neurontin and withdrawal

[charliecallie]

How many people on this site have been put on neurontin for pain issues, etc?

I have done reading on the side effects, withdrawals from this drug and it is scary.   I have a whole *hitload of this stuff and have not touched it.  

Why are we becoming the guinea pigs for many of these drugs that have been on the market for a short time?  I just would like some feedback.

Thanks
Chuck

[Sunnyd210]

Well Chuck I thought I might share that I take Cymbalta to help with the pain I wouldnt go for the Neurontin but the Cymbalta helps both my pain and with depression.

[SFgirll853]

I took Neurontin for a while but it made me too sleepy and groggy.  My doctor did have me taper off of it before switching to Lyrica.  I now take one Lyrica before bed and it has helped me IMMENSELY with the nerve pain/damage in my arm and hand without feelng foggy.  I am now only taking Lyrica and Motrin.  Works very well for me.  I dont see how it could be abused as it doesnt give any euphoric effects.  

[StacyCPHT]

i was on neurontin in 2000.. It was an older drug then... lets just say the docs increased and increased and I spent 8 days in the hospital, lost my license, and had 55 electrodes attached to my head with glue for those 8 days and was on video to determine if that is what was causing the focal seizures I started having. AVOID.-my vote b/c it was the cause.

[charliecallie]

Well said.I am not knocking anyone for taking it.

I just would not want to be surprised with withdrawals, seizures, etc.

Sure, some can take it.  Might be okay if the person is not on a lot of different medications.  They might be also able to take it if they are on a diuretic per se which will filter out the drug faster.  There are so many different reasons.

But, call the drug company that makes this drug and ask them if there have been sufficient studies done on patients taking this and another drug like Vioxx, like Cymbalta, Celebrex, Boniva.   What about a diabetic?  Can they take this w/ the new drug while being on insulin?   There are no studies on how these drugs interact w/ each other and the efficacy.  We are the studied ones.  And that is scary to me.

[jerrip]

What if any experience do you have with pain, diabetes or drugs...I am experenced in all areas and more.  I used neurontin many years ago, and had no ill effects.  I use cymbalta now for diabetec neuropathy....When you are in trememdous pain, and terrible health you will take anything they give you.  I am on 18 different prescriptions a day for heart, diabetes, asthma, emphasema, high blood pressure, fibromyalgia, a back that spasms  so badly the muscle sticks out over an inch.....oh well etc etc etc....don't just say don't take it....and walk away with some kind of halo .....walk in my shoes for a day.....oh I forgot I have 5 stents in my heart also.  I am 65 years old and eat boys like you for breakfast.    Jerri

[Anaxis]

I've been prescribed Nurontin for almost a year now for nerve damage, and I stopped taking it as it didn't do any of what my doc promised it would do.  I was on IIRC 350mg 2x/day, in conjunction with my regular pain-meds, and after stopping the Nurontin I felt no ill-effects.  I have also experimented in taking it to alleviate RLS symptoms and sleep disturbances when WDing off of my morphine.  It did nothing to help.

The only use of gabapentin in detox from opiates I've found is with those "rapid 24hr detox" clinics that people pay thousands of $$$ for.  Nurontin is amongst the smorgasbord of drugs they pump into a sleeping addict, I believe for the anti-seizure properties.  I've also found referrence a while back that gabapentin is also a mild opiate antagonist, which may account for it's use in "rapid detox".