Gabapentin facts and statistics

In this article:

• What is gabapentin?
• Gabapentin prescription statistics
• Gabapentin side effects: Data and frequency
• Gabapentin misuse and abuse statistics
• Gabapentin overdose and mortality statistics
• Final thoughts on gabapentin use

In this article

• What is gabapentin?
• Gabapentin prescription statistics
• Gabapentin side effects: Data and frequency
• Gabapentin misuse and abuse statistics
• Gabapentin overdose and mortality statistics
• Final thoughts on gabapentin use

Gabapentin is a commonly prescribed medication. Originally developed as a muscle relaxant, it’s now prescribed for a wide range of medical conditions. It’s approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat nerve pain from a shingles infection and as an adjunctive (add-on) therapy for certain seizures in adults and children over 3 years old. Off-label, it can be recommended for people with fibromyalgia, anxiety, depression, and more.

Despite its versatility, many people may not realize why gabapentin is prescribed or what risks and side effects come with long-term use. These key facts and statistics illustrate how many people use this drug and what experts and research say about its safety. 

What is gabapentin?

Gabapentin is a prescription drug that treats many neurological conditions. In addition to managing nerve pain from a shingles infection, it’s also used as an anticonvulsant in children and adults with partial seizures. It is available in a generic as well as a brand-name version called Neurontin, which is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the same indications as gabapentin. 

Gabapentin can also be used off-label, meaning for a reason not approved by the FDA. Off-label use can be safe under the guidance of a medical professional, but it’s important to know that using a drug off-label may not have the same amount of research on safety or effectiveness when it’s used for a non-FDA-approved reason. Despite this, gabapentin has quite a few off-label uses, some of which are supported by expert medical groups and research:  

• Neuropathic pain, including after herpes virus infections (postherpetic neuralgia) and diabetic neuropathy
• Partial seizures in people 60 and older with new-onset focal epilepsy
• Moderate to severe restless leg syndrome (RLS)
• Essential tremors and nerve pain in Parkinson’s disease
• Restlessness (akathisia) from taking certain antipsychotic or antidepressant medications
• Chronic pain as in fibromyalgia
• Bipolar disorder
• Reducing anxiety in anxiety disorders
• Resistant depression
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• Alcohol withdrawal syndrome
• Pain management after operations
• Preventing migraines
• Interstitial cystitis (IC), which is a chronic inflammation of the bladder tissues
• Social phobia
• Generalized tonic-clonic seizures
• Itchiness
• Insomnia
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Chronic cough
• Hot flashes due to menopause 
• Helping to manage opioid dependence 

On the use of gabapentin to support substance abuse recovery, Jeffrey Chester, DO, medical director at The Ohana Addiction Treatment Center in Kailua Kona, Hawaii, explains, “Some physicians use it short-term to help manage opioid or alcohol withdrawal.” Gabapentin has calming effects and can help with cravings. However, he says, “Careful monitoring is required.” 

Even though gabapentin has many uses, how it works is still not exactly known. It affects gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors in the nervous system, but it doesn’t bind them directly. GABA is a neurotransmitter that has many functions, and yet gabapentin does not change the amount of GABA or its effects, either. Researchers are still trying to find out how exactly gabapentin and its related drug, pregabalin (generic Lyrica), work in the body. 

RELATED: Lyrica vs. gabapentin

Gabapentin prescription statistics

Here are some statistics and trends about gabapentin prescriptions in recent years: 

• Prescriptions for gabapentin have increased by about 150% over the past 15 years. (Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), 2025)
• In 2024, there were more than 73 million prescriptions for gabapentin written. (DEA, 2025)
• In 2023, gabapentin was the seventh-most filled prescription through SingleCare.
• From data up to 2016, people who were prescribed gabapentin were more likely to be female, between 55–65 years old, live in the Southern region of the U.S, and were more likely to fill opioid prescriptions. (Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, 2020)
• People prescribed gabapentin were more likely to have a seizure disorder, nerve pain, mental health disorders, substance use disorders, and diabetes. (Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, 2020)

Gabapentin side effects: Data and frequency

Gabapentin has several side effects, some of which can cause patients to stop the medication or switch treatments. Here are the most common side effects of gabapentin and how frequently they occurred in clinical trials for nerve pain due to shingles: 

• Dizziness (28%)
• Sleepiness/drowsiness (21%)
• Swelling in hands or feet (8%)
• Diarrhea (6%)
• Weakness (6%)
• Infection (5%)
• Dry mouth (5%)

“This medication can also cause dizziness and impaired coordination, which can be a serious issue for older adults taking it,” Dr. Chester adds. 

In children 3 to 12 years old with epilepsy taking gabapentin, the following were the most common side effects and how often they occurred:

• Viral infection (11%)
• Fever (10%)
• Nausea or vomiting (8%)
• Drowsiness (8%)
• Hostility (8%)

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There are serious side effects of gabapentin that patients, caregivers, and families should be aware of. First, gabapentin can lower the activity of the central nervous system (CNS), which can result in dizziness and sleepiness in mild cases. For this reason, it’s not recommended to drive or operate machinery if patients don’t know how gabapentin affects them. In more serious cases, gabapentin can suppress breathing (respiratory depression). Taking it together with other medications that cause respiratory depression increases the risk. 

Gabapentin can also increase the risk of suicidal thoughts, so people with mood disorders may need to look out for worsening symptoms. “Let your provider know about any severe side effects such as confusion, mood changes, rash, or breathing difficulties,” says Kelly Hobbs, PMHNP, psychiatric nurse practitioner at Neuro Wellness Spa in Pasadena, California. 

