Neurontin

Description

Side effects

(Don't be unduly alarmed. All drugs cause side effects for some patients)

Warnings

(These are standard cautions but may not apply in your case)

Comments

Remember - RSD/CRPS is rooted in the nervous system. The discovery that epilepsy drugs may have beneficial effects for RSD patients does not imply that they have epilepsy.

About a month and a half ago my left foot and ankle started bothering me. Thinking it was just from when I broke it 4 years ago I just went on about my business. It got worse and worse. Finally, after a week of not being able to do anything and constant pain, burning, feeling like my foot was being stuck with pins I went to our local emergency room and the Dr. On duty had no clue what was wrong with it. I made my own appointment with a Doctor. In Augusta, Georgia and he said he "thinks" I have RSD (if it is then I'm lucky it was caught early). He put me on Neurontin, 600 mgs. a day and about 2 to 3 weeks into it I noticed the burning and pin pricking went away. I'm still having pain, but have been able to wear a shoe but the big test will be at a trail ride this weekend. Anyway, I strongly advise anyone on Neurontin to drink lots of water. I feel so dry all the time. I have been getting headaches, dizziness, and sometimes just feel generally "blurry" but like I said it has helped that burning and pin prick feeling. I'm not taking any pain killers. I am really funny about medicines and don't like taking things together so I'm just dealing with the pain. I want to stress again, DRINK LOTS OF WATER if you are taking Neurontin. Jennifer - Harlem, Georgia, USA

They want to try neurontin. but I don't want it. You see I'm a nurse, working in a pain center, and I see a lot of weight gain with Neurontin. Giselle - USA

I wish you all the best with Neurotonin, I ended up on 2,400mg per day and I was as if I had been drinking all day. I was wobbling and my speech was slurred and I put on several stone in weight. I found that I did not gain much relief - but what works for one does not work for another. That's RSD for you. Derek - Wales

It's nice to know that I'm not losing my mind. I have been on Neurontin for only 2 months and I noticed that I was forgetting things, like paying some of my bills. Telling people something and not remembering it. I have gained about 15lbs since taking this medication. I seem to crave sugar a lot. I can say that it did take away the shooting razor pains in my knee and ankle. But it hasn't done anything for my swelling, color, temperature or achy pain in my leg. Now it is spreading to my left foot and I think my left hip as well. It was 7 months after a car accident that I was diagnosed with RDS/CRPS. Before the Neurontin the pain was unbearable. I'm still not able to do the things I did before my accident, but at least with the Neurontin and the Eavil I sleep through most nights. The cold weather and dampness seem to increase the pain. Lissa - Chesterfield, Virginia, USA

This site was very helpful. I have been taking Neurontin since July, 2005 and have gained 35 pounds in 4 months. I thought I was going nuts. The only thing that is different that could have caused the weight gain is the neurontin. I admit it has helped relieve my severe leg pain, which was getting unbearable. But I am so upset about the weight gain. Does anyone know if I stop taking the neurontin, will I lose weight? Thanks for the information from everyone about this drug. MKKPCC - USA

I have very positive things to say about Neurotonin (Gabapentin) For me this is 100% effective for my burning pain. I could not live without it. However, it does not address other types of pain. Pam - Brisbane, Australia

I have recently been prescribed the above drug for help with the pain of RSD/CRPS, until now I have been using a TENS machine and routine strong painkillers/anti-inflammatories. This drug, so far, is proving excellent. I have had a proper nights sleep for the first time in nearly 9 months, and I am almost pain-free on good days, and significantly better on bad days - to the extent that I can still work. I am only in the early days of using it but it seems a miracle! Heather - South West England

I am 13 years old and I have been on Neurontin for 3 months and it hasn't done anything. At first I started out on 900mgs per day but now the doctor has increased it to 2700mgs and it is awful. I get bad headaches, sweating, dizzy and very tired! I am also gaining weight but that could be from crutches for 5 months but I don't think so....any way I know this to be the cure for some people a 15 yr. old was sitting in class one day and he was on Neurontin and the pain just disappeared. I hope the best for you with this medication! Joan - New Jersey, USA

I've had RSD for 10 months and I've taken neurontin for 7 months (it took 3 months for the doctors to diagnose me) Neurontin has been a godsent to me, only tiredness when I'm increased but after a few days my body gets used to this. I started out taking 300mg 2x's and now I'm taking 2700mg's a day. It has relieved the being skinned feeling and the intense burning, although it has made me gain 25 lbs to date I needed to gain anyway. The only problem is that about every 6 wks my dose needs to upped. Jackie - Somerdale, New Jersey, USA

From my experience, this drug helps to control the piercing pain that feels like getting zapped by 220! I experience very few, to no, side effects. Peggy - Belle Plaine, Iowa, USA

I have RSD and Peripheal Poly-neuropathy in all my limbs. I've been on Neurontin for 4 months now starting at 300 mgs - 3 times a day then last month got moved up to 600mgs - 3 times a day. This drug almost drove me crazy. I was mean, hateful, forgetful, agitated all the time and gained 30 lbs in 4 months. It did nothing for my pain. I now have Topamax only 3 days and I sure hope it works. Karen - Florida

