Gabapentin Tolerance

[Ashe]

Hi! So I have just started taking gabapentin for anxiety and I started at a low dose. This is the first medication I have ever taken for my anxiety and so far it is working well. The problem is, I am worried about building a tolerance because I have heard that is pretty normal with medication. I have also heard of people weaning off of their meds/lowering their meds for a given period of time to lower their tolerance so they don't have to keep increasing their dosage once they go back on it. Can any of you tell me from personal experience/ medical studies if tolerance breaks actually work? Thanks.

[Kirk]

I would talk to your prescribing physician or your pharmacist for such information.

[MainerMikeBrown]

I know that with many psychiatric meds, if someone is on a medication that works well for them and they suddenly stop taking the medication, it may not work the second time around. Or it may not work as well.

I don't know if that's the case with all psych meds. I don't know if that's true with Gabapentin either.

[AutieEmlyn]

im on several thousands of mg of gabapentin for nerve damage,epilepsy and anxiety and it has never worked on any of my conditions,its like taking a sugar pill for me,however when i was on melatonin i was instructed by my old shrink to come off it for a month instead of increasing it,i quickly built tolerance to it but it was a low dose he had me on which was annoying.

[Bjursten]

im on several thousands of mg of gabapentin for nerve damage,epilepsy and anxiety and it has never worked on any of my conditions,its like taking a sugar pill for me,however when i was on melatonin i was instructed by my old shrink to come off it for a month instead of increasing it,i quickly built tolerance to it but it was a low dose he had me on which was annoying.

How would you know you had a tolerance if it was never working? Just out of curiosity, did you by chance bring this up with your doctor? There are other medication that may work better for you.

As to the OP, talking to your doctor is sound advice. Also keep in mind that gabapentin is a GABAergic and can not be discontinued abruptly if you have been using it daily for an extended period of time. It needs to be tapered up and down.