Gabapentin interfering with benzos & opiates? Unable to get any pain relief. :/

[issokay]

I was recently prescribed gabapentin after having taken ms Contin & Norco for over four years. After a few weeks I noticed that the opiates no longer affected me at any dose at all. I even had 2mg of dilaudid in an IV and felt nothing.

I then read online that gabapentin affects our opiate receptors in the brain, blocking them. I've seen so many people here say they get high from gabapentin or that it potentiates with other opiates or benzos. My benzos that I've been taking for ten years also stopped working at the exact same time that my opiates quit working.

I can't imagine why anyone would take it (Gabapentin) recreationally.

It's been about 6 days since I last took a gabapentin & my mu/opiate receptors still seem to be blocked, at least partially, & I can't find info answering this specific question:

Does anyone know how long after I quit taking gabapentin that I should get the warm comfort feeling of my opiates & benzos again?

I was taking 3x300mg/day for about 5 weeks and I quit taking it about 5-6 days ago.

Thanks

 

[Toz]

I think it screws with absorption of morphine and possibly other opiates but the effects from the drug should not block opiates in any way.

 

[issokay]

Any idea how long it may affect me after my last dose?
I really wish there was more info on this. It's definitely a thing. :/

 

[Toz]

Hydrocodone

Coadministration of Neurontin (125 to 500 mg; N=48) decreases hydrocodone (10 mg; N=50) Cmax and AUC values in a dose-dependent manner relative to administration of hydrocodone alone; Cmax and AUC values are 3% to 4% lower, respectively, after administration of 125 mg Neurontin and 21% to 22% lower, respectively, after administration of 500 mg Neurontin. The mechanism for this interaction is unknown. Hydrocodone increases gabapentin AUC values by 14%. The magnitude of interaction at other doses is not known.

Morphine

A literature article reported that when a 60 mg controlled-release morphine capsule was administered 2 hours prior to a 600 mg Neurontin capsule (N=12), mean gabapentin AUC increased by 44% compared to gabapentin administered without morphine (see PRECAUTIONS). Morphine pharmacokinetic parameter values were not affected by administration of Neurontin 2 hours after morphine. The magnitude of interaction at other doses is not known.

Taken from the "for prescribing proffesionals" chart from pfizer. You're not going to find much info on this drug. I have been on this medicine and got terrible problems for it and my general experience is that doctors have absolutely no clue how the medicine works. It just does, but no one knows how. I'm sorry but you won't find much usefull info anywhere about this drug.

 

[issokay]

I hate to say it, Toz, but that was way over my head. Too much technical jargon for me. I can understand mg to percentage and such but not much past basic algebra… and I made it through college, I just couldn't retain that stuff.

Anyway, my doctor changed me from the gabapentin to pregabalin (Lyrica).
He also put me on MS Contin. Do you know if lyrica has any of the same side effects that neurontin does? Do you know if it also changes the way morphine is absorbed?

Thanks

 

[Crhonos]

Basically if you take your opiates after your gabapentin dose, it reduces absorption of the opiate which can be significant in some people, upwards to 22%.
If you take opiates before gabapentin it increases gabapentin absorption by up to 42% but shouldn't affect the opiates.

" When you take Neurontin (gabapentin) along with hydrocodone (a.k.a. Vicodin), it decreases the bioavailability of the hydrocodone by up to 22%! While the bioavailability of Neurontin (gabapentin) is increased by 14%. It's even odder when combined with morphine. Morphine administered two hours before the Neurontin (gabapentin). The morphine was unaffected, having pretty much been on its way towards peak plasma, but the Neurontin (gabapentin) bioavailability was increased by a whopping 44%!"

This was found in another thread


I'm not to sure about lyrica affecting opiates and absorption though. With gabapentin it's all about timing it seems.
They do say lyrica is like a cousin drug to gabapentin as far as effects, but I'm not sure on the way they are metabolized and since you're on morphine

I actually took 900mg gabapentin last night. then ~90mg oxy about an hour later. Previously 800mg had little affect alone, but this time the gabapentin had quite and interaction as far as affecting motor skills and making me feel a little sloppy.


Found this on lyrica

Pain scores at rest and at movement in the PACU and at 2, 4, and 6 hours postoperatively were significantly lower in group P600 than in groups P300 and C (P < 0.01), whereas the comparison of groups P300 and P600 revealed significantly higher VAS-PI at rest and at movement at 2, 4, and 6 hours postoperatively in group P300 than in group P600 (P < 0.001, P < 0.001, P = 0.007, respectively). There were no differences for all the evaluation time points in pain scores of groups P300 and C at rest and at movement (P = 0.19, P = 0.31, P = 0.35, P = 0.68, P = 0.80, respectively).

The sedation scores in the PACU and at 2 hours postoperatively in group P300 were significantly lower than those of group P600 (P = 0.03, P = 0.005), whereas the comparison of groups P300 and C revealed significantly higher sedation scores at 2 hours postoperatively in group P300 than those in group C (P = 0.004). The sedation scores in the PACU and at 2, 4, and 6 hours postoperatively in group P600 were significantly higher than those in group C (P < 0.001, P < 0.001, P = 0.01, P = 0.006, respectively).

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0011393X11000944"

So they found that lyrica + morphine should produce better pain relief and sedation, scaling up with dosage of lyrica compared to control. I couldn't find anything concerning absorption effects.

 

[issokay]

I appreciate you explaining what all that meant. I'll say one thing, I've had a problem with tinnitus for several years brought on by kidney problems when u had rhabdomyolysis the first time, anyhow, since I've been on Lyrica, as nod the first or second day, I noticed that my tinnitus wasn't as severe. It's still bad but not nearly as bad as before. But again, it's still pretty bad, and comes and goes in severity, but is still an improvement.

 

[Tuvya]

'Experiencing the same thing as issokay. On my 7th day off gabapentin and still getting "blocked" here. Anyone have any insight to this?