Generic name: gabapentin enacarbil [gab-a-PEN-tin-en-a-KAR-bil]
Drug Class: Gamma-aminobutyric acid analogs are a type of drug.
Uses for gabapentin enacarbil
Gabapentin enacarbil is used to treat RLS (Restless Legs Syndrome) that is mild to severe. RLS is a disease of the nerves that makes the legs feel bad. This makes you want to move your legs all the time to make them more comfy.
Gabapentin enacarbil is also used to treat pain after shingles, which is called postherpetic neuralgia.
You can only get this medicine with a prescription from your doctor.
Before taking gabapentin enacarbil,
When choosing whether or not to use a medicine, the good it will do must be weighed against the risks of taking it. You and your doctor will decide what to do. For this medicine, you should think about the following:
Allergies
Tell your doctor if you have ever had an unusual or allergic response to this medicine or any other medicine. Tell your doctor or nurse if you are allergic to anything else, like foods, colors, preservatives, or animals. Read the label or package carefully to find out what is in non-prescription goods.
Pediatric
There haven’t been any good studies done on how age affects the effects of gabapentin enacarbil in children. Safety and effectiveness have not been proven.
Geriatric
Studies done so far haven’t shown any problems that are unique to older people that would make gabapentin enacarbil less useful for them. But gabapentin enacarbil people over 65 are more likely to have age-related kidney problems, which may mean they need to be careful and change their dose.
How to Breastfeed
There aren’t enough studies on women to know if using this medicine while nursing is dangerous for babies. Before taking this medicine while nursing, you should weigh the possible benefits against the possible risks.
How Medicines Work Together
Some medicines should never be taken together, but in other cases, you can take two different medicines together even if they might mix. In these cases, your doctor may change the dose or tell you to take other steps. When you take this medicine, it is especially important to tell your doctor if you are also taking any of the medicines below. The following exchanges were chosen because they could be important, but they are not necessarily all of them.
Most of the time, you shouldn’t take this medicine with any of the following medicines, but it may be necessary in some cases. If your doctor gives you both medicines at the same time, he or she may change the amount or how often you use one or both of them.
• Acepromazine • Alfentanil • Alprazolam • Amobarbital • Anileridine • Aripiprazole • Asenapine • Baclofen • Benperidol • Benzhydrocodone • Bromazepam • Buprenorphine • Buspirone • Butabarbital • Butorphanol • Calcifediol • Calcium Oxybate • Cannabidiol • Cannabis • Carbinoxamine • Carisoprodol • Carphenazine • Chloral Hydrate • Chlordiazepoxide • Chlorpromazine • Chlorzoxazone • Clobazam • Clonazepam • Clorazepate • Clozapine • Codeine • Cyclobenzaprine • Daridorexant • Dexmedetomidine • Diacetylmorphine • Diazepam • Dichloralphenazone • Difenoxin • Dihydrocodeine • Diphenhydramine • Diphenoxylate • Doxylamine • Droperidol • Enflurane • Esketamine • Estazolam • Eszopiclone • Ethchlorvynol • Ethopropazine • Ethylmorphine • Fentanyl • Flibanserin • Fluphenazine • Flurazepam • Fluspirilene • Fospropofol • Gabapentin • Halazepam • Haloperidol • Halothane • Hexobarbital • Hydrocodone • Hydromorphone • Hydroxyzine • Isoflurane • Ketamine • Ketazolam • Ketobemidone • Levocetirizine • Levorphanol • Lorazepam • Loxapine • Magnesium Oxybate • Meclizine • Melperone • Meperidine • Mephobarbital • Meprobamate • Meptazinol • Mesoridazine • Metaxalone • Methadone • Methdilazine • Methocarbamol • Methohexital • Methotrimeprazine • Methylene Blue • Midazolam • Molindone • Moricizine • Morphine • Morphine Sulfate Liposome • Nalbuphine • Nicomorphine • Nitrazepam • Nitrous Oxide • Olanzapine • Opium • Opium Alkaloids • Orlistat • Orphenadrine • Oxazepam • Oxycodone • Oxymorphone • Papaveretum • Paregoric • Pentazocine • Pentobarbital • Perampanel • Perazine • Periciazine • Perphenazine • Phenobarbital • Pimozide • Piperacetazine • Pipotiazine • Piritramide • Potassium Oxybate • Prazepam • Pregabalin • Primidone • Prochlorperazine • Promazine • Promethazine • Secobarbital • Sertindole • Sodium Oxybate • Sufentanil • Sulpiride • Suvorexant • Tapentadol • Temazepam • Thiethylperazine • Thiopental • Thiopropazate • Thioridazine • Tilidine • Tizanidine • Tolonium Chloride • Topiramate • Tramadol • Triazolam • Trifluoperazine • Trifluperidol • Triflupromazine • Trimeprazine • Zaleplon • Zolpidem • Zopiclone • Zotepine
If you take this medicine with any of the following drugs, you may be more likely to have certain side effects, but it may be best for you to take both. If your doctor gives you both medicines at the same time, he or she may change the amount or how often you use one or both of them.
