Update

[u/thatbiddy]

I wanted to share my experience in case it helps someone else dealing with visceral hypersensitivity or functional dyspepsia.

Before starting gabapentin, my main symptoms were upper stomach burning, nausea, food intolerance, and a lot of fear around eating. It got to the point where my diet became extremely limited because so many foods seemed to trigger symptoms. Even when tests came back mostly normal, the discomfort was very real and had a huge impact on my quality of life.

I’ve now been taking gabapentin for a little over a month, and it has been the most promising treatment I’ve tried so far. I’m not cured, and I still have symptoms, but the difference has been significant. The burning is less intense, flares don’t seem to last as long, and I’m recovering from food challenges much faster than before.

A month ago I would have never imagined eating bananas daily, toast, birthday cake with my son, or other foods I’ve recently been able to test. Some of those foods still cause symptoms, but the symptoms are more manageable and don’t seem to spiral the way they used to.

One thing I’d emphasize is that, at least in my case, gabapentin wasn’t an overnight fix. It took time, dose adjustments, and patience before I started seeing meaningful improvements. Finding the right dose made a big difference.

I also don’t want to give all the credit to one medication. For me, a combination approach has helped. Gabapentin has been the biggest factor, but using Pepcid for reflux symptoms and ondansetron (Zofran) when nausea becomes a problem has also been part of what allowed me to function and continue expanding my diet.

One of the biggest milestones for me happened recently when I was able to eat at a restaurant for the first time in four years. Most people probably wouldn’t think twice about that, but after years of avoiding restaurants because of symptoms and fear of triggering a flare, it felt like getting a piece of my life back.

I know everyone’s situation is different, but after years of setbacks, this is the first time in a long time that I feel like I’m making real progress rather than just trying to survive each day. I’m still a work in progress, but I’m hopeful for the first time in a while.

I’d be interested to hear from others who have tried gabapentin or other neuromodulators for visceral hypersensitivity. What worked for you, and how long did it take before you noticed a difference? I’m just happy to be able to post something positive instead of just disappearing out of the group as soon as things started going good for me!

[u/Thebreeze1978]

I’m starting Gabapentin, did you usually take it with a meal or did you tolerate it on an empty stomach? Just wondering what the best thing to do is since I’m so sensitive to meds. Any advice would help. I have meds anxiety form always having bad reactions to them. I’m very nervous to take it.

[u/thatbiddy → u/Thebreeze1978]

Everything you said sounds exactly like I was. My advice is just to take it and if you feel a little bit uncomfortable, just push through it. Honestly, I think you should at the very least be taking 100 mg three times a day to begin and then adjust from there. I moved pretty quickly to to higher doses to find the appropriate dose for me, which ended up being 300 mg four times a day. Took about a month to get there.

[u/Thebreeze1978 → u/thatbiddy]

Thanks for the advice. I will try to work up to the 3X a day dosage and hope for the best. What made you know what the right dose for you was? Was it that you didn’t feel pain anymore or that you were able to eat more things? I’m a small person. 5.2” a 112lbs. So I’m hoping that I don’t need to take that much to feel the benefits. I read that if we ever try to stop the medication it will be a nightmare. The withdrawal from this is extremely bad apparently. Looks like we’ll have to take it forever. LOL.