Needs some input on nerve pain, Neurontin

[bammaw]

Lately I've been having some intermittent nerve pain, worse is in my right arm and hand. Strong shock like sensation, hurts, then lingering pins and needle like feeling for a minute or so. Also get sharp shock like pains in some toes and a few other spots from time to time (ouch). Anyway, neuro ruled out diabetic neuropathy, MRI shows no new lesions (yay) but nerve test shows "inflammed or irritated" nerve (per dr most likely the MS). Though my pain is not constant he has prescribed Neurontin for it. He said it will help "calm the nerve (s)" and also hopefully prevent it from happenening in the future.

Who takes Neurontin for nerve pain? Does anyone think my symptoms warrent such a medication? My dr didn't push it but gently recommended it still leaving it up to me. I've got the Rx in hand so to speak but haven't filled it yet. He suggested I take one in the evening for a few days to "see how I do with it" and then he has prescribed 600mg daily (200mg three times a day). I'm concerned about side effects, mainly will it make me drowsy and doped up. I watch my five year old grandson a few days a week and also help my aging (92 yo) mother running her to her shopping and dr and hair appt several days a week. Can't be "doped up" on meds but sure hate the discomfort from the