Neurontin/gabapentin - have any of you adjusted to the side effects? It's working, though!!?

Question

Hi gang! My neuropathy has been Hair-On-Fire painful since the end of 2009, maybe earlier, to the point where Cemeteries looked comfortable, just kidding, guys! My doc (bless his heart!) just changed my dose and I'm just so thrilled to report that me twigs have been gradually getting a bit better, the stinging, stabbing and burning pain, and let's not forget the electric shock type pain that makes ya squeak like a mouse, is better!
Today will be the tenth day on my gabapentin dose switcheroo, and I'm SO very grateful!!

Yet, I do have some funky side effects, the MAJOR side effect is idiocy or I suppose I should use the words "Cognitive Impairment" : ). I can sit at my desk, typing an email and the right word, or phrase won't come to me until the middle of the night, where I shoot up in bed, into a sitting position and want to write the proper term on paper, and gang, SOMETIMES I DO, at 4am! (That's why I've been at my desk since 4am THIS morning!)

Also, gabapentin either gets me revved up, like an Arabian horse, ready to fly thru the desert! (Or is that dessert, as I've gained a bunch of unwanted pounds! UGH!) It either cranks me up or it makes me Dopey or Sleepy, yes, like Snow White and the Seven Little People, well I can't write "Dwarves" as it's not politically correct, now is it? (I don't want to offend folk and have to write an Open Letter of Apology yet again!) My Xanax can't even calm down my "Arabian horse nerves", which is really a pain in the arse, but I can accomplish a lot more than I used to when my Arabian horse hours hit, a lot comparatively speaking, as the Fibromyfriggin'algia keeps me in some amount of pain. OK, it keeps my muscles cramping and tight and the nerves in my legs twitching and jumping, which is VISIBLE to the naked eye. Yuck.

And the loveliest of all, weight gain, yes it's finally hit me! The Wall of Flab has gotten the best of me and it seems that no amount of starving, walking, dancing can keep it away! Heavy sigh! So, my husband and my bestie have both said to let it go, not to be so vain, for what I'm experiencing (or should I say NOT experiencing?) at this time is a miracle!

To sum up, OR if you didn't want to read all the stuff above, here's the straight scoop...

A) Gabapentin is working @ 300mgs, 3 times a day, lessening the neurop.
B) I'm a nincompoop, now (although my brothers and some folk on this site would argue that I've been that way all my life : )! I must HUNT for words! (I used to have a vast vocab, frustrating!)
C) I'm as hyper as a 9 year old on a sugar buzz and as skittish as an Arabian.
D) Weight gain, ugh, ugh, oh NO! NO! (What goes around, comes around!) I've a theory, there's a certain amount of fat in the world and we all trade it, depending upon whom is eating Maple Pecan Ice Cream and the girls that are currently starving themselves. It's MY TURN, friends! So go put your bikini's on.

Your friend who USED TO have a descriptive vocabulary AND a nice figure,
Lara

Answer

I&rsquo;m taking Gabapentin 400mg 3 times a day. I think it does a pretty decent job of controlling pain, but the other types of sensations tend to come through on and off. I also take Tramadol 50mg every 6 hours. The combination of both is more effective than alone.  As for side effects. I&rsquo;m depressed a lot but I&rsquo;m guessing that&rsquo;s also from the pain dragging on my morale. I&rsquo;m seldom happy. I thought Gabapentin was supposed to make you more chilled out, at first I felt a bit drunk/dizzy but now that&rsquo;s gone. The Tramadol is supposed to have an SNRI effect on me as well, but I don&rsquo;t see that. I have constant Tinnitus. I have some mild to moderate peripheral edema from the Gabapentin. I can&rsquo;t always wear my wedding rings anymore. I have also gained 10lbs and had to cut down on my food intake.   I tried taking Lyrica, but even the lowest dose gave me bad heart palpitations. It felt like a was running a marathon, I was sitting in bed and my heart was running at 140bpm. Very uncomfortable.   I&rsquo;ve started taking r-lipoic acid, resveratrol, benfotiamine and a strong dose of B vitamins. It&rsquo;s too early yet to see if I get any improvements. I also take some joint supplements with SPM, eggshell membrane and glucosamine, chondroitin, turmeric etc. Those definitely help with my range of motion.

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Lara,
OMG I too had a descriptive vocabulary. Never ever thought it could be from Neurontin/gabapentin.
I take 1600mg a day along with 600mg of Lyrica so sometimes I do forget until later and you just made me feel so much better.
Thanks

Answer

I'm taking 100 mg of Gabapentin/Neurontin and still get "electric shocks" in my legs, my back, my arms, neck, feet, everywhere, I didn't think I was supposed to still feel anything as much as did than before I started taking it. I don't have seizures anymore, I had them when I was a toddler after a car accident but they don't happen anymore. Maybe it's my muscles that hurt and not my nerves? I do feel stiff all the time. I almost don't want to sit down anymore because it feels like I sat on a downed telephone wire each time I sit. So I don't know what to say.

Answer

Lara,
You've given all of us a giant laugh. How wonderful of you to brighten our days with your amazing wit and humor. As to word finding, I understand because I had the a big problem with that after my stroke. When I was in the hospital, the doc showed me a page with common pictures like a bed, a tree, a squirrel, etc. I could only name 2 of them!!! After getting speech therapy for months, I still had quite a bit of difficulty coming up with words for years. Now, especially when I get tired, or my migraines get worse, then I'll have difficulty finding words. My brain is compensating for all the stroke damage, so it doesn't take much to upset the balance. And sometimes I'll say the wrong word without even realizing it!! My husband takes it all in stride with humor. We both laugh. It sounds like you are able to also, instead of getting upset.

