Gabapentin

[Stone]

The nurse said she will ring me to see how I am getting on with them next week so maybe I should mention my concerns to her.

What do you think?

I personally would always advocate people take what they are prescribed, as you always have the option of discontinuing it later on. It's one thing to stop treatment because of side effects and quite another never to start because some other people had some...!

Personally I found gabapentin (even in fairly large doses - remember that we can't mention specific amounts on the open forum but feel free to PM me if you want to discuss it) to make absolutely no difference to my mental state or weight, with a large decrease in pain. Remember that people are more likely to post negative side effects than positive, and that your doctor wouldn't have prescribed them unless they think they will help you. The followup with the nurse will be to see if you do experience any side effects, so I would take them and see what happens by the time of your followup. Certainly don't be scared off by us lot!

Stone

[clairbear]

Hello!

I went to see pain management on Friday - my first appt at a different clinic. The consultant was really lovely - I gave done akin management before including a 3 week in patient programme - I am great at pacing, do my physio like a good girl, walk and try to relax. My drugs has never been quite right in the past 6 years. I have previously taken gabapentin but came off it when I became a zombie and didn't feel well enough to drive. The new guy's suggestion is taking the gabapenin only at night to reduce the drowsiness during the day. HAs anyone else tried this and if so how did you feel during the day? I really need to be able to drive for work.

Thanks

Clair

[DeeNJai]

I have just been put back on Gabapentin after 7 year break. Last time they didnt work but I will try and wait and see if they work this time. Also i have been put on Calichew twice a day.
Dee

[clairbear]

Hi Dee,

I last took Gabapentin 5 years ago however my current consultant is being mindful of 2 things: my need to function during the day and drive. In 5 weeks I have had 2 weeks on the lowest dose and 2 weeks on a tiny amount more he letting me increase it slowly and I only take them at night- so far so good. I am going back next week and want to negotiate increasing by {mod edit - dosage information removed. Please read the site rules} mg every 2-3 weeks. I know that the therapeutic dose is around 6 times my current dose but I am having less side affects with slower introduction and I am functioning. Apparently gabapentin is one of the few drugs that improves the quality of sleep which in my book makes it worth trying again.

Let me know how youngest on

Clair

[DeeNJai]

I am on day 6 of taking Gabapentin. I decided to take the first dose with my night time medications so far I havent noticed any side effects yet. On Saturday I will have one with my afternoon meds and then increase every week until I get to a dose that might help. Sleep wise havent seen any difference yet. Never had a good sleep patern even as a child. My niece has only started to sleep through the night when she was 7 years old until then she would only sleep for a few hours and wake and take ages to go back to sleep.
Dee

[DeeNJai]

I am now up to 9 day, I think they are working as when I missed my afternoon dose the pain got more pain full. I will be changing up to the next strength in the next month and that will mean I am on the maximum dose.
Dee

[trekster]

i take 2 whenever the pain gets too much but it knocks me out for the afternoon.

[meggy.nut]

I was on Gabapentin about a year ago and it worked great for the numbness in my hands. But I went back on it in August this year and gained 10 lbs in two months when I was only eating about 1200 calories a day. So switched meds to Topomax which is supposed to do similar things with migraine prevention and possible weight loss.

[DeeNJai]

In 2 months I have gained 15lbs and also my blood pressure has gone from being on the low side and now my blood pressure is in the high region. Currently my blood pressure is 143/91 it use to be around 112/68 so that is a big increase. I will speak to my doctor to see what can be done. It is helping a lot with the pain, finally its under control after more than 5 months of bad pain. Currently I am taking high of Gabapentin.
Dee

[Eloise]

Also posted in the naproxen thread - but thought it was worth noting here as well. There is a slight interaction between gabapentin and naproxen (but only this NSAID).

Naproxen can slightly increase the amount of gabapentin that is taken into the body. Therefore you might need a lower dose of gabapentin before it takes effect or give side-effects. This should not be a problem when starting gabepentin as the dose is increased up slowly, but might be if you start naproxen while already on a high dose of gabapentin.

[shen]

My doctor just started me on Gabapentin. He thinks my constant headaches are caused by neuralgia and so the gabapentin should help with that with the bonus of helping the pain from my EDS too. Since I have issues with regular analgesics, i.e. codiene and tramadol, he thinks these might be the best way to go for me.

I've been told to take once today, twice a day tomorrow and then three times a day on thursday and then keep going with tht for the next 6 weeks and see how i go.

I'm willing to give it a try. I'm concerned about the weight gain as a side effect because i've spent so ong trying to lose weight! but we will see what will happen. If it works then he'll put me on it 'permenantly' with periodic reviews.

I have to say he is a new GP and one of the few that has really listened to me. So many have told me that i'm too young to be on pain medication, i might get addicted and so on. I'm always careful with my meds, there are addiction issues in my family and so i take my meds only when i absolutely need too. But this doc was polite, attentive and reassuring! He knew of EDS though not much, but he seems willing to learn and that is the biggest thing! I think i might just have found a keeper!!

mod edit - dosage info removed

[trekster]

Also posted in the naproxen thread - but thought it was worth noting here as well. There is a slight interaction between gabapentin and naproxen (but only this NSAID).

What about reactions with 5htp? im avoiding taking it because im unsure if it will affect the gabapentin, but nothing else helps me severe anxiety and moderate depression.

[paw]

Shen I have been taking Gabapentin for several years, maybe about 5 years, I'm not sure exactly when I started it. I didn't gain weight with it but pay attention and watch portion sizes for a while till you get used to the medicine and see how you do with it.

I don't feel addicted at all. In my opinion that would be me wanting to take more than the {mod edit - dosage info removed} I was prescribed daily or me running out early because I had used more than I was allowed to take. I do notice that if I occasionally forget to take it (once in a while I simply don't feel like swallowing capsules in the evening, they can get stuck in my throat) I notice my legs jumping around way more than usual. I have restless leg syndrome and that was a big part of why it was prescribed for me.

Last Oct my doc actually wanted to raise my dosage. I did the agreed upon increase and I couldn't tell any difference at all. I didn't sleep better, didn't have less leg movement and I didn't have a big difference in pain control either. I phoned my doc and asked her to write the prescription for the old amount. Anyway, that showed that after years of use I don't have a physical or emotional addiction to Gabapentin. It does work fairly well on the restless legs and it helps with the pain. I can tell because I hurt more when I forget to take it.

Good luck getting used to it and I hope it helps you a lot.

[DeeNJai]

Hi
I started taking an anti-depressant on 12 May and since then I have noticed that my spasms are back and also my pain levels have increased. I hope this is a temperary thing as the Gabapentin was working well. My GP have said that if I am still having problems in 2 weeks time. He will look at what I am taking and jig it around to see if we can get the pain back under control. I hope that I dont have to come off the Gabapentin as that will take a while as I am on a hight dose of it and I would have to get use to the new medications that he gives me. I take enough tablets to sink a battle ship. I am not sleep hence this post was posted at 2am in the morning.
Dee

[Aprilupson]

Hello,
I've been on Gabapentin for about 7mths now as started to have pain issues with my hands which caused me to really struggle with work. I found it worked great, I'm on the highest dose and I know when I forget to take it as the pain reminds me! However now the pain is returning and I'm starting to struggle with work again which is fustration as it was working so well. I reguarly massage my hands and try to do things with relaxed hands, do you have any other ideas that may help? I have appt with GP soon to disscuse options.