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  • TDS Moderators: AlphaMethylPhenyl | paranoid android

gabapentin for pain.

rangrz

rangrz

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Mar 23, 2008
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Canada eh, we get milk in bags.
I have neuropathy involving a cranial nerve and my radial nerve. It hurts like a C*** when it gets going, but since going on gabapentin, the pain reduced beyond what even heavy opioid use would do.

something to look at as an alt to opioids for certian types of pain.
 
lyrica is comparable, they are both generally used for various types of 'nerve-damage'.

or as an anti-anxiety alternative recently, ive noticed anyways.

the lyrica i cant tolerate...


this is discussed fairly extensivly though, and should be moved into the "Chronic pain management" thread eventually.


it is awesome to hear that its working for you, i know the struggle, and finding actual relief is an amazing thing, seems like a brilliant privilege...
 
I used Gabapentin for a long time for my fibromyalgia.
It worked really well.

When I got off of it, I slowly weaned down and even then the few weeks after were pretty horrible......The pain was super intense, I guess b/c it had been gone for so long, dealing with it again was hard- and I suffered some depression.

Overall I think Gabapentin is a really good option and I will likely one day be on it again.
Hope it's helpful for you!
 
gabapentin worked only slightly for my nerve pain.... about only 10% as effective as morphine for pain relief in that regard. In addition, it took many 1000s of mg to even be theraputic.... and with a stomach as screwed up as mine, taking as few pills as possible is important.

Lyrica was at least x2-times better than morphine in controlling the pain with damaged nerves.....
It also possesses a far greater risk of abuse than gabapentin; but then again, it is also much less addictive than morphine.

Overdose of either drug causes seizures far before death, but their seizure threshold is pretty high. Still, I'd hazard to say that puking would come far before someone could take enough gabapentin or lyrica to snuff themselves.

In opiate withdrawal, both lyrica and gabapentin are helpful in combating WD symptoms.... with lyrica coming closest to feeling like a full-on opioid agonist.

I've written a lot on Lyrica & gabapentin.
 
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Yeah it does work wonders, i'm on 300mg 4 times a day for a nerve injury in my arm and it works better than Oxy IR and percocet sometimes.

it dont work for a toothache tho.
 
^
no, its only effective for neuropathic pain and to a degree, muscle tension pain. (only as a side effect of being a GABA agonist and thus cns depressant)

toothache responds BEST to local sodium channel blocker anastesia, followed by opioids.
 
Please be sure to take this one " as directed" those people taking heroic dose are really screwing with their tolerance. It should stay effective for several years if used properly. Most people end up with lyrica but be careful its a powerful drug. Withdrawals are brutal and similar to benzos in a way but with less duration. Great pain medicine and much better that opiate therapy but will they ever make a pain med that actually work that has no withdrawal symptoms....wtf????
 
To paraphrase Burroughs;
"An highly potent pain-killer/narcotic with no physically addictive properties would be like a latter day philosopher's stone."
 
^ too right which is why i don't think we will ever have a very effective painkiller that is not addictive to some extent.

I take morphine and gabapentin for neuropathic pain and both cause WD's but gabapentin wuithdrawals can actually be abit more painful for me. I once couldnt get my gabapentin for the month covered due to fucking insurance screwing me up and every touch felt super sensitive and i was getting RLS as well as shocks of pain everytime i bumped into something and even the morphine wasent helping that.
 
what are some signs you have had to much of either med?

or, what are some signs that may indicate a missed dose or the starts of w/d?


i ask in general for myself-&-others to see any pattern in individual, and to be of some reassurance.


there are negative and adverse reactions to almost anything, and its nothing to be afraid of, but to be aware, for myself is most settling.


they are also dangerous/powerful potentators of benzos alcohol and opioids...
 
michael said:
neurontin is horrid shit with terrible side effects. you couldn't pay me to take it again. pain is preferable.
Click to expand...

I never got too much in the way of side effects from gabapentin at all. The only thing i noticed was a worsening of depression when i got my dose increased a few times. But then again my moods wherent stabilized at the time so it might not have had anything to do with it. Besides that the only other thing i got was drowsiness when i first got it added to my morphine. Right now im on 3200mg's a day and i don't get any real side effects from it at all and since it actually helps my trigeminal neuralgia there isint much in the way of side effects i wouldnt put up with.
 
michael said:
neurontin is horrid shit with terrible side effects. you couldn't pay me to take it again. pain is preferable.
Click to expand...

What were the side effects you experienced, michael?

My neuropathic pain is largely in remission right now; Valium seems to keep it mostly in check. I found that chiropractic ultrasound treatments worked the best for me. Also, adding spicier foods into my diet helped a lot.

Lyrica would be prohibitively expensive for me. It is not covered on my stupid Rx insurance.

Shows that some things work for some people but not others. Rangrz, hope you're feeling better soon. <3
 
mania, paranoia, anxiety, aphasia, depression, fuzzy vision, being in a general fog all the time, probably more that i am forgetting but you can probably get the gist of it.

there is a reason that people call it morontin.
 
michael said:
mania, paranoia, anxiety, aphasia, depression, fuzzy vision, being in a general fog all the time, probably more that i am forgetting but you can probably get the gist of it.

there is a reason that people call it morontin.
Click to expand...

All of the above for me except the mania, paranoia, and aphasia. Have you considered consulting a PNI (psychneuroimmunology) specialist MD? Your symptoms could be explained by several things and a PNI could probably crack right through them. Could be fibromyalgia, but that would not explain the aphasia. Not being a doc myself, I would advise you to consult with the real deal.

Rangrz - I reiterate my suggestion that you see a chiro. Saved my sciatic nerve and the right side of my body after an accident down concrete stairs. I am aware your problem is different. I still advocate the neuropathic-friendly diet with lots of spices, specifically curries and turmeric. Go to the pizza parlor and get extra peppers! <3

michael - I did not use Neurontin (morontin, lol) for any significant length of time, but we are considering it if the diet and exercise does not work out. I've found relief in simple old Valium but it impairs my lifestyle more than I wish it to. I did not find Neurontin to be anything except gentler.
 
I'm on 600 mg 3x per day (gabapentin/neurontin). Maybe something is wrong with me, but the effects are non-existent and when I stop I don't feel any different. I've been taking it for years, and my results can easily be written off as a side effect of my on and off again poly drug abuse, but there were periods of 6 months or more in my 10+ year history of drug abuse where I have stuck to the prescribed neurontin regimen with no discerning results. I always assumed, until reading this thread, that it was an ineffective drug prescribed mainly to limit doctors' liability while still giving the appearance of treatment. The reason i say this is because they basically prescribe it for a different reason every time ime without really listening to me, sort of the same attitude I could imagine if the doctors were prescribing some ineffectual holistic medication.
 
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