Posted on 05/19/2018 8:06:25 AM PDT by Fhios
Anybody have experience taking this drug? It's interaction with morphine sulfate? Does anybody take this for Sciatica?
i've had no interaction with my diabetes (insulins) or BP meds and no side effects except the ability to SLEEP, which can be a plus. i've been told that morphine and other opiods do not work well on nerve pain.
i've been offered scrips for lyrica which is in the same drug family (gabapentin is a presursor) but haved turned it down ... so far anyhow.
Have you tried a combination mineral pill containing
Calcium, Magnesium and Zinc? It helped with my toe pains.
I buy the generic brand of “Naturalist” found over the counter.
I too, was prescribed Gabapentin, and did some reading on it when I got home. Was told that one should not just stop it suddenly. Was told that some people gain weight on it, and the weight does not come off very easily, if at all.
I am already fat. I don’t really need any help getting even fatter.
So, for me those two qualities were dealbreakers.
I keep the Gaba around, just in case my pain returns and is
not treatable by the Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc tablets.
I make sure to eat a piece of bread or something for the first few days. The dose for this manufacturer is three pills up to three times daily. As needed for that type of pain. If you don’t need it that day, don’t take it that day. After a few weeks, I stopped having that pain.
This was post foot surgery on my right foot. The nerve pain was in my left foot.
I don't use a plumber for my electrical work.
What did your MRI show?
Mom took it, but started at too high a dose (1,000 mg/day). The side effects (balance disturbance) were too great for her at that initial dose, and she stopped it.
When it was my turn (blech!) my primary care physician started me at 50mg 4xday. He had me work upward until I was taking 600mg 4xdaily (total 2400mg in one 24 hours period). It completely eliminated my neuropathy pain.
After several years, I noticed that missing a dose had no consequence! So, I experimented with a 3xdaily regimin. It worked! Doc thinks this results from successful controlling my blood glucose over those 3-4 years. Ten years out, I still take 600mg exdaily, but I can still miss a dose with minimal results. I need to miss two doses before discomfort begins, and then it takes 3-5 hours before blood concentrations of the drug are high enough to bring relief.
When starting the drug, the main consequence is balance. In my case, I noticed that when I made rapid turnings (say going around a corner in the house, or turning in place) I would seem to keep turning (!). The consequence for mobility is obvious.
However, this side effect abated slowly over several weeks. I can barely recall today what it was like. Once it went away, it never returned. I'm assuming this comes from a bodily acclimatizing to the drug.
Just a suggestion. I chose MLS Laser (Light) therapy for my sciatica and degenerative disc. It was a miracle. Here’s some info: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do2BlxYdKO0
i got PN too from chemo- you haven’t found anything to help huh? I suppose not much can be done to repair damaged nerves- They say benfotiamine and alpha lipoic acid are supposed to help- but I’ve been taking them over a month now with no discernible change in numbness/pain
there are several potentially roguh side effects you shoudl be aware of:
Report any new or worsening symptoms to your doctor, such as: mood or behavior changes, anxiety, panic attacks, trouble sleeping, or if you feel impulsive, irritable, agitated, hostile, aggressive, restless, hyperactive (mentally or physically), depressed, or have thoughts about suicide or hurting yourself.
https://www.drugs.com/gabapentin.html
Lucky you! Glad the pain is gone. I have degenerative disc disease and have suffered with sciatica for about 10 years now. Have seen various docs. Some say they can fix it some say it’s iffy because of the domino effect it would have on my spine so I have just let it be. Hubby had surgery and is in worse pain now. The epidurals/cortisone worked on me a few times and then zero effect so that’s no longer an option. I take tramadol a few times a day and it helps but the pain is always there.
“My muscular and joint strength returned with therapy.”
Amazing how that works with a good therapist and a patient wanting to feel better without drugs or surgery.
Two+ years ago my wife was diagnosed with some collapsing back discs and was told too have surgery. We knew this great PT, and she went to him for about a year. She follows his recommended PT regimen every morning for 30 minutes before she starts her day.
Now, she has some similar problems with her neck and upper shoulders.
A new PT has started her on 15 minutes of neck/upper shoulder exercises each morning plus using the micro wave able Neck pad for warm and moist heat after exercises and twice a day. Her improvement after a week is amazing.
I have taken it.
I didn’t like it for neuropathy and stopped taking it.
I like morphine better.
Lol! - I carried my coccyx pillow all over the college campus when I went back to school a few years ago and found myself sitting on those hard chairs hours every day!
Also, for me there’s no need for a thick pillow. Mine is thin like the one in the photo. A friend got a thick one and it was uncomfortable.
I was on Meloxicam for about 10 years. Pound by pound slowly gaining weight and couldn’t figure out why. Finally looked up my meds and there were people screaming about massive weight gain on Meloxicam, even though that’s not listed as a side effect. Doc took me off it, since the weight is as hard on my back as anything else, and upped my tramadol and in about the last month and a half have lost 10 lbs.....and haven’t changed a thing. The weight went on slow so it’s okay by me if it comes off slow.
She says it works for the pain but it also makes her fuzzy. She takes it at night usually.
The effect is to fuzz out the pain in my lower back. Hope this helps.
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I’ve had it for leftover nerve damage from shingles.
As the nerves either healed or shut off, I went off it.
Good stuff for what it was for.
My vet has prescribed it for our dog’s pain relief.
This drug is the only drug I can take for nerve pain.You should get used to 1 pill 4 X a day w/o driving until you can tolerate it’s tendency to cause tiredness. Do not listen to these VA clowns who want people on 16 pills a day. See a good neurosurgeon. Lyrica is the other option. It can/will cause crazy thoughts.
I’m uninsured so I shopped around. Prices were all over the radar screen - 35-50 dollars.
I purchased my gabapentin at costco. 300mg, 90 pills was only $7.49.
My doctor prescribed gaba and tramadol for an undiagnosed pain I’m having in my left hip (extreme pain), much lesser pain in my lower back and sciatia.
The pain is unbearable at times and I only get nominal relief from the meds.
I just started taking it for Sciatica. I’m on my third day of 3 x daily. So far, no side effects. Also, no relief. Physical therapy hasn’t done squat either.
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