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Gabapentin - has anyone taken this?

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Posted 12/25/2014 3:25 AM (GMT 0)
Does anyone have experience taking this medicine? I'm curious what to expect.

Post Edited (ChelseaFootball) : 1/18/2015 9:31:35 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 12/25/2014 4:21 AM (GMT 0)
There are quite a few here who take gabapentin. With tomorrow being Christmas, it make be a day ot two before they get back here. But, I know they will be happy to share their experiences.

Merry Christmas. Remember He Is The Reason For The Season.
Posted 12/25/2014 4:47 AM (GMT 0)
I have been taking it for several months for peripheral neuropathy in my feet. I take it in the evening so that I sleep through the side effects which for me are feeling fuzzy minded. I take 900 mg along with 75 mg of effexor which is also for neuropathy. I have had significant improvement.
Posted 12/25/2014 5:01 AM (GMT 0)
Chelsea,
Does this mean they are finally figuring out where all the pain is coming from?
I really hope so...not that I wish nerve pain on anyone but to finally know has to be a validation of some sort. With everything you have gone through this year I hope the med helps.
Good Luck
Posted 12/25/2014 9:15 AM (GMT 0)
Most of us are on one of the meds for neuropathy and have been on many at one time or another since these type meds carry significant side effects you may have trouble adjusting to one but no issues with another of them. I couldn't shake the fog with neurontin even after a month but had no such problem with lyrica. Couldn't survive without it!!

Good luck and I hope this works for you.
Posted 12/25/2014 3:48 PM (GMT 0)
I have been taking Gabapentin for several months. It works very well for me, and I don't have any side effects from it, that I can tell. I hope it helps you.
Posted 12/25/2014 5:41 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Chelsea,

It truly depends on your diagnosis.  I would want to KNOW exactly what's causing the intense knee pain for the last few months.  I'm no doctor, so take what I say with a grain of salt JMO.  Sometimes when a "specialist" isn't willing to investigate a medical problem, they blame "nerve pain" and prescribe Neurontin, etc.  I've been on and off the forum for a couple of weeks, so forgive me if I'm asking a question you've already answered.  Which orthopedic diagnosed PN?  I'd want a second, third...possibly fourth opinion.  I personally think you injured that knee.  Again, JMO.

My nephew tore his meniscus last Friday in martial arts class.  He had surgery on Monday and is in PT.

As for gabapentin (Neurontin) YES, I took it in 2005-06 when I first attempted pain management.  The doctor rapidly titrated to a LARGE DOSE with which I could not function.  I told him @ 300 mg 3xday, I was okay.  He insisted upon the titration to 2400 per day.  NO WAY could I function with my career, which is fast-paced, cut throat, and dog eat dog.  I was a Zombie.  I weaned myself off completely, because I simply could not tolerate the sum total of ALL meds being thrown at me.  He didn't care for my participation or input towards my own healthcare.  I have never been one to "take this and you'll feel better".  If a med doesn't produce results within the allotted trial period, then it's NOT for me.  He was the head of the largest Pain Center in the Southeast, but I am the one who lives in my body.  When my health insurance went belly up with the economy in 08-09, he was no longer interested in my well-being.  The experience left a bad taste in my mouth, so I left PM "forever" to muddle through on my own.  I digress.

Mine is a long and complicated story that I won't gift you with on this Christmas Day.  I started PM with a local hospital directed Pain Center in January of this year.  By June, I was hit with SHINGLES in my eye.  I had NO CHOICE but to begin taking Neurontin (gabapentin) again for the nerve involvement.  The onset of virus demanded massive steroids and anti-virals to save my cornea.  Thankfully, my cornea has not been invaded.  However, my eyesight has weakened and blurred.  The Neurontin definitely "soothes" the nerve pain in the Trigeminal Nerve center.  I remain @ 400 mg 3xday.  Some say that is not a therapeutic dose.  For me, personally...that's as high as I will go due to the brain fog at higher dosage.  The Shingles virus antibodies are still raging in my blood work.  I would literally claw my eyeball out (including eyebrow and surrounding forehead, right temple) if not for this nerve med.  I don't like it, for many SEs, but I have no choice.  Others find great success with Lyrica.  I gained weight, which I couldn't accept...so I stopped and the weight came off.  If this virus leaves me with TN, I may be forced to endure many side effects vs. suffering nerve pain beyond words.  So...It's a personal decision, often finding yourself between a rock and a ROCK.  I've learned to use a jackhammer=)  The Shingles are the cherry on top of a shart sundae for me.

