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Can You Take Hydrocodone and Gabapentin Together?

Updated October 4, 2026By the Medication Interaction Checker editorial teamHow we check

Short answer

Avoid / serious

Only if your prescriber has planned it and knows you take both. Doctors do sometimes prescribe hydrocodone (Norco, Vicodin) and gabapentin (Neurontin) together for pain, but both slow down the brain and breathing. The gabapentin label warns that using it with opioids has caused serious breathing problems and sedation, sometimes resulting in death. Never start one on your own while taking the other, and never add alcohol or other sedatives.

Gabapentin (Neurontin)A nerve pain and seizure medicine
Hydrocodone (Norco, Vicodin)An opioid pain medicine (usually combined with acetaminophen)
Interaction level: Avoid / seriousSerious breathing problems

Why this combination is serious

Hydrocodone is an opioid. Gabapentin is a nerve pain and seizure medicine. Each can cause drowsiness and dizziness, and opioids can slow breathing. In 2019 the FDA added warnings to gabapentin and pregabalin labels after reports of serious breathing problems in people who took them with opioids or other sedating drugs.

The risk is highest:

  • When either medicine is first started or the dose is increased
  • In adults 65 and older
  • In people with COPD, asthma, sleep apnea or other lung conditions
  • When alcohol, benzodiazepines (like Xanax), sleep pills, muscle relaxants or sedating antihistamines are added

Warning signs of an emergency

Call 911 right away if someone:

Is very hard to wake up, has slow, shallow or noisy breathing, has blue or gray lips or fingertips, or is confused and extremely drowsy. If naloxone (Narcan) is available, give it. Naloxone reverses the opioid part of the overdose, and it is sold over the counter at pharmacies.

If you have been prescribed both

  • Make sure every prescriber and your pharmacist knows about both medicines.
  • Do not drink alcohol, and do not drive until you know how the combination affects you.
  • Ask whether you should keep naloxone at home, especially if you live with others who can help in an emergency.
  • Many hydrocodone products also contain acetaminophen. Do not add Tylenol or cold medicines with acetaminophen without asking your pharmacist.
  • Do not stop gabapentin suddenly. Its label warns that stopping abruptly can cause withdrawal symptoms and, in people with epilepsy, seizures. Your prescriber will taper it.

Why doctors combine them

Gabapentin treats nerve pain, which opioids often do not control well, and it is sometimes used so that a lower opioid dose can be enough. That can be a reasonable plan, but it requires the lowest effective doses and close follow-up. The combination is not something to create on your own with leftover pills.

What the FDA labels say

“DRUG INTERACTIONS Concentrations increased by morphine; may need dose adjustment ( 5.4 , 7.1 ) 7.1 Opioids Respiratory depression and sedation, sometimes resulting in death, have been reported following coadministration of gabapentin with opioids (e.g., morphine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, buprenorphine) [see Warnings and Prec”FDA label for Gabapentin, Drug Interactions section. View on DailyMed
“human studies, and animal studies associating pregabalin with serious, life-threatening, or fatal respiratory depression when co-administered with central nervous system (CNS) depressants, including opioids, or in the setting of underlying respiratory impairment.”FDA label for Pregabalin, Warnings and Precautions section. View on DailyMed

Frequently asked questions

Is it common to be prescribed hydrocodone and gabapentin together?

Yes, it happens, especially after surgery or for back and nerve pain. It is not automatically wrong, but it should be monitored, and the doses kept as low as possible.

Does the same warning apply to Lyrica?

Yes. Pregabalin (Lyrica) carries the same FDA warning about serious breathing problems when combined with opioids.

Can I take gabapentin at night and hydrocodone in the day to avoid the interaction?

Spacing doses does not reliably prevent the interaction, because both medicines stay in your system for hours. Talk to your prescriber about a schedule that is safe for you.

Taking anything else?

Add all your medicines, supplements and alcohol to check every combination at once.

Check more medicines

Sources

  1. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Gabapentin prescribing information / Drug Facts label (effective 2026-09). DailyMed.
  2. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Hydrocodone prescribing information / Drug Facts label (effective 2026-06). DailyMed.

This page is for general education and is based on FDA labeling. It is not medical advice and does not replace a conversation with your doctor or pharmacist, who know your health history, doses and other medicines. If you think you have taken too much of a medicine, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 or 911.