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Precautions
It is very important that your doctor check the progress of you or your child at regular visits, especially for the first few months you take gabapentin. This is necessary to allow dose adjustments and to check for any unwanted effects. Blood tests may also be needed to check for unwanted effects.
It is important to tell your doctor if you become pregnant. Your doctor may want you to join the North American Antiepileptic Drug Pregnancy Registry. The registry is used by pregnant patients who are taking this medicine.
This medicine may cause some people to be agitated, irritable, or display other abnormal behaviors, such as feeling sad or hopeless, getting upset easily, or feeling nervous, restless, or hostile. It may also cause some people to have suicidal thoughts and tendencies or to become more depressed. If you, your child, or your caregiver notice any of these side effects, tell your doctor right away.
This medicine will add to the effects of alcohol and other CNS depressants (medicines that make you drowsy or less alert). Some examples of CNS depressants are antihistamines or medicine for hay fever, allergies, or colds; sedatives, tranquilizers, or sleeping medicine; prescription pain medicine or narcotics; other medicines for seizures (e.g., barbiturates); muscle relaxants; or anesthetics, including some dental anesthetics. Check with your medical doctor or dentist before taking any of the above while you or your child are using gabapentin.
Gabapentin may cause blurred vision, double vision, clumsiness, unsteadiness, dizziness, drowsiness, sleepiness, or trouble with thinking. Make sure you know how you react to this medicine before you drive, use machines, or do anything else that could be dangerous if you are not alert, well-coordinated, or able to think or see well. If these side effects are especially bothersome, check with your doctor.
Stop using this medicine and check with your doctor right away if you or your child develop a fever; rash; swollen, painful, or tender lymph glands in the neck, armpit, or groin; unusual bleeding or bruising; or yellow eyes or skin. These may be symptoms of a serious and life-threatening condition called Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS).
Before you have any medical tests, tell the doctor in charge that you or your child are taking gabapentin. The results of certain medical tests may be affected by this medicine.
Do not stop using gabapentin without first checking with your doctor. Stopping the medicine suddenly may cause your seizures to return or to occur more often. Your doctor may want you or your child to gradually reduce the amount you are taking before stopping it completely.
Do not take other medicines unless they have been discussed with your doctor. This includes prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicines and herbal or vitamin supplements.
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