IF indeed, your problem is nerve related, it's worth a try.  If not definitively PN,  I wouldn't touch it.  JMO...not a medical doctor, nor intended as medical advice.

PLEASE FOLKS...Get your Shingles vaccine!  Run, don't walk, to get it!

Hugs~~Dixie 

 

Posted 12/25/2014 8:08 PM (GMT 0)
Just to show how different people are, I usually have side effects with medicines, and I was scared to take gabapentin, which all my doctors (oncologists and PM) were recommending. Finally I got in a situation where I was desperate for nerve pain relief and tried it. No side effects whatsoever. I don't even know I'm taking it, other than it does help with the nerve pain. I'm currently taking 1500 mg a day thanks to my shingles, but usually take 1200 a day, which are both on the low side, but work for me.

So I'm not sure what the lesson is from that, other than if you're desperate for some kind of nerve pain relief, it might be worth trying gabapentin or, if that doesn't work, one of the related nerve pain medicines, to see if you can find one that has no or few side effects for you, because it might be possible.
Posted 12/26/2014 1:44 AM (GMT 0)
Well, the thing is, if it works, you'll know with more certainty than you did before that there is nerve damage involved.

If it doesn't help at all once you get up to a high enough / therapeutic dose, then you'll know it's probably not nerve damage.
Posted 12/26/2014 5:03 AM (GMT 0)
I take 400mg a day and it helps me with no side effects. Www
Posted 12/26/2014 8:24 AM (GMT 0)
There are times when certain things are not detectable in other ways except by ruling out and in cases of nerve damage being suspect at causing issues using one of the medications and finding relief or not is actually the diagnostics Dixie. In view of her having been run through the gamut of tests, scans, injection and getting no closer to any answers the Dr actually made a accepted choice of diagnosis before moving to scope the knee as an invasive last resort. Meniscal tears are almost always detected in scans or scopes when all other avenues have been exhausted.

Chelsea remember this is a medication that has to be titrated to a therapeutic level to work so patience is the key, also one that may show side effects early in titrating but will ease off as you get closer to that therapeutic level that works for you.
Posted 12/26/2014 8:33 AM (GMT 0)
I am currently taking 900 mg neurontin for sciatic nerve pain. I've been on it for over a year now. I didn't think it was working at all until I was have a test done to where I couldn't take it for 48 hours. Boy did I learn how much it was working. It was pretty miserable pain. I'm now awaiting back surgery to fix this mess. Hope ur pain feels better too!
Posted 12/26/2014 4:44 PM (GMT 0)
I haven't had any relief at all from Neurontin or Lyrica or any of the "nerve" drugs. I was on Neurontin for a few months, moving up in dose to about 1200. One day, after a dose increase, I stopped breathing and couldn't move to get my hubby's attention. As I was about to pass out I was able to catch a big breath. This happened once more that day, so I stopped it "cold turkey," which is a pretty awful way of getting off this drug.

I don't have any problem with my peripheral nerves. They test fine. All my pain is from my spine where nerves are pinched or damaged.
Posted 12/26/2014 5:45 PM (GMT 0)
I tried this med for several months, and worked for a while. However, I have since switched to Lyrica and Nucynta, with much better results for me. Everyone is a bit different, and the only suggestion that I will give is to give it time before expecting to see results.

Good Luck!

SE
Posted 12/27/2014 2:41 PM (GMT 0)
You should definitely still see the PM doc!

