been taking this medication since September 2011 as i was having back surgery in the December.. looking back on it all now i have been severely depressed but haven't realised until now... i want to come off them without a visit to my doctor & was wondering if anyone knows the safest way to do this
View 6 RepliesI have been on gabapentin for about 5 years. I have suffered from trigeminal neuropathic pain since a botched dental operation in 2003 and have tried a range of different medication that made me feel either spaced out, dizzy and sick or made no difference what so ever. Finally the pain clinic at Pontefract Hospital prescribed a combination of Gabapentin, citalopram and pain relief, zomorph. I can honestly say that it has saved my life. The pain had been so unbearable that I just couldn't see an end to it.
I take from 600g up to 2400g per day when the pain is at its worst. My memory has been affected but is nowhere near as bad as when on other similar medication. I do think it's like anything else in that people react to it in different ways and if it doesn't suit change it. During the summer, the pain recedes and I have gone on for days without any gabapentin and have suffered no withdrawal effects at all. Although I am not pain free, and I know that is never going to happen, the gabapentin makes it bearable.
I was prescribed Gabapentin for fibromyalgia like pain - neuropathic pain. About 90 mins after taking one 300mg capsule I was experiencing some strong side effects. My spatial sense was distorted - I seemed bigger or smaller than I usually experience myself. I kept hearing indistinct voices - whole sentences in voices I did not recognise. I felt intense nausea. At one point I caught sight of my face in a mirror and had the feeling that the image was somehow independent of me, and that the face there was malevolent, and I was unable to break away for several minutes despite quite strong fear. I went to bed and as I lay there I felt like I was not quite in my body - lying beside myself somehow. My mind was caught up for a while in a series of incredibly violent and distressing daydream-like images over which I seemed to have little control. My body twitched and convulsed irregularly - although I've experienced this with intense anxiety and at this point I was really quite afraid! I woke early after a fitful sleep with an intense headache - behind the forehead, temples and also pain in my neck. Also some nausea. The headache lasted all day and into the night. It felt on a par with a moderately bad migraine (maybe 7 out of 10). I was unable to do much of anything except lie down and wait for it to pass (pain killers had no discernible effect on the level of pain).
That was one pill of 300mg. And needless to say I won't be taking another, let alone the prescribed 3 a day!
After 3 years of taking this medication I am ready to come off. My doctor told me not to stop cold turkey due to seizure risk. And sounds like he think I could do it in a week's time.
Hoping someone here has had some experience with coming off of this medication. It truly helped before my surgery this summer.
I don't love the side effects.
I suffer with pain on the left side of my face in the form of tingling feeling in the lip, gum, tongue, nostril and eye. Have been on amitriptlyne for a while and then on gabapentine and pregabalin but the last two gave me awful side effects so have come off them and just taking painkillers at the moment, but they don't do much at all. Has anyone tried a Tens Machine?
View 5 RepliesI have been on 1800 mg a day of gabapentin for about 9 months due to a back problem. In this time I have put on over 2 stone and have now got the point where I've had enough. I went to my doctor on Tuesday and she has advised me to reduce my daily amount by 300 mg and then after a week, reduce by a further 300mg. This seems a lot quicker than others have done it although I'm desperate to get off these asap.
View 19 RepliesI was diagnosed 10 weeks ago with shingles and unfortunately it was on my head, forehead and around my eye, which was very painful and uncomfortable, My vision is ok but I keep getting a very sore and pink eye, and have been told at the eye clinic that it is dry eye and I now have the same type of drops that I was given weeks ago. Has anyone else experienced sore itchy eyes so long after getting shingles and if so, any idea how long it lasts? my eye gets SO itchy and sometimes I have to rub it which I suppose is just making it worse!! There seems to be nothing i can put on my eyelid to stop the awful itching
View 2 RepliesI was diagnosed with peripheral polyneuropathy 11 years ago. I take 300mg lyrica/day 60mg duloxetine/day and now they want me to take an opiate nucynta to manage my pain since I have trouble with pain. I live in California and recently got my MM license and obtained some Charlotte's web which is suppose to help with pain. Helps a little but pain killers work better. A friend of mine had me smoke some pot by way of vaporizing and it actually took my pain spike away for about 5 hours. Has anyone experienced this before? I'm afraid of what vaporizing cannabis could do to my health. However I feel like I actually have found a way to reduce my intake of meds and much more affordable.
View 2 RepliesI have only been taking it for less than 3 weeks and only managed to get to 300mg a day but the side effects are awful. I have now found out what is causing my nerve pain in back and leg ( my L5S1 disc has collapsed trapping nerves) and GP says that I would need a very high dose of gabapentin to ease this nerve pain so I might as well come off it ( waiting to see neurosurgeon). Today I dropped down to 200mg ( 100mg morning and then I was going to take other one before bed). I would normally have taken another one at 5pm. This evening I have had a bad headache around my eyes. like shooting pains. I have now taken the second 100mg tablet to see if this stops the pains.
My Gp said " oh you can just stop taking it after such a short time" but I said I have read it gives back withdrawal if stopped suddenly and he didn't disagree!
So could the headache be withdrawal?
After no advice from GP I was thinking of dropping to 200mg a day for a week then 100mg a day for a week then 100mg every other day until I stop - does this sound good?
I've suffered with chronic pain in groin area for over 2years now after a few tests and Mri exam my specialist Dr Chawla told me there's no cure for Neuropathy besides help with medication and pain clinic. None of the painkillers have worked, bad time with side effects! I recently had Acupuncture with Gp only for the pain to spread all over body.
I have had no help and as single parent to 2 children this puts a strain on my depression. I don't want this to take over my life.
