Illicit Use of Gabapentin May Reveal More About the Drug’s Benefits Than Its Liabilities
Issue:
Volume 10, Issue 6, November 2022
Pages:
114-121
Received:
17 October 2022
Accepted:
2 November 2022
Published:
10 November 2022
DOI:
10.11648/j.ajim.20221006.11
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Views:
Abstract: The anticonvulsant gabapentin is now one of the most commonly prescribed drugs in America. However, after nearly three decades of steady growth in popularity, the drug is becoming as controversial as it is popular. Although gabapentin was initially approved for the adjunctive treatment of partial seizures, its use has gradually expanded to an ever-increasingly number of disorders, including neuropathic pain, restless leg syndrome, generalized anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, treatment-resistant depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic insomnia, various substance use disorders, chronic insomnia, diabetic neuropathy, postoperative analgesia, tension headache, migraine headache, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, hot flashes, essential tremor, nausea and vomiting, interstitial cystitis, overactive bladder, pruritus, chronic cough, and persistent hiccups. However, in addition to its prescription use, gabapentin is now becoming increasingly popular among illicit users, a phenomenon that appears to be the primary basis of the growing controversy around the drug. This article will explore both the benefits and liabilities of gabapentin in an effort to dispel the myths and clarify the facts about the drug. It will also compare the benefits of gabapentin to other anticonvulsants, analgesics, and psychotropic drugs in an effort to arrive at a more accurate risk-benefit assessment of gabapentin’s use. With an ever-increasing amount of information being uploaded to the internet, it is especially important for those who have the most experience prescribing and researching gabapentin to tease out the misinformation and provide the medical community and the public with the most accurate possible understanding of the drug. Only then will we be able to take the greatest advantage and avoid the most harm in relation to this inexpensive and widely-prescribed pharmacological resource. Those interested in addition evidence-based information on gabapentin are directed to the article, Gabapentin: The Popular but Controversial Anticonvulsant Drug May Be Zeroing in on the Pathophysiology of Disease.
Abstract: The anticonvulsant gabapentin is now one of the most commonly prescribed drugs in America. However, after nearly three decades of steady growth in popularity, the drug is becoming as controversial as it is popular. Although gabapentin was initially approved for the adjunctive treatment of partial seizures, its use has gradually expanded to an ever-...
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