Mixing gabapentin with other medications that depress the nervous system can increase the risk of respiratory depression, Dr. Chester says. “This medication should not be mixed with opioids, benzodiazepines and other sedatives, and alcohol,” he advises. 

RELATED: Does gabapentin help with depression?

Gabapentin misuse and abuse statistics

Gabapentin and pregabalin are drugs in the gabapentinoid drug class that are approved for treating seizures and nerve pain. Because they can be used to treat many different types of nerve pain, gabapentinoids may be prescribed alongside or instead of opioid medications to reduce the potential for opioid dependence and abuse.

“While gabapentin is not a controlled substance, like any other drug, it can be abused or misused if taken more than prescribed,” Hobbs says. Though gabapentin is considered non-addictive, it can increase the “high” feeling when prescribed with opioid medication. This can be called misuse, that is, using a drug for something other than what it’s prescribed for. 

Gabapentin isn’t classified as a controlled substance federally, but it is considered a Schedule V controlled substance in Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, North Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Between 2016 and 2018, several states changed how gabapentin can be accessed in response to concerns about the misuse and abuse of the drug. How that looks can be different in each state, according to Dr. Chester: “In some states, like Kentucky, gabapentin is considered to be a controlled substance, specifically a Schedule V controlled substance. Other states, like Indiana, track gabapentin prescriptions, although it’s not considered to be a controlled substance.” 

Here’s what you should know about the misuse and abuse of gabapentin: 

• Gabapentin misuse overall was about 1% in 2016. However, that rate increased to 15%–22% among individuals who misuse opiates. (Addiction, 2016)
• In comparison, it’s estimated that as many as 50% of people prescribed opioids long-term meet the criteria for an opioid use disorder (OUD) diagnosis.
• Gabapentin can be misused orally, intravenously, or intranasally. (Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), 2019)
• Doses of less than 900 mg per day are considered low doses of gabapentin; 900–1,799 mg/day are considered moderate doses; and more than 1,800 mg/day is considered a high dose. (CMAJ, 2019)
• Between 40% and 65% of people with gabapentin prescriptions misused them. (Addiction, 2016)
• Between 15% and 22% of people who abuse opioid drugs also misuse gabapentin. (Addiction, 2016)
• A survey of people in Kentucky found 15% of respondents used gabapentin just to get high. (DEA, 2025)
• Gabapentin may be diverted (given to people who weren’t prescribed the drug) illegally for recreational use. There were 407 cases of diversion reported in 41 states between 2002 and 2015. (DEA, 2025)

“Gabapentin misuse can also lead to drug dependence and may cause withdrawal symptoms if stopped abruptly,” Hobbs says. Gabapentin withdrawal symptoms include anxiety, insomnia, nausea, pain, and sweating.

Gabapentin overdose and mortality statistics

The increase in gabapentin use and misuse also comes with reports of gabapentin overdose. Though the drug doesn’t have a high risk of overdose, it can impact someone negatively, especially if they’re misusing the drug or taking it illegally. Taking too much gabapentin can cause tremors, altered consciousness, and shallow breathing, which may require intubation. 

Especially when taken with other drugs, gabapentin can be dangerous: 

• According to the DEA, gabapentin was identified as a partial or single cause of 135 overdose deaths in 2020. (DEA, 2025)
• However, gabapentin may be a contributing factor more often than that. In the more than 62,000 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. between 2019 and 2020, about 10% of cases had gabapentin detected on the toxicology report, more than 5,600 cases. (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), 2022)
• Most gabapentin-involved deaths occurred in non-Hispanic White people and people between 35 and 54 years old. (MMWR, 2022)
• Overdose deaths with gabapentin often had opioid involvement. About 85–90% of cases with gabapentin found on the toxicology report also had opioid involvement. (MMWR, 2022)
• Taking a moderate or high dose of gabapentin can increase someone’s risk of opioid-related death by 60% compared to those taking opioids alone. (CMAJ, 2019)
• In a study of older adults on Medicare, those taking high-dose opioids and gabapentin had a higher risk of death by any cause compared to those taking high-dose opioids with the antidepressant duloxetine. (Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 2023)

RELATED: Gabapentin side effects in elderly patients

Final thoughts on gabapentin use

Gabapentin is a frequently prescribed medication in the U.S., with more than 46 million prescriptions in 2024. Its many uses show how broadly it acts on the nervous system to treat nerve pain and other neurologic conditions. 

Although gabapentin is generally well tolerated, there are knowledge gaps around its long-term safety and potential for abuse, which have only recently been investigated. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has begun tracking gabapentin’s involvement in overdose deaths. Early data from the CDC’s analysis and community surveys suggest the drug’s misuse is most common among individuals with concurrent opioid use, which points to how health organizations and providers can better screen for gabapentin misuse and prevent harm in patients. 

As gabapentin use continues to rise, safe prescribing and patient education are ways to help keep the treatment safe and effective. Some states have already started to regulate access to the drug, though it’s still considered a non-addictive and well-tolerated drug federally. 

Finally, patients taking gabapentin should discuss the benefits and risks of the drug with their healthcare provider, including possible drug interactions, their risk for side effects, and how to take it safely. “This medication can be important for managing pain and certain neurological conditions, but only when used exactly as prescribed and under the supervision of a physician,” Dr. Chester says. Always talk to your healthcare provider about any questions or concerns you may have about your treatment, and regularly follow up with them to make sure your treatment continues to work for you.