• Aluminum Carbonate, Basic
• Aluminum Hydroxide
• Aluminum Phosphate
• Dihydroxyaluminum Aminoacetate
• Dihydroxyaluminum Sodium Carbonate
• Ginkgo
• Magaldrate
• Magnesium Carbonate
• Magnesium Hydroxide
• Magnesium Oxide
• Magnesium Trisilicate
Food, tobacco, and alcohol can affect each other.
Some medicines shouldn’t be taken while eating or right after eating, or with certain kinds of food, because they might not work as well. Using booze or cigarettes with some medicines can also cause interactions. The following exchanges were chosen because they could be important, but they are not necessarily all of them.
Other Health Issues
This medicine may not work as well if you have other health problems. Make sure to tell your doctor about any other health problems you have, especially:
Use with care if you have a history of depression, lung or breathing problems (like respiratory depression), or a mental illness. Could make these things worse.
• If you have kidney disease or are on dialysis, use with care. Because the medicine leaves the body more slowly, the affects may be stronger.
• People who need to sleep during the day and stay awake at night should not take this drug.
How to use gabapentin enacarbil the right way
Only take this medicine as your doctor tells you to. Do not take more of it, do not take it more often, and do not take it for longer than your doctor told you to. If you do this, there may be more side effects.
A Medication Guide comes with this medicine. Carefully read the directions and do what they say to do. Ask your doctor if you have any questions.
Take the extended-release pill all the way down. Do not break it, chew it, or crush it. It needs to be taken with a meal.
If you have restless legs syndrome, don’t take this medicine if you have to stay awake at night and sleep during the day.
Only take this medicine in the brand that your doctor told you to. There may be differences in how different brands work.
Dosing
Different people will need different amounts of this medicine. Follow what your doctor tells you to do or what it says on the box. The information below only talks about the normal amounts of this medicine. Unless your doctor tells you to, don’t change your dose if it’s different.
How much of a medicine you need to take varies on how strong it is. Also, the number of doses you take each day, how long you wait between doses, and how long you take the medicine depend on the health problem you are trying to treat.
- For pills that are taken by mouth (long-acting):
- For restless legs syndrome,
- adults should take 600 mg all at once around 5 PM. Your doctor may change your amount based on your needs and how well it works.
- Children: Your doctor should decide how and how much to use.
- For postherpetic neuralgia:
- Adults should take 600 milligrams (mg) once a day in the morning for 3 days. Then, your doctor will increase your amount to 600 mg twice a day. Your doctor may change your amount based on your needs and how well it works. But most people don’t take more than 1,200 mg per day.
- Children: Your doctor should decide how and how much to use.
- For restless legs syndrome,
Didn’t Take It
If you forget to take a dose of this medicine, just go back to your regular routine. Do not double doses.
