Researchers have found a plethora of potential uses outside the drug’s two approved indications, but data is varied, according to the Times.
One study noted efficacy in patients with diabetic neuropathy but not other kinds of neuropathic pain; small studies hint at gabapentin reducing itching associated with kidney failure; and data is limited or failed to prove the drug treats low back pain and some psychiatric disorders.
Gabapentin is the fifth-most-prescribed medication in the U.S., according to GoodRx.
Reported off-label uses of the non-opioid medicine, according to the Times, include:
- Fibromyalgia
- Transverse myelitis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Sciatica
- Neuropathy from diabetes
- Lower back pain
- Post-surgery pain
- Agitation from dementia
- Insomnia
- Migraines
- Itching
- Bipolar disorder
- Alcohol dependence
“It’s crazy how many indications it’s used for,” Michael Steinman, MD, a geriatrician at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and co-director of the U.S. Deprescribing Research Network, told the Times. “It’s become a we-don’t-know-what-else-to-do drug.”
Oral presentations fell into shortage in May 2023 and supply stabilized in July.
Read more about gabapentin’s popularity here.
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