Guest guest Posted April 18, 2004 Report Share Posted April 18, 2004 Deni, I just wanted to ask you a question about neurontin. I recently visited with a neurologist that put me on neurontin. I was just wondering how long it took before you noticed a significant difference. I have been taking it about 2 weeks now and at first noticed a bit less pain in my legs, but more in my arms and hands. Now, it seems that the roles have reversed. I am typing faster and better than I have since high school but have had more trouble walking and standing for any amount of time. Any ideas on this? Or is it just that I have taken advantage of the neurontin, in overworking my leg muscles, and not using my hands/arms enough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 19, 2004 Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 , My experience with Neurontin - the sudden electric type sparks pain in my arms was manageable within 3 days of starting N. I took N for 1 year, just to pacify my doc. Nothing else in my life changed, except at first it seemed like someone had fine tuned my brain - things seemed clearer and colors brighter. At about 6 months I started noticing an major amphethamine-like reaction after taking the first tab of the day in the a.m. Like I was speeding. Really kicked up my tremors too.So I cut back to 600 mg every day. Towards the end of that year, I felt more like I did when I took Ritalin - moving fast, talking fast, fast, fast, fast. I hated the feeling. This kind of reverse effect happened. I quit taking it all together; the original electric sparks type pain has not returned either. This was maybe 3 or 4 years ago. ~ Gretchen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 5, 2004 Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 please advise on this pain med you write of. i take six to eight vicodens a day - all they do is make one not care. do you think this would help me as well? thanks, dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 6, 2004 Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 Dave, Neurontin (generic Gabapentin) does help with types of nerve pain. I took it for about a year for some 'electrical' sparks type pain. I was an instant responder - felt a difference within a few days. About 1/3 of people taking it have this response. Another 1/3 persons have a good response within 3 months, and another 1/3 do not respond at all. It sure beats living on opiates, I know that well. We have plenty of archived posts on Neurontin you might want to read. Why not ask your doctor about this and if it would be something for you to try? ~ Gretchen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 7, 2004 Report Share Posted May 7, 2004 Hi Dave: Further to Gretchen's post, I do take Neurontin also called Gabapentin. I started with 400 mg/day after I was diagnosed in 2000. I am presently taking 2,000 mg./day. The dosage was increased over time until my current amount which I just started 2 months ago. I find it works for me. The pain in my fingers and toes is tolerable today. Over the past almost 4 years I monitored my pain levels along with my neurologist, and increased the dosage gradually. Apparently 2000 mg./day is still considered a low dosage for the type of pain we have. Some patients are taking as high as 4800-5400 mg./day, which would be the maximum. I feel very lucky that I do not have any side effects from Gabapentin. Gabapentin is not addictive either, which is very important to me. I do not wish to get involved in any drugs that are addictive, as I am an addictive person by nature. Regards, Beckingham Corporate Nice Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 9, 2004 Report Share Posted June 9, 2004 Hi : It is sad to see your doctor pushing away other issues you need to discuss. This truly gets me upset...I cannot stand an arrogant doctor. Anyway, the jury is still out on whether Neurontin can help with your depression. There have been some studies on this, but I really don't think, from what I have read and discussed with my psychiatrist, that Neurontin assists people with depression or mood swings. My psychiatrist has never, and would never prescribe Neurontin for depression or mood swings. He did some research for me in 2001. He called the head guru in Canada for me to find out if the Neurontin I was taking for neuropathic pain could also help with depression or mood swings. His response was " absolutely not " . I would need a med specific to depression, i.e. Effexor. That's all for now. I think you can find out more from other people, but I would be cautious with using Neurontin for depression. Regards, Beckingham Corporate Nice Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 12, 2004 Report Share Posted June 12, 2004 Hi and , I've been away for a few days and just picked up a bit of this discussion in going over the old posts. I thought I'd just add my two cents worth. As far as I know, is correct that Neurontin, on its own, cannot be used to treat depression. It can, however, be used in conjunction with an antidepressant as a very effective " booster " . My psychiatrist has an extensive knowledge of psycopharmacology (whew! what a word ) and prescribed Neurontin when the other antidepressants were doing a poor job of pulling me out of a very bad and prolonged depression. The effect was almost immediate and remarkable. I wouldn't give up this drug for anything. but I have to have the antidepressants too, of course. I don't know if this is of any help at all as I do not have 's original post, so disregard it if it does not apply to the situation. Janus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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