences that others have had is a huge help in knowing how to best go about it. Plus, it's just interesting sometimes. Stay safe everyone and best to all.

 

[Zeketgw]

Alcohol doesn't "turn to sugar"; in fact, ethanol suppresses gluconeogenesis (the production of glucose by the human body) and presents a serious risk of hypoglycemia in diabetics.

Ethanol is known to cause disruptions in sleep architecture, but this is related more to its effects on neurotransmitters and hormone levels, rather than glucose levels.

Also, the last thing you'd want to take when going to bed after drinking is extra-strength excedrin. Besides the issue of increased hepatoxicity from the acetaminophen, excedrin also contains a relatively large amount of caffeine (65 mg per pill in the extra-strength formulation), which isn't exactly going to be beneficial for your sleep quality.

Interesting fact about the alcohol and sugar. I looked it up and you're right - thanks.
I know about the acetaminophen and caffeine but unless you're a quart a day drinker and you have a healthy liver you'll be fine. My friends and I would get really drunk some weekends (though I point out that we were in our 20's) and take 3 or 4 extra strength Tylenol (1500-2000mg) before bed with a couple large glasses of water and 2 super B-complex vitamins, which also helped and none of the 4 of us ever had a problem: and you're right, 130mg of caffeine (65mg per pill of extra strength Excedrin) is equal to about 10ozs of coffee (assuming am average of 12mg/oz of drip coffee) is quite a bit. Unless you're one of those weird people who can drink a cup of coffee while lying in bed watching TV and then go to sleep. An ex-girlfriend of mine could do that. Of course she dramk coffee all day at work so probably had a tolerance level that could hurt non coffee drinkers such as myself. If I drink a 10oz cup of coffee at 8ish in the morning I usually can't get to sleep until 4am, if at all. I don't ever drink it anymore, between no sleep and the murderous acid reflux it gives me makes it not worth it - ever. That said with the Gabapentin, it never kept me awake or woke me up. So...make of it what you will.

Stay lifted,
S.

 

[ChemicallyEnhanced]

It's always been a question for me. I would like to know more info on if you HAVE to take gabapentin with food. I can't tell the difference taking it either way so it's hard for me to decide if the bioavailability increases or not. Thanks!

Absolutely not! Most people will tell you to take it with a fatty meal as it's apparently lipophilic, but I've been using Gabapentin for 4 years and I find it MUCH more effective on an empty stomach. I definitely get higher if I take it without eating. It's a noticeable difference. So I guess I'd advise you to take Xmg along with a large or high-fat meal and then (wait at least a few days between) take Xmg again on an empty stomach and see what works for you.

You may already know, but caffeine significantly potentiates gabapentin. It sounds weird to mix a stimulant with a gaba drug, but caffeine really boosts gabapentin.

EDIT: Naproxen (not other NSAIDs, though), Opioids, Benzo's, Barbiturates and soda/pop all increase the effects, too.
And the bioavailability starts rapidly dropping if you take more than 300mg in one dose, so it's best to stagger it.

 

[ChemicallyEnhanced]

Alcohol doesn't "turn to sugar"; in fact, ethanol suppresses gluconeogenesis (the production of glucose by the human body) and presents a serious risk of hypoglycemia in diabetics.

Ethanol is known to cause disruptions in sleep architecture, but this is related more to its effects on neurotransmitters and hormone levels, rather than glucose levels.

Also, the last thing you'd want to take when going to bed after drinking is extra-strength excedrin. Besides the issue of increased hepatoxicity from the acetaminophen, excedrin also contains a relatively large amount of caffeine (65 mg per pill in the extra-strength formulation), which isn't exactly going to be beneficial for your sleep quality.

Yes. I'm a type 1 diabetic and have gone into quite a serious hypoglycemia due to a drinking binge I had. Alcohol can also cause your blood sugar to go WAY UP as well. It's a terrible thing to mix with diabetes.