The Gabapentin dosage differs in each individual depending upon the age of the person, current medical condition and patient’s tolerance to the medicine. This article will help you know about the general Gabapentin dosage information for RLS, Epilepsy and Postherpetic Neuralgia.
Again the dosage can differ thus you should take Gabapentin as recommended by your doctor.
Normal Dose for Epilepsy- In Adults
Initial dose: 300mg to be taken orally on first day
300 mg to be taken orally two times a day on the second day
300mg to be taken orally thrice a day on third day
Maintenance dose: 300-600mg to be taken orally thrice a day
Maximum dose: 3600mg to be taken orally daily in 3 split doses
Maximum time gap between doses in a schedule wherein the patient is taking the medicine thrice a day should not be more than 12 hours
Note: Gabapentin can be taken with/without food
If you have not used the half tablets (broken) within 28 days after breaking, the tablet should be disposed.
Normal Dose for Postherpetic Neuralgia – In Adults
Initial dose: 300mg to be taken orally on first day
300 mg to be taken orally two times a day on the second day
300mg to be taken orally thrice a day on third day
The dosage can be adjusted as required
Maintenance dose: 1800mg/day (600mg to be taken orally three times a day)
Note: Gabapentin can be taken with/without food
If you have not used the half tablets (broken) within 28 days after breaking, the tablet should be disposed
Gabapentin available under the brand name GRALISE(R)
Maintenance dose: GRALISE(R) should be adjusted to 1800mg to be taken orally once in a day during meal.
Recommended dosage schedule
Day 1: 300 mg to be taken orally with meal in the evening
Day 2: 600 mg to be taken orally with meal in the evening
From Day 3 to day 6: 900 mg to be taken orally with meal in the evening
From Day 7 to day 10: 1200 mg to be taken orally with meal in the evening
From Day 11 to day 14: 1500 mg to be taken orally with meal in the evening
Day 15: 1800 mg to be taken orally with meal in the evening
Gabapentin (enacarbil extended release tablets) are sold under brand name HORIZANT (R)
The recommended dosage – 600 mg to be taken orally twice a day
Therapy should be started at a dose of 600mg to be taken orally in the morning till 3 days of therapy and can be increased up to 600mg to be taken twice a day and 1200 mg/day on fourth day.
Normal Dose for Restless Leg Syndrome- In Adults
600mg to be taken orally once daily during 5 PM with food
The medication is used to treat mild to severe RLS in adults
The above dosage information is general dosage information that can vary from person to person depending upon his/her medical condition and age. Your doctors can advice the right dose for you. [1]
Appropriate Gabapentin Dosing for Neuropathic Pain
Neuropathic pain is a chronic debilitating pain syndrome that is complex to treat. Current medication management for neuropathic pain includes select neuromodulating agents such as anticonvulsants, serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, and certain opioids.1,2 Gabapentin remains among the most commonly used anticonvulsants for neuropathic pain.
The established therapeutic dosing for gabapentin in neuropathic pain trials is 1800-3600 mg/day in 3 divided doses in patients with normal renal function.3 This means the minimum effective dose is 600 mg 3 times a day. Renal adjustments are recommended in patients with CrCl below 60 mL/min. For patients on dialysis, gabapentin can often be 3 times weekly following dialysis.4,5
Several cross-sectional studies have reported gabapentin being used in subtherapeutic doses among most patients.6-8 In a retrospective analysis of 939 patients with post-herpetic neuralgia, the mean daily dose of gabapentin was 826 mg.7 In another 2-year retrospective study of 151 veterans with various neuropathic pain syndromes, the median daily dose for gabapentin was 900 mg.8 In both studies, the most prevalent gabapentin dosing was half the therapeutic dosing.
The cornerstones of effective pharmacotherapy are the right patient, the right drug, and the right dose. If an analgesic medication is being used at a suboptimal dose, oftentimes a knee-jerk reaction is to add another analgesic for synergy.
While this may well be indicated under appropriate circumstances, it is inappropriate without maximizing the dose of each single agent with careful attention to dose titration in order to minimize toxicity of each add-on. Consider for example a patient who starts low dose gabapentin that was not properly titrated, returns for follow-up and is given an additional prescription for duloxetine for neuropathic pain since gabapentin “does not work,” assuming there are no tolerability issues. This adds to polypharmacy, increased costs, and the pain remains inadequately treated.
Pharmacists as medication experts can collaborate with prescribers to optimize the rational use of gabapentin in neuropathic pain. First, let’s take a look into the pharmacology of gabapentin.
Gabapentin is a gaba aminobutyric acid (GABA) analogue anticonvulsant but does not exhibit any significant agonistic effects at the GABA receptor. Gabapentin inhibits the alpha-2-delta subunit of the N-type voltage-gated calcium channels. Receptor binding causes presynaptic inhibition of excitatory neurotransmitter release (i.e. glutamate) thereby attenuating neuropathic pain.
Gabapentin’s counterpart, pregabalin, shares the same mechanism of action but there are key pharmacologic differences between both medications. Gabapentin has saturable, non-linear absorption kinetics, where bioavailability decreases as the dose increases.
Following oral administration, gabapentin’s bioavailability is 60%, 47%, 34%, and 33%, following 900, 1200, 2400, and 3600 mg/day in 3 divided doses, respectively. On the other hand, pregabalin has ≥90% bioavailability irrespective of the dose, leading to more predictable kinetics. Pregabalin boasts a binding affinity for the alpha-2-delta receptor that is six times greater than that of gabapentin.
What Every Patient Should Know
Patients should be aware of the therapeutic dosing for neuropathic pain to establish realistic expectations and improve compliance and likelihood of remaining on therapy. The conversation may be as follows: “Gabapentin may reduce nerve pain at 600 mg 3 times a day but patients usually start on a low dose to make sure they tolerate it and is then increased slowly to give the body a chance to get used to it. If dose increases along the titration cause intolerable side effects such as dizziness or drowsiness, this can often be overcome by reducing back to the previous dose and escalating more slowly over a longer period of time.” Patients should be encouraged to follow-up with their prescriber for continued titration.
Gabapentin Is Not a “PRN” Medication
Another mishap with gabapentin that contributes to treatment failure is when patients take it on an as needed basis. Gabapentin exhibits its activity by impeding calcium trafficking and is required to be present at the alpha-2-delta receptor for 17-20 hours in order to ensure efficacy.11 Therefore, gabapentin needs to be taken around the clock to exert its analgesic effects rather than used on an as needed basis. This is another area that pharmacists can educate patients at initiation of therapy to improve compliance.