I think normally it takes at least a week, probably 10 days to 2 weeks, to get any relief from the gabapentin. Plus, 300 mg is such a low dose. I am now up to 800 mg 3x/day, and will probably go up to 4x/day at my next appt. As I understand it, 3,200 is considered the lowest therapeutic dose.

So you can't know anything right now Chelsea about if it works or not. It has to be titrated up very slowly. I started a few months ago and I'm just now up to 2400 but a few doctors have told me that 3,200 is the target.
Posted 12/27/2014 6:17 PM (GMT 0)
I just started taking Gabapentin for some nerve pain in my foot. For some reason I have a super bad feeling about taking this med.

My dose they want me to work my way up to is 900mg. Has anyone gained weight on they dosage or do you need to take a higher dose for that affect?

Also I am very worried about having a drink with this medicine. I do not drink daily but socially and with New Year's coming it would be nice to celebrate.

I guess it just comes down to my instinct "go with your gut" feeling that I should not take this.

Any thoughts and/or suggestions. Thanks!
Posted 12/27/2014 9:43 PM (GMT 0)
Bugs welcome to the chronic pain forum. We do ask all new members to make a separate intro post so that all members will see it & be able to say hello & welcome aboard. By posting on someone else's thread not many will see your post & give you some input. FYI 900mg is considered a low dose. You can go to Drugs.com & look the medication up & read about it, however, you should have received a print out from your pharmacy to read. Thanks
Posted 12/28/2014 4:18 PM (GMT 0)
I take 900mg 3x a day. I have no side effects and it works wonderfully for me. I was on lyrica before and it worked but I had horrible side effects with that one.
Posted 12/30/2014 7:13 PM (GMT 0)
I took 300mg 3x/day maybe 10-15 years ago. Neurontin didn't have a black box warning back then & I was quite young (early 20's). It worked really great for the pain, but unfortunately, out of nowhere, I became actively suicidal. I hadn't even been the slightest bit depressed. I quit the medication & shortly thereafter, I was back to loving my life again. :) 3 months after that, I got a class action notice about that very issue being a known side effect that the manufacturer chose not to disclose. Gabapentin now carries a black box warning for children, teens & young adults.

I'm on pregabalin (Lyrica) now & haven't had any issues ... then again, I'm also older.
Posted 12/31/2014 9:13 AM (GMT 0)
I was taking it for nerve pain (pain radiating down my one arm from my neck). Also wanted to point out that you may want to give it a chance for a couple more weeks if you can bear it because it seemed to have a cumulative effect.

I was underweight when I was on it, too. I didn't gain any weight while on it until I started working with a nutritionist to come up with a high-calorie/same-quantity-of-food diet. That was after having been on the Neurontin for maybe 12-18 months (I became suicidal after maybe 6 months on the drug, but they didn't pull me off it for quite some time because they didn't attribute that as a side effect back then). I would definitely recommend working with a nutritionist if you can. Mine was amazing. There were so few foods I felt like eating & although I've always loved cooking, I just didn't have the energy to cook and eat elaborate meals as the pain got worse. The nutritionist came up with ideas like eating nuts, switching to full fat salad dressing, and drinking Ensure to help me efficiently add calories to my diet. Those choices were personalized to my tastes.

The other thing that eventually helped me was that once my hair started falling out in large quantities, my doc finally tested my thyroid levels. They were shocked to find that putting me on medication for LOW thyroid function actually helped me put on weight. Usually, it's the reverse, but between the low energy from hypothyroidism & the low energy from the pain, I just didn't feel up to eating more than one tiny meal per day. Once we got my hormone levels straightened out, I had way more energy (still low due to pain, but comparatively much more than before) and was able to up my food intake. I had put on 10 pounds with the new diet & crossed into my healthy range by putting on another 10 pounds after I was on the thyroid meds. It's too bad it took getting to the point I lost 1/3 of my hair to get them to consider how pain might cause other diseases to manifest outside of their textbook descriptions.
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