I have been prescribed Amitriptyline for neuropathic pain, after Keppra did not suit me. The pain seems to be derived from a back injury, but a neurologist Thinks an antidepressant drug will help. The pain has been suppressed, but the side effects are a problem, like extreme tiredness and today dizziness when I was driving. Anyone had a similar problem and is it worth sticking with.
View 48 RepliesI'm not sure Wat it is I have I have numbness in both feet and lower legs but my knees are in constant pain and buckle on random occasions or if I try and jog/run at the start of this I was detoxin of of alcohol addiction and that's when it started i've had and mri of my head and back bloods etc and all seems OK so it's leaving me and doctors scratching their heads?
View 1 RepliesI had foot surgery 8 weeks ago - quite a major reconstruction that took a few hours.
when the plaster was removed at 6 weeks I was told that I had nerve damage causing partial foot drop and a lot of numbness and pain. I have just had nerve conduction studies and have started on Gabapentin and physio..
They said either the tourniquet or nerve block has caused it. I can't believe that this can happen, surely they know about these nerves and how to prevent problems.
Has anyone else experienced this and what has the recovery been like. I'm just wondering what my life is going to be like from now on.
I was diagnosed with shingles in my forehead and eye 6 weeks ago,( the worst kind!!) and after weeks of discomfort with eye and forehead re-infecting, watering eye, headaches , itching etc, I now feel better in myself and my vision is ok, but unfortunately I have had complications ands am left with such painful neuralgia, my head hurts just to touch it and my temple is so tender, I have been told that this can go on for months or longer.
View 1 Replies I know we're all different but due to neck/shoulder/arm/face pain with radiating pain to my arms at times I was previously prescribed pregabalin, that gave me heart palps and rls, now tried gabapentin and I think I had some sort of adverse reaction to it as my side effects were quite severe so I'm wondering where to go from here re meds. I've tried amitriptyline but not for long however the short time I took it it did nothing. Was thinking of trying nortriptyline as an alternative as read side effects not so bad.
Does anyone have any experience with Any of these 4 drugs or an alternative and if you've tried nortriptyline how well it did work vs it's side effects.
Or if anyone has found a miracle drug please let me know. I think key for me is muscle relaxation and nerve burning reduction.
I finally got a GP to take some notice of the pain levels and I'm now on gabapentin and zapain while I await a referral.
I was so glad to be given *something* I didn't really bother asking too much. I understand the zapain is a straight up pain killer but I'm a little unsure - even after reading up - what to expect of the gabapentin?
is it also a pain killer? I'm on 900mg / day now and although I have pain constantly, I can't be sure which drug is more (or less) effective, if at all?
I have been taking Fluoxetine (Prozac) for nearly 7 years and will shortly be taking Gabapentin capsules (opened cos i cannot swallow capsules) for 2 weeks at 300 mg (once a day), then 2 weeks at 600mg (twice a day) and then 900 mg (3 times a day). My nervous system is shot meaning that my body produces too many chemicals making the slightest nerve pain excruciating. Also have a trapped nerve in my foot which means exercise is limited. Is it best to start taking these in the morning? By week 5 i will be taking them 3 times a day. Is it advisable to take them at roughly the same time of day?
I don't work fortunately so if i get any bad reactions i can deal with them at home.
So I had back surgery in July. I had used gabapentin the 3 years prior. Max dose 1200 mgs. My PM doc told me to take 3 months to get off of it. Seizure risk and all. I am now down to 400mgs a day. I have tried a few methods....right now pushing each dose out more time. So basically in withdrawal all the time. Hopefully someone can tell me a better way.
Years ago when I quit using Xanax to sleep I would make a cut, then hold. Wasn't painless but this is hideous.
Mentally I am strong no addiction issues. Just rather not be sick all the time.
I'm really disappointed in myself i'm 26 years old and suffer sciatica really bad in my buttocks nerves going down one leg and along my back. I recently changed my doctor to one closer to home. On my first appointment my doctor made it clear I needed weaned off the 400mg of tramadol and 400 mg I take a day I was prescribed them two years ago along with Sertraline 100mg a day for my anxiety. The doctor and I never discussed me becoming addicted ever, I haven't tried to stop taking them as it was never suggested before my current doctor told me I was most defiantly addicted I have to be considering the dosage I've been on every day and the length of time I've been on them.I have not had them for a few days once as I'd ran out and it was the weekend I wasn't too fused and knew I would get them on the Monday morning I felt fidgety and anxious didn't know ok w what to with myself all of Sunday and when I slept on Sunday night I had the sickest terrifying dream I woke up sweating and scared I don't know what I was scared of by I was for hours. Can this be withdrawal symptoms.
View 6 Repliesfor nerve pain in lower back/hip and leg. MRI in a few days. Known herniated lumbar discs, nerve pain new for past 6 weeks.
I cannot take morphine or derivatives due to it making me feel like I can't breathe so the anti epilepsy drugs are next try.
Dr gave me 300mg capsules but having taken one today I have asked to be given 100mg capsules and I will increase very very slowly. The side effects with one 300mg capsule was spectacular and I could not cope with this again let alone increasing the dose but can only hope that starting very low and only increasing very slowly I can tolerate
My question is, is it possible that just one 300mg tablet taken for the first time give pain relief as I am sure it did with me. Now its wearing off the pain is worse. My Dr said that it takes up to 2 weeks for pain relief.
Can anyone advise me? I had my first PS op last June '09. I am still experiencing pain when sitting for any length of time - whether in office for the day - or on car journey. I have not had recurrence of actual opening of the wound itself (altho it took a long time to close) and no abscess' - but the discomfort frightens me that it could be coming back! My GP tells me to wait and see for a while!
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