United States: A large number of the prescription drugs that are abused or misused are actually brands that are familiar to most people. Some of the most abused drugs are painkillers also referred to as opioids according to New York State Department of Health statistics.
These are morphine, codeine, oxycodone and hydrocodone which have trade names as OxyContin, Vicodin and Lortab. Those which are prescribed for anxiety and sleep disorders are Valium, and Xanax and are also brought under the list of drugs that are often abused. Same to those drugs that manage the condition such as Ritalin, Dexedrine and Adderall.
As reported by USA Today, Dr. Holly Geyer, an addiction medicine specialist and the lead physician of the Mayo Clinic opioid stewardship program in Arizona, explains that in an effort to help combat opioid-related drug abuse, many doctors have been turning to a class of drugs that isn’t classified as a controlled substance: gabapentinoids. This has culminated in a drug, which is called gabapentin to be the sixth most prescribed drug within that nation.
As a result of this, and somewhat ironically, “we are now seeing emerging patterns of abuse with gabapentin across the country,” Geyer says, pointing that such use can occur with gabapentin only or in combination with other drugs of abuse like opioids.
Who gabapentin was initially recommended for, who it’s prescribed to today, and why it’s emerging as a more popular drug of abuse and misuse.
What is Gabapentin?
Gabapentin is an antiepileptic drug that after being synthesized and tested gained the approval of the US Food and Drug Administration in 1993. It does so by attaching to a particular form of a calcium channel in the nerve cell, “which is believed to alter how the nerve performs,” Dr Tom Lombardi the medical director of neurosciences for Intermountain Health in Salt Lake.
In this capacity, the drug can help control specific types of the nerve pain and treat seizure disorders and as it acts on the nervous system to help to reduce the nerve transmission,” says Geyer.
It’s typically administered as an oral medication is usually taken tow to three times and daily by mouth and is available in the pill or liquid form, says Andrea Tedeschi a neuroscientist at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and the co-author of gabapentin-related research. It’s available “as both a brand name product and a lower-cost generic and he says and the Brand names include Neurontin, Horizant and the Gralise.
What are the side effects of this Gabapentin?
While this gabapentin can be helpful in a number of circumstances and some of the commom side effects associated with taking the drug as directed include drowsiness and the dizziness, headache, drymouth, weight gain and the swelling of the hands, feet or the ankles, back or joint pain and the flu-like symptoms such as nausea, fever and the body aches, per Harvard Medical School.
Rare but the serious side effects which includes rash and also some itching, yellowing of the skin and swelling of the face and throat and the problems speaking, difficulty swallowing and the changes in the memory, personality or the ability to concentrate.
What is this Gabapentin used for?
When used as directed, gabapentin is known to have numerous uses and the benefits and it has been FDA-approved to help control and treat seizures and to diminish a specific type of the nerve pain called post-herpetic neuralgia that often follows a shingles diagnosis.