quiiting medications/withdrawel question

I have been taking cymbalta and gabapentin for about a year and a half. my neurologist says i may have mild ms and fybromyalgia .the medicine does not really help vey much, i still have a lot of numbness a lot of difficulty with short term memory,especially when working or trying to be fast, a  lot of muscle spasms. the only releif  i got was from heart papilations and  severe attacks of weakness.So i decide to get off these medications.my doctor said i could just stopp the gagepentin 800mg three times a day. he said to take the cymbalta 30 mg every other day until i was out of it. previously he said if i stopped it to take one every other day for a week then one every two days for a week then keep going up to one every seven days. i have heard their are a lot of withdrawels with this medicine,do you think i should take one every other day until i am out. i think i am getting really depressed about what i have i have quit two production jobs,because it made me feel terrible. i just recently quit a retail job,because i feel so depressed and so dysfunctioonal at my job. i had to type in a lot of information for the customer.and my brain seemed so slow at times. i had an mri that showed a spot that they said came from headaches,not ms. do you think i should find a new neurologist.i have body movements to, my shoulder moves up. use to pick one side of my back off the bed. my have moves forward from my wrist,repeatedly. my doctor said i was taking too much cymbalta. it used to be 60 mg. he cut it back to the 30mg.it did make it get better not as stong,but it is still doing it.my doctor askes me if i want to increas my medicine all the time. i tell him i do not know whatever he thinks is best. is this a normal question about medications. i should say,i am paying you to tell me, i have not been to med shool.  
                                                               thank you for reading this and having forums for us to ask advice.

[selmaS]

Hi....
.find a dr to help u off the meds and look at the MRI results again.

....It is a ashame that drs do this to their patients...but it happens far too often.
Many of ur symptoms can be the result of many diff conditions.

Please find a dr u r comfortable with to help u get off the meds safely.In the meantime u may want to visit the fibro forum here on MedHelp, the members may have ideas on meds for u.

Godspeed
"selma"

[roaseanna]

thanks for your opinion about my medication. what kind of problems have you heard about this way of stopping medications.

                                                                              thanks,roaseanna

[ggreg]

Dear Roaseanna,
I know you asked the other poster about your medication withdrawal, but I can tell you a few things.  Withdrawals from those meds can be uncomfortable on many levels, so you gotta go slow.  Try the most recent method your doc suggested.  The main idea is to reduce how much you take, go a little while until you feel okay again, then reduce some more, and so on.  The process takes time, just think of it as a kind of diet.

As for your doc asking you if you want to increase your meds, this has to do with gabapentin.  Normally people want to increase their dose of that drug a lot in the beginning, until they reach a plateau of comfort.  That's why he asked, he was doing you a favor, so you didn't have to suffer in silence.  But I think your symptoms are so overwhelming in general, that you didn't have an opinion about that.  That's okay, everyone is different.  Besides, you'll soon be down to zero on your meds, and then you'll perhaps know better what your body is up to, and can then proceed with some new drugs.

In summary about the gaba drugs and fibro, people who have fibromyalgia will often be prescribed gabapentin.  That drug is for nerve pain.  Fibromyalgia is very uncomfortable all through the body.  By numbing the discomfort to a level that is therapeutic or works for you, then the idea is you'll be able to manage your fibromyalgia symptoms better.

Now, MS, even the so-called moderate kind you have, it will cause all sorts of wierd stuff to happen in the way of motor activities.  It explains why your muscles have been jerking around.  To have both a form of MS and fibromyalgia, well, no wonder you feel sad and can't concentrate and you've sort of lost your ability to relax well!  You poor thing!  You've been thru so much.  Now, the Cymbalta that you take, I can see no harm in getting off that.  This is mainly because there are a different group of drugs than that one, some used to specifically treat MS, that I think if you'll go to a website devoted to just Multiple Sclerosis, you'll find what treatment is recommended for that disease.  THOSE might be choices a doctor would suggest you take, once you get yourself off the drugs you're on now, so look up some info on MS medications and see what all they do for a person, just to get familiar.

