I was in a head on car collision and almost lost my foot doc gave me gabbapentin (neurotin) for nerve and pain dammage will this work
Does Gabapentin (Neurontin) help with nerve damage and pain?
Question posted by biggoom on 9 May 2011
Last updated on 26 January 2021 by Samelose212
7 Answers
Samelose212
27 Jan 2021
No it gave me more pain and had a deadly reaction
Fatherknosebest
10 Sep 2016
I have severe spinal stenosis and walk like i've had a stroke to my left side. Using a cane too. They (my primary doctor) prescribed 100MG before bedtime and after two weeks i felt no difference. Yesterday i spoke to my spine surgeon and i explained my symptoms. He bumped it up to 600 before bedtime and 600 in the morning. I'm walking so much better this morning! Unbelievable! i'm still awkward but, i can really feel the difference! I'm not using my cane in the house right now. Apparently we can take up to 2000MG's a day if necessary. I hope you get better soon. I cant wait for surgery because i'm numb and tingly in both arms and hands. God Bless.
Sdennis01
17 Aug 2012
I am also taking this medication for nerve damage that apparently came from levofloxin. The medication does appear to help if you use it consistently, but it appears to make me really tired and drawn out. I have a difficult time staying awake at work all day. And when I come in, I normally go directly to sleep. Does this affect anyone else in this way?
meyati
17 Aug 2012
The first week, then my body adapted. Until it helped my nerves and killed my pain- I didn't really want to be awake anyway. Sleep was a relief. Pain makes me tired-but I can't sleep. When the pain is feeling eased- I want to catch up on my sleep-It's not the med making me sleepy in these cases-but exhaustion kicking in-and catching up on sleep. Having to work while being in this state of pain and then pain relief does cause me to nod off when I come home and sit down. Fortunately, work isn't a factor for me anymore
TheNina04
11 Oct 2012
Yes.. neurontin makes me sleepy, but i guess its better than the pain. I am just wondering if the longer I take it (only been taking it for 3 weeks) will this side effect ease up or am I doomed to be in a fog?
meyati
12 Oct 2012
I developed a tolerance to neurontin-I was physically and mentally active. I was attending a university and school of honors-studied French and took math. After several months, I felt like I was floating and I started having numbness in the ends of my fingers and toes. I began reducing the neurontin- very slowly. The RSD pain from the severed nerve didn't come back. I was completely able to stop being on neurontin. People have trouble if the cut down too quickly-slow is the key word. At the university-a kid was running to get to a class, and he ran around a corner and hit me full force. So, the RSD decided that was too much and acted up again. Thankfully the last time I used it- was in 2004. I'm doing pretty good. I use power saws, and other tools-and sometimes I get achy, but that's different from not being able to use my hand and not able to sleep.,
Debjclark
26 July 2017
Yes. It makes me light headed and tired. It works but not enough but I can't take anything else because I have bad reactions to the other drugs. I'm in physio but that's not helping either. I broke my lower back and severe nerve damage and they can't fix any of it. I was in a head on car accident. I hit black ice. My seat belt was the cause. My spine moves and none of the doctors will talk to me except to say they can't do anything. Anyone have any other ideas?
Inactive
9 June 2011
I found it not very helpful with my nerve pain, and it caused problems with word retrieval. It was like the word was on the tip of my tongue but I just could not say it! I later tried Cymbalta - it definitely helped, then added Lyrica which helped a great deal. There have been many side effects with Lyrica though, most especially hand and leg swelling. All told, Lyrica is about 10 times better than Neurontin. If it helps you, go for it, if not, don't give up yet. Try Cymbalta, Lyrica or the newest one, Savella. My pharmacist has advised me that it is best to only be on one at a time. She says that each of these medications scramble the nerve signals in the brain, causing confusion. The brain doesn't know what to do with it, so it stores them in the fat cells in the body. She said each of these medications can cause more neuropathy, and mine has definitely increased in the past 8 years or so that I've been on the Neurontin, then Cymbalta and Lyrica.
brenda fain
9 June 2011
yes it does wonderful for nerve pain!
meyati
9 June 2011
Neurontin-gapapentin has been extremely helpful to me. I have/had a severed nerve in my chest that set off RSD. I lost control of my right hand, 2 fingers turned black and flopped, my hand and the middle finger were turning black. I had other pain therapy that worked for me. Then I spent hours swimming and playing in water; and then I drove home-over 300 miles. The pain came back-big time. Again I couldn't sleep and it hurt to move my arm-I couldn't hold a fork or write. My PCP immediately sent me to a pain clinic. They gave me gabapentin to help until they could re-do the therapy. It removed most of the pain, and I got use of my hand/arm again, so I didn't go through the other therapy. Later I gradually stopped using it and did good. My chest got hurt about 3 years later, and I returned to the pain clinic, where I started it again. Then again I gradually reduced it. I was injured in 1992. I've used gabapentin 3 times for pain control. I'm not using it now.
With your injuries, I would really take gabapentin all of the time. My only complaint was that I began feeling like I was floating, so the doctor reduced the dosage. I drove okay, got good grades, held a part time job. I even welded and did metal art work while using gabapetin, besides using power saws, etc. in the class. I have a really bad stomach-IBS-it didn't bother my stomach at all. Some people say that it can cause some anxiety and/or depression. I didn't have that problem at all-if you do-talk to your doctor before it becomes a big problem. I'm even allergic to the current cough syrup-it causes hallucinations. Good luck-get back to me how things go for you.
Delila
9 May 2011
Hi, gabapentin is used widely as a pain reliever, and especially when treating nerve pain. It works well with post operative pain and when nerves have been severed. Also it works very well with pain associated with spinal cord injury. So the research info' looks pretty good. The only way you will really know if it works for you is to give it a go. It certainly seems a good drug to try.
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Further information
- Neurontin uses and safety info
- Neurontin prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Neurontin (detailed)
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