I am a 38year old female, diagnosed with RSD following a horrible snow skiing accident...ON MY HONEYMOON. Yes, as one could imagine, my life is not the one that I wanted for my husband, or myself for that matter.
My burning started, instantly, on the slopes. In fact, I am so good that I gave myself a 2nd degree Chryo Burn behind my leg, "trying to put the fire out that was under my knee." However, I did such damage to my entire leg, NO ONE listened or should I say put 2 & 2 together. So we lost 12 weeks before I was diagnosed. Then I lost another 8 weeks being sent to someone who knew NOTHING about RSD, and he's a NEUROLOGIST at DUKE UNIVERSITY! Anyway, it started in my L knee, now it's in both feet, both hands and forearms and my left side of my face. My burning is under control for the most part in thanks to physical therapy, aqua therapy and medication (which I'm trying to get off of). My surgeon started me on Neurontin, instantly, and my dose is now 2700mg, daily. I've ALWAYS been a petite gal. NOT anymore, (in my eyes). I've gained at least 30lbs. (all my MD's say I should expect 50lbs! lucky me) HOWEVER, the good news is I've recently hired a Wellness Coach, and I am dropping inches and feeling amazing! He is the FIRST person (including all the darn waste of time MD's I've been sent to) who has actually taken time to research RSD, extensively, along with all my prescriptions, and has given me a diet that will get rid of all of the YEAST that Neurontin/Oxicontin/Ambian will provide in my "belly", "bottom" etc. Within the first 4 days, I've dropped down 2 inches in my stomach! Our goal obviously is to get me off the hard stuff. As I'm sure you've all read, all the drugs that we are taking to "help us with our horrific pain" are interfering with the body's ability to work on its own.
I will be happy to share any of the information he's giving me. I do have an appointment with a doctor in Greenville SC, he specializes in "whole body RSD". I believe it was your website that turned me on to him. THANK YOU! Shaun - Durham, North Carolina, USA

Neurontin has been wonderful to me. It immediately went to work on my burning, excruciating pain and now I do not suffer all that anymore. I'm 115 lbs., very petite, and I take 2100 mg a day with no side effects - ever. I used to take 2400 mg but I'm trying to cut down to see if I'm getting any better. My only warning is not drinking alcohol with Neurontin as it can make you feel dizzy and sleepy, and not in the good alcohol way. I have gained no weight, zilch - and I'm so sensitive to other medications that I do not even take birth control pills! If you have not tried it yet, do not hesitate. It was Neurontin and acupuncture that got me back on track. Elena - Baltimore, Maryland, USA

I've been taking Neurontin for four months now and the spasms have improved greatly. But - the weight gain is making me think I have to stop taking this drug as this can't be healthy. It's definitely affecting my memory too, family members find it funny, but I certainly don't. It's very frustrating to forget something in just a few seconds. Now I have to decide whether to stop or not. Julie - Derby, Derbyshire, UK

I have been taking 1800 mg of Neurontin for three years now. However following surgery (thoracotomy) to remove a tumour which proved benign the RSD/CRPS spread. I now have difficulty lying downeither on my back, sides or front due to pain. However I have now been prescribed Clonazepam! I am supposed to take 2mg 3 X daily but due to the soporific effects I restrict it to 1 at night before going to bed.
I find the side effects, - if that is what they are - rather disturbing. My depression seems to have deepened and I have a distinct lack of motivation. Also I found myself in a mess the other day that I ended by crying in my wife's arms whilst she tried to bathe me. I don't like feeling sorry for myself and I don't like looking backwards at what I have lost through RSD/CRPS.
I have a question for which I would appreciate an informed answer, 'should Clonazepam and Neurontin be combined?' Does anyone else feel like me that we are taking drugs to combat the RSD/CRPS and then other drugs to counter the side effects, which in turn require other medications to neutralise their adverse impacts. Martin - Northwich, Cheshire, UK

Clonazepam and Neurontin combination. I have been taking Clonazepam and I am begining to take higher doses of Neurotin. I have been a little more confrontational lately and extremely constipated. Otherwise I am sleeping (a major plus) and though I am having to take less meds for breakthrough pain, I find that my rsd is spreading to areas that were not originally affected. Jenne - Anchorage, Alaska, USA

At last! Thank heavens for the net. No-one has been able to explain my 30kg weight gain. I was a slim 54kg working in a jeans shop when I fell off a ladder and injured my back. In an attempt to take me off one type of pain meds they gave me Neurontin (I ended up staying on both) but am now an Australian size 18 and can't even tie my own shoes I'm so fat. I am only on 100mg 3 times a day but I am suffering severe memory loss and severe electrical type shooting pains. I have been trying to address the weight gain - I even ordered a mini trampoline. However, after reading this site I think I shall re-evaluate whether I can drop the Neurontin. I seem to be on such a low dose compared to other contributors but then I take 27 pills a day so I would say the 3 Neurontin tablets are interacting with another med. Does it intensify the effect of the others? Debbie - Sydney, Australia