SIDE EFFECTS
Postherpetic NeuralgiaThe most commonly observed adverse events associated with the use of Neurontin in adults, not seen at an equivalent frequency among placebo-treated patients, were dizziness, somnolence, and peripheral edema.
In the 2 controlled studies in postherpetic neuralgia, 16% of the 336 patients who received Neurontin and 9% of the 227 patients who received placebo discontinued treatment because of an adverse event. The adverse events that most frequently led to withdrawal in Neurontin-treated patients were dizziness, somnolence, and nausea.
Patients should be advised that Neurontin may cause dizziness, somnolence and other symptoms and signs of CNS depression.
Accordingly, they should be advised neither to drive a car nor to operate other complex machinery until they have gained sufficient experience on Neurontin to gauge whether or not it affects their mental and/or motor performance adversely. Patients who require concomitant treatment with morphine may experience increases in gabapentin concentrations.Patients should be carefully observed for signs of CNS depression, such as somnolence, and the dose of Neurontin or morphine should be reduced appropriately.
