{"id":354187,"date":"2025-11-04T04:29:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T04:29:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/354187\/"},"modified":"2025-11-04T04:29:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T04:29:14","slug":"does-americas-new-favorite-drug-gabapentin-have-a-dark-side","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/354187\/","title":{"rendered":"Does America’s New Favorite Drug, Gabapentin, Have a Dark Side?"},"content":{"rendered":"

IF YOU HAVEN’T<\/strong> heard of gabapentin, listen up; it might be America\u2019s new favorite chill pill. The news is it\u2019s become the 5th most prescribed medication<\/a> in the United States, and it\u2019s being used for everything from pinched nerves to migraine headaches to anxiety and sleeplessness. But some news outlets are reporting that gabapentin has a dark side. It\u2019s long been known that it\u2019s not right for some people\u2014serious breathing difficulties can happen in people with respiratory issues or in people who are also using opioids.<\/p>\n

But this medication is far from poison and you shouldn\u2019t fear it if your doctor prescribes it to you. In my practice, I\u2019ve seen that it works well for patients who have anxiety and those who have sleep problems. The issue may be the same as with any drug: Safety and efficacy are often really a matter of knowing how to take it. Here\u2019s what you should know. <\/p>\n

What is Gabapentin?<\/p>\n

DESPITE THE RECENT <\/strong>hype, gabapentin isn\u2019t a new drug. Back in 1993, it was FDA approved to treat certain types of seizures. It\u2019s also FDA approved for postherpetic neuralgia (a chronic pain condition that can develop after a shingles infection). Gabapentin works in two ways. It increases levels of an amino acid in the brain called gamma-aminobutyric acid (or GABA) that can help calm an overly excited nervous system. It can also decrease levels of chemicals in the brain (like glutamate) that can may make you feel jittery or anxious. <\/p>\n

GABA is found naturally in certain foods like tomatos, adzuki beans, and germinated rice. But for many years, scientists thought that the GABA you eat or take in supplement form (more on that later) couldn\u2019t cross the blood brain barrier\u2014in other words, it couldn\u2019t actually get into the brain to produce an effect. Prescription gabapentin offered a solution to this problem because it binds to certain receptors that can indirectly jumpstart the production of GABA in the brain. The end result: You feel more calm and relaxed.<\/p>\n

Who Is it Good For?<\/p>\n

TODAY, MOST GABAPENTIN<\/strong> prescriptions are off-label. This means that although it isn\u2019t FDA-approved for the condition it\u2019s being used to treat, there\u2019s enough research showing that it\u2019s generally safe and effective. Gabapentin is commonly prescribed for pain, alcohol cravings, and insomnia. In my psychiatry practice, I most often prescribe gabapentin for anxiety to patients who don\u2019t want to take SSRIs. That was the case with a patient I\u2019ll call Ruben, an attorney in his mid-50s. When he first came to see me, he was stressed, tense, and said he had \u201cliterally tried everything to help relax.\u201d He was making gains in talk therapy and with his meditation practice. But at the end of the day, he was still having trouble \u201cshutting off his brain.\u201d He was looking for a prescription that could help \u201ctake the edge off.\u201d I prescribed him a low dose of gabapentin, and within a few days, Ruben said he was feeling calmer and less anxious. He was also sleeping better and felt like he finally had some clarity at the end of the day.<\/p>\n

The Dark Side of Gabapentin<\/p>\n

RUBEN DIDN’T HAVE<\/strong> any side effects from gabapentin, and most of my patients don\u2019t either. But it\u2019s true that with any prescription medication (including gabapentin) side effects are definitely possible. In some cases, gabapentin can cause ringing in the ears (a condition called tinnitus). It may also cause dizziness and (rarely) the extreme slowing in breathing rate that news outlets have been reporting on. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to take gabapentin only under the supervision of a medical doctor who can check to see if you\u2019re healthy enough to take it, or if you\u2019re taking any other medications that may make taking gabapentin unsafe. Since the side effects can be more common in people with pre-existing medical conditions like chronic obstructic pulmonary disease (which can increase your risk for breathing problems) or kidney disease (which can lead to a dangerous build up of gabapentin in the body) always discuss your health history with your doctor before taking any medication.<\/p>\n

