Aa
Post Shingles outbreak
Anyone who has taken Gabapentin (Neurontin) for a couple of months for the nerve pain post Shingles outbreak:
What was the dosage you took to deal with the nerve pain and how long did you take it before the nerve pain stopped? I'm not concerned about the safety of the Neurontin at the low dosage I'm taking. I'm actually more concerned about the effectiveness.
What was the dosage you took to deal with the nerve pain and how long did you take it before the nerve pain stopped? I'm not concerned about the safety of the Neurontin at the low dosage I'm taking. I'm actually more concerned about the effectiveness.
Best Answer
I am so in sympathy with you. I was diagnosed with shingles (right side of my face) in October 2011 and was prescribed 600 mgs. of Gabapentin 3 times daily. I have since been diagnosed with post herpetic neuralgia. I was prescribed 5 mg of Oxycodone as needed along with the Gabapentin for the God-awful stabbing pain and accompanying painful creepy crawly sensations. This pain has been so bad that I have cried myself to sleep on occasion. The neuralgia began in January and I've noticed for the past week that the sensations and the pain come and go. I rarely take the Oxycodone but still need the Gabapentin on the prescribed basis. I hope this information is of some help to you. Please ask me any relevant questions that you think I may be able to assist you with. I have a follow-up with my doctor Thursday and if I have any information that I think may be of use to you, I will send you a post. Good luck!
Thank you. That is helpful information. I'm at only 200 mg. The only problem I have with Neurontin (Gabapentin) is that it definitely makes me drowsy even at a low dose. I know when it's near time to take it again, too, though, because the nerve pain starts nagging me. Thankfully, I never get the horrendous rash that people talk about. I'm thinking it's because I only had three pox when I had chicken pox as a baby, according to what my mother told me. Yeah, I do get that stabbing pain. It likes to get me under the left scapula. I would liken this stabbing pain to someone driving a long sharp needle into the places with the worst pain. Then, of course, there are the crawly feelings that make one itch. And, some of it feels like it burns. I am thankful childhood chicken pox was as mild as I describe, because I am sure that the nerve pain would be worse like yours must be. What I have been experiencing is bad enough. Now I know that if this doesn't feel better soon with the 200 mg dose every 6 hours that I can ask for a higher dose if I need to. I am pretty sure that 600 mg is still considered to be relatively low. I can't forget to take this stuff either, because right about the time I'm supposed to take it, I start feeling the nerve pain. Speaking of which, I have to go take the dose I am prescribed.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Neurology Community
Top Neurology Answerers
Allentown, PA
ON
Queensland, Australia
Queen Creek, AZ
Find out how beta-blocker eye drops show promising results for acute migraine relief.
In this special Missouri Medicine report, doctors examine advances in diagnosis and treatment of this devastating and costly neurodegenerative disease.
Here are 12 simple – and fun! – ways to boost your brainpower.
Discover some of the causes of dizziness and how to treat it.
Discover the common causes of headaches and how to treat headache pain.
Two of the largest studies on Alzheimer’s have yielded new clues about the disease
