hi folks hope you are feeling ok
i have been on gabapentin now for about 7 months starting titrating up the dose over weeks
i am now on 600mg 3x daily and have put on about a stone.over a couple of months
i am now doing more exercise i go to an ms exercise class on tuesdays and a rehab gym class on thursdays.
i also keep moving as much as pain and stiffness allows
it does help with my pain and i am quiet happy with it but is there an alternative that wont make me put on weight.
i feel like a telly tubbie lol
any thought folks
regards mick
Hi Mick.
The main alternative to gabapentin is pregabalin, but I’ve heard it affects weight in some people too 
Could you try something like amitriptyline or one of the other anti-depressants used as a neuropathic painkiller?
But as spudz says, if they are working maybe the weight gain is worth it?
Karen x
They are steroidal painkillers and increase appetite so you WANT to eat more and you don’t have to eat a LOT more to put weight on - an extra Mars Bar a day is half a stone in a year mininum, depending on how much exercise you can do. I take them occasionally for other pain stuff and always go on a bit of a diet, with less carbs than I used to. You’d be surprised how tasty spag bol sauce is on a head of cauli rather than spaghetti! Stew without spuds, give the spuds seperately to others. Eat your carrots raw rather than cooked as they are harder carbs to digest and consume cals just achieving digestion. I just sieve the unwanted veg out of a pot meal for me and give them to the kids and have different stuff separately with mine.
Hi
I’m on 1,300mg 3 times a day with gabapentin and I have put two stone on since April this year.
I do wii fit daily and I cant seem to lose the weight either.
I have heard that doing zumba if you can do it might help with the weight gain.
But hopefully going to come off the gabapentin soon cause its not helping with the pain at all.
Allie x
Just to give the other side of the coin here. I was on Gabapentin for about a year and a half (600mg 3x daily) and I lost 2 stone while on it. I was watching what I was eating but I didn’t feel the Gabapentin was making it harder for me.
Maybe your excercising has built more muscle which weighs more then fat?
When I don’t watch my calorie in take I always put on weight, it’s my bugbear. I have eyes much bigger then my belly
hi guys
thanks for the replys
i think i will give it a few months longer on gabapentin as it is helping with pain and burning and the itching so i will try to watch what i eat and see how it goes .
glad im not on my own with thr weight gain lol
regards mick
Hello it’s my first post ever and I hope you’re all safe and keeping well. So last month (November 20th) I had my first ever flu vaccine I am 51 I was diagnosed with MS in 2001. Since 2001 I have had pins and needles in my finger tips and slight pins and needles on the left side of my face, bladder issues and recently many uti’s.
So a few hours after the vaccine I started to feel pins and needles in my left leg, back pain leg pain and it spread to the other leg the following day then the arms , top of the legs, head and now the buttocks off and on. I am experiencing like pin prick sensations and chill sensations up and down the leg. A week before the vaccine I had finished a course of antibiotics for another uti. I rang my ms nurse she said it could be a post vaccine response and should settle and to submit another urine sample. I am trying to keep positive but I am really worried that this is more serious and will not settle. Please can anyone help? Thank you.
Hi Capel, I am ok with my flu vaccine but I guess it cant interact with anti biotics, so might be the reason for your symptoms.
Hopefully it will settle. Having another urine test is a good idea.
Just to let you know, that you have tagged your reply onto a very old post.
You would get more replies if you post as a new topic on the everyday living board.
It does take a bit of getting used to how the forum works. Dont worry, you`ll soon get the hang of it.
Boudsx
Thank you so much. Take care