What About GABA Supplements?<\/p>\n

MANY PEOPLE ARE<\/strong> skipping the doctor\u2019s office altogether and turning to popular GABA supplements. Many GABA supplements contain a synthetic form of GABA as opposed to the natural GABA that\u2019s already in your brain. Certain GABA supplements, like PharmaGABA, however, report containing natural GABA derived from a special fermentation process. Although some studies do suggest that GABA supplements might be able to get into the brain and improve cognitive performance and reduce stress, there isn\u2019t a general consensus among the scientific community. <\/p>\n

Some researchers think that the GABA from supplements or food works by activating certain receptors in your gut that may indirectly lead to higher GABA levels in the brain. The bottom line is that the jury is still out on GABA supplements and that the research on how they work (and if they work at all) is still pretty mixed. Keep in mind that GABA supplements aren\u2019t necessarily safer than prescription gabapentin and can have side effects, too, like shortness of breath and skin sensitivity. GABA supplements also aren\u2019t regulated by the FDA in the same way that prescriptions are, so it\u2019s also important to discuss any supplements you plan to take, including GABA, with your doctor before going down that route.<\/p>\n

Raising GABA Naturally<\/p>\n

THERE’S NO QUICK<\/strong> and easy way to test your GABA levels, but chances are that you can naturally raise them. Here\u2019s a start: take a deep breath and count to 4, hold and count to 7, now exhale and count to 8. This is the popular 4-7-8 breathing technique and it\u2019s just one of many self-care strategies that\u2019s thought to raise GABA levels in the brain. Other self-care strategies<\/a> like yoga and meditation may also help. Incorporating more fermented foods into your diet like kimchi, yogurt, and miso might also improve GABA levels since they are high in lactic acid bacteria which has\u2014guess what\u2014been found to increase GABA levels in the brain, too. Spending time in nature, going for walks, or intentially slowing down may also help your brain produce more GABA. But sometimes even the very best self-care strategies aren\u2019t enough\u2014and that\u2019s ok, too. The good news is that psychiatrists have several safe and effective medication options and gabapentin is one of them. <\/p>\n

Is there a dark side to gabapentin? Maybe, but there\u2019s probably a dark side to every prescription drug when it\u2019s not taken as directed. What I can say is that gabapentin worked great for Ruben, as it does with other patients of mine. He found that it helped him manage his anxiety and muscle tension. He kept going to therapy and practicing yoga, and after a few months we worked together to help him get off gabapentin altogether. Now, the anxiety that was interfering with Ruben\u2019s life is a thing of the past. If you\u2019re struggling with anxiety and nothing seems to be working, don\u2019t shy away from asking your doctor about gabapentin; it might be the right mental health fix for you.<\/p>\n

Related Stories\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Gregory Scott Brown MD is a board-certified psychiatrist and Men’s Health advisor. He is a clinical associate professor at the University of Houston College of Medicine and author of The Self-Healing Mind: An Essential Five-Step Practice to Overcoming Anxiety and Depression, and Revitalizing Your Life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"IF YOU HAVEN’T heard of gabapentin, listen up; it might be America\u2019s new favorite chill pill. The news…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":354188,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[3178,173019,1201,210,2875,1060,173018,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-354187","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-content-type-news","9":"tag-contentid-5d87539c-d0c8-4668-8707-14e6f5b4ab10","10":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-locale-us","13":"tag-medication","14":"tag-shorttitle-does-americas-new-favorite-drug-have-a-dark-side","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115489549234034331","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=354187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/354188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=354187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=354187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=354187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}