I think you should probably get situated with a new neurologist, and, as the above poster said, have your MRI pictures and report forwarded to him.  Preferably choose a neuro that works with a group of other doctors.  Ask him to list off what he thinks you have, why he thinks that, and what his suggestions might be on treating you for these conditions.  Explain to him how your life is in ruins because of all this stuff, and ask him to please help you as best he can.  Then let him take over the office visit, let him do a complete new workup on you.  

I want to say a couple more things about the gabapentin and also your job situation.  When you finish getting off your drugs, do not be surprised if the new doc decides to give you a similar medication for your fibromyalgia.  It really helps people a lot who have body pain in lots of places, as long as you get enough of the drug.  I take a cousin of what you are on, and I went from 75mg daily right on up to 250mg daily in order to finally get relief.  So, could be the reason it didn't work for you is because you weren't getting enough.  Some people go up to almost triple what I take, each person is different.

On your job situation, I would like to suggest a couple things.  If it's possible for you to do this, then I think you should plan to stop working for a while, perhaps shortly after you get off all your medicines, and after you finally get in for an appointment with your new neurologist.  Just clean the slate and get healthy, in other words.  Then when you're ready to give it another shot, you can do one of two things.  Go to the Employment Security Commission in your area, speak to a work counselor there, tell them exactly what kind of job you would like to have, tell them what jobs did not work for you, and see if they can work on finding you the right fit for a job.  OR another possible choice is to try to find a job you can do at home, perhaps working online in some fashion, there are jobs you can do over the internet.  You have some very serious medical problems, and could be the best solution for you is to work out of your home.  And if not on the internet, perhaps in some other capacity, like being a dog-walker for a group who does that, or being a cleaning person for "Merry Maids" or whatever the name of those folks are in your area.  You don't have to mentally "think" to do those jobs, which seems to be your biggest hurdle.  Those are just suggestions, you can come up with your own work-at-home ideas.

I think after a couple months from now, you'll be off your old meds and on some new stuff, you'll have you a new doctor, and you can take a little time off to "regroup" and evaluate your health situation a little better, which should lead you to then choose the kind of job that suits you, that you can stick with a little better than some of the other work you've been so hurt by, you've tried so hard, but at jobs that simply will not do for a person who has MS and fibro.  Accept you are a sick person and have special needs.  By the way, on the job situation, if worse comes to terrible, you can get on disability for fibromyalgia, but just keep that in your back pocket as something to fall back on if things simply don't get a lot better for you.

I have a lot of health issues, I'm older, I'm on disability, and I'm telling you, life is ten times as hard when you have physical problems.  But if you can figure out exactly what it is you're going to have to live with in the way of health deficits, and if you can give yourself a break about trying too hard, and then move forward from where you are, I think the world will start treating you a little better, and the joy and freedom you want and should have will come your way, even if in small ways, which is better than nothing.
Best wishes, and keep posting, GG

[selmaS]

Hi...sorry I missed ur question, but ggreg gave a great reply!!!

I pray u heed our advice and see a new dr to help u with ur many issues.

Godspeed
"selma"

[roaseanna]

thank you so much for your  advice. it means a lot to me.no one wants to talk to me about what is wrong with me.meaning my family,so your concern means a lot. does fybromyagia make your legs cramp terribly?sometimes my toes get stuck in  a  position and sometimes my abdomen musles lock up. i do not have the painful spots you should have with fybromyalgia.when i tied to tell my family doctor about my muscle pain before i went to the neurologist,i was trying to tell him my pain moved around like one minute in my toes, then in the top of my foot,then back to my toes then my ankle and then in my calf. he did not let me explain,he cut me off when i said it moved around.he said that pain that moved around was in your head and called it a big name. when he seen how i reacted,he said i am sorry. so i never told my neurolgist this. if i get cut off or do not get a reasponce i do not bring it up again.
my neurologist is very good to me,but things are ackward between us. we are attracted to each other,something almost happened one day. it was mutual, but know it is a little stressed we are both married. let me stess nothing happened we almost kissed,that was it. i hold nothing against him because it was mutual.whn it is time for me to go back, sometimes i cancel  or this time i decided to get off my meds for awhile to see what is  my real symptoms or just an reason not ot go. it is hard for me to tell drs. what is wrong with me,all drs.