GABA vs Gabapentin for anxiety
Short answer: For anxiety, users rate them about the same: 80% report improvement with GABA (122 reports) and 80% with Gabapentin (44 reports).
GABA has 8 meta-analyses and 26 randomized trials on PubMed; Gabapentin has 532 and 672.
Based on 470 reports about GABA and 145 about Gabapentin. Not medical advice.
| GABA Supplement | Gabapentin Medication | |
|---|---|---|
| Users say it helped | 40%helped226 reports · high confidence | 39%helped81 reports · medium confidence |
| Verdict | Mixed | Mixed |
| Research | AResearch: Strong | AResearch: Strong |
| Meta-analyses / RCTs | 8 / 26 | 532 / 672 |
| Mainly used for | ||
| Anxiety % reporting improvement | 80% (122) | 80% (44) |
| Sleep % reporting improvement | 80% (104) | 82% (17) |
| Mood % reporting improvement | 67% (21) | 73% (15) |
| Pain & inflammation % reporting improvement | — | 85% (13) |
| Focus % reporting improvement | 100% (4) | 38% (8) |
| Common side effects | drowsiness, vivid dreams, fatigue, shortness of | withdrawal, cognitive impairment, brain fog, addiction |
| Typical dose reported | 1500 mg / nightly | Not listed |
The results provide plausible evidence for the positive role of zinc in the treatment of patients afflicted with anxiety, albeit with some limitations.
Nutr Rev, 2024 ↗“I take 1.5mgs with 1500mg GABA-A Acid I have insane dreams every night and sleep like a baby.”
Our results support a revision of the NeuPSIG recommendations for the pharmacotherapy of neuropathic pain. Inadequate response to drug treatments constitutes a substantial unmet need in patients with neuropathic pain. Modest efficacy, large placebo responses, heterogeneous diagnostic criteria, and poor phenotypic profiling probably account for moderate trial outcomes and should be taken into account in future studies.
Lancet Neurol, 2015 ↗“I took Gabapentin today and I'm feeling calm like I used to... After 3 years I can finally feel normal... stomach issues disappeared and my sleep improved.”
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Percentages come from first-hand user reports and are not clinical outcomes. Talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. How we rate