Anecdotal, but I've been taking opioids for over a year now, to treat pain caused by suspected nerve damage (I couldn't tolerate gabapentin and a slew of other non-opioid medications), and they still work just fine. I'm also not an addict and feel no compulsion to take them other than for reducing otherwise unbearable pain.

I'm on Gabapentin, what was it that you couldn't tolerate if you don't mind me asking?

The only thing I noticed when I started taking it (other than the fact I could actually function again) was that it makes me tired and the withdrawal if I forget to take it/forget to fill a script is pretty horrible.

For me it was like feeling sick, having blocked nose, trouble breathing, tiredness and later on having anxiety that wouldn't not go away. Oh and trouble with thinking - I was not able to formulate sentences the way I wanted and my mind was often going blank.

It made me feel like I was drunk, so I couldn't work, drive, safely look after the kids, or generally live normally. I had the same thing with pregbalin.

I tried pregabalin and it was even worse for me, I though I will die.

If I understand gabapentin can sometimes cause hypersensitivity reactions.

shame that Gabapentin didn't help you, for me (spine surgery, couple of months before they opened me up, and now in recovery) it was a lifesaver when funnily enough the opiates seemed to make no difference (post surgery expecting pain to be higher for a while they switched me, when the Gabapentin ran out and I had a very uncomfortable night!). Was really glad, given all the scare talk about opiates, how easily I have been able to get off them - if you're seen me with a bag of chocolates, or when I don't get my coffee I'm pretty obviously a candidate for addiction :) I do find the Gabapentin given me the dizzy/drunk feeling, but I'm lucky enough that I can dose late evening and sleep through most of the side-effects and remain functional (with the occasional Tylenol) during the day