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As to the weight gain, no sympathy from me--LOL. I used to be overweight which I would trade any day for my hatred of food now from my stroke. When I was severely depressed from all my pain and not being able to do much, I remember crying to the doctor telling her, "I have to get up every day and I HAVE to eat." LOL now.

Oh, I really do understand your frustration with the side effects. I just went off of another med that made me cognitively barely able to function. I would open the cabinet door to put the milk back instead of the frig door. I would stand in the kitchen for awhile trying to figure out what I was supposed to do and then try to find the silverware drawer. But the reason that I went off of it was because of the severe migraines that it caused. Pain is the worst of everything, but it is very frustrating to deal with the side effects.

Hopefully in time your side effects will abate. I really hope so.
With love,
Sara

Votes: +3

Answer

Hi Lara. Been dealing with gabapentin for some time now. Brain fog or pain. Just talked with my doc on Friday. She said, and she has a good humor, "which do you prefer? It is one or the other." So I find my day searching for common words, names and do a lot of pointing going, "you know, the thingy there." Poor Hubby.

It worked well with the shingles. The first week or so had arms and legs flying around when quiet. That stopped. Took 1500 per day. sat around in a fog and worked on ignoring all the breakthrough. Nice benefit is my feet and fingers stopped burning and tingling and aching. Tapered off and then started again as I keep getting breakthrough shingles. Now the hands and feet are back to their usual burning and such. Took one two days ago.

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I empathize with you. But what medications are 100% effective? We all react different and we all tolerate pain different. So here I am, Ms. Bump On a Log of 2013. I use it when I need it for sleep or right when a new breakout occurs. I prefer my mind and can tolerate pain to a certain degree.

As for the anxiety, not having that. No weight gain. I do go back to the Xanax if I am having anxiety out of control. However, was doing that before and it is now rare.

Stay in touch. Wishing you relief and just the right dose to keep you comfortable. Karen

Votes: +3

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So happy for you and I'm glad you could wait to be comfortable in the grave yard!!! But illness will make you feel a certain Way but thankfully the meds are working. '

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Dear Mac, Got quite a few chuckles from your post, which was the first e-mail
I opened this morning:) Your good mood rubbed off on me this A.M.!
So very glad you are feeling better! Have a Great Day... ~~DD~~

Answer

Lara,
Your post was the first I read this morning. I got a good laugh from your humor. I am so envious of all of you folks who can take these meds for the neuropathy. I have tried them all and either they caused petit mal seizures or just didn't work. Oh, to be "as hyper as a 9 year old on a sugar buzz and as skittish as an Arabian." would be heavenly to me. At least it would get my mind off of the pain. I'm not on Gabs but I've still gained weight - 25 pounds! ugh!!! Thank goodness I was a Size 6 before I gained it, so it's not unhealthy weight gain.

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I stand by the statement that I am not getting fat, I am cultivating the grandma lap!! A post on FB perfectly sums it up -- To those people who try to suck the life right out of us --- Why can't you suck some of the fat out too! For your theory about fat trade, I am not wearing a bikini (I say as I scrape the bottom of the ice cream container with a chocolate chip cookie!) ... Lara, I am so, so happy that you have found the meds that work for you. Hopefully, some of the side effects will level out as your body adjusts to the new dosage. Thanks for giving me a smile and a laugh to carry me through the day!
Loves and hugs,
Kathy

Votes: +1

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Lara you're a scream. Lol. I figure you've got to pay for anything and the side effects are the cost. I already had a problem with weight, the other meds I'm on all seem to have it as a side effect. The word finding actually becomes something to laugh at for my friends and I. We love you even if you forget words.

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Glad you're getting some relief!!! I take gabapentin for my neuropathy also. Currently I take 600mg 3x a day and 900mg before bed. The only side effect I noticed was EXTREME drowsines. I don't think I got out of bed for 3 weeks taking 900mg 4x a day before I called my doc and he switched me to the dose I'm currently on. My doc also prescribed me savella, after trying cymbalta and lyrica with no relief, for the constant stinging sensation I was having. I compaired them to bee stings because that was the closest comparison I could make. Savella is a fibromyalgia medication but has giving me great relief for my neuropathy where nothing else had. I've been on it for about 2yrs now and although my pain isn't completely relieved, it is manageable and I can function again.

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Dearest Lara,
I'm so very happy that the Gabs are finally working for you at this new dose. The side effects are a pain in the behind, but remember back to those days when you said you'd do anything if you could just get some relief from the blankety-blank pain?! This is it! We'll get you a dictionary and a thesaurus, gain another 40 lbs or so and you can borrow my clothes and (this hurts me) I'll let you work off all your rambunctousness(?) by cleaning my house!! Oh the sacrifices a friend will make...
Hugs, Lisa

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I can agree with you on the weight gain and "fibro-fog" issues for sure! I was on 600mg, three times a day until yesterday. starting 75mg of Lyrica twice a day today, as I was not getting quite enough  pain relief  to function on a regular/ daily basis ( have also been having problems with numbness in hands and feet). hoping to have better and more consistent relief soon.

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With regards to your side effects constipation is a less serious side effect, feeling restless is a serious side effect, weight gain is also a side effect and so is concentration, this last one is more common in children

I suggest you inform your Dr. on Mon. about what you are experiencing, perhaps your dose needs to be adjusted.

https://www.drugs.com/sfx/neurontin-side-effects.html

Take care,

Votes: +2

Neurontin/gabapentin - have any of you adjusted to the side effects? It's working, though!!?

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