Storage
Keep the medicine in a sealed container at room temperature, away from direct light, heat, and moisture. Don’t let it get cold.
Keep out of children’s reach.
Do not keep medicines that are out of date or that you no longer need.
Ask your doctor or nurse how you should get rid of medicines you no longer need.
Using gabapentin enacarbil with care
It’s very important that your doctor sees you often to check on your health. This will help your doctor figure out if the medicine is working right and if you should keep taking it.
Gabapentin enacarbil can make you feel dizzy, sleepy, or tired. Make sure you know how this medicine affects you before driving, using tools, or doing anything else that could be dangerous if you are not paying attention. If these side effects worry you a lot, you should talk to your doctor.
Some people who take this medicine may feel angry, irritable, or do other strange things, like feel sad or hopeless, get angry quickly, or feel nervous, restless, or hostile. It may also make some people think and act more like they want to kill themselves or feel more sad. Tell your doctor right away if you or your helper notice any of these side effects.
When used with narcotic pain medicines, this medicine may cause respiratory depression, a dangerous breathing problem that can be life-threatening. Check with your doctor right away if your lips, toenails, or skin are pale or blue, if you are having trouble breathing, or if your breathing is irregular, fast, slow, or shallow.
Check with your doctor right away if you have a fever, rash, swollen, painful, or tender lymph glands in your neck, armpit, or groin, odd bleeding or bruising, or yellow eyes or skin. These could be signs of a dangerous allergic reaction called drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) or multiorgan hypersensitivity. These reactions can be life-threatening.
Do not stop taking this medicine without first talking to your doctor. If you stop the medicine all of a sudden, it could cause seizures. Your doctor may want you to take less and less of the medicine before stopping it all together.
If you are taking this medicine, don’t drink booze.
Do not take any other drugs unless your doctor has told you to. This includes herbal or vitamin supplements, as well as drugs with or without a prescription (over-the-counter, or OTC).
What happens when you take gabapentin enacarbil?
A drug may have some effects you don’t want along with the ones you do. Even though not all of these side effects might happen, if they do, you might need to see a doctor.
Talk to your doctor right away if any of these side effects happen:
More common
• Bloating or swelling in the face, arms, hands, lower legs, or feet
• Depression or feeling sad or empty
• Irritability
• Loss of Appetite
• Loss of Interest or Pleasure
• Rapid Weight Gain
• Tingling in the Hands or Feet
• Tiredness
• Trouble Focusing
Not sure what happened
•Stools made of black tar
• bloody or cloudy urine
• changes in behavior
• chest pain or discomfort
• chills or fever
• confusion
• trouble breathing
• dizziness or lightheadedness
• fainting
• fast heartbeat
• nausea or vomiting
• painful or hard to urinate
• rapid, short breathing
• rash
• Sore throat
• sores, ulcers, or white spots on the lips or in the mouth;
• swollen face, feet, or lower legs;
• swollen, painful, or tender lymph glands in the neck, armpit, or groin;
• thoughts of killing oneself;
• unusual bleeding or bruises;
• pain in the upper right abdomen or stomach;
• yellow eyes and skin.
Some side effects may happen, but most of the time, they don’t need medical help. As your body gets used to the medicine, these side effects might go away. Also, your doctor or nurse might be able to give you advice on how to avoid or lessen some of these side effects. Talk to your doctor if any of the following side effects last or bother you, or if you have any questions about them:
More common
• Weakness or loss of strength
• Feeling sleepy or unusually sleepy
Less common
Vision problems, less interest in sexual activity, dry mouth, too much air or gas in the stomach or intestines, failure to get or keep an erection, feeling like you’re spinning, and weight gain are some of the side effects.
Some people may also have side effects that aren’t on this list. If you have any other side effects, talk to your doctor or nurse.
You should talk to your doctor about any side effects. You can call 1-800-FDA-1088 to tell the FDA about side affects.
For more details,
Talk to your doctor or other healthcare source to make sure that the information on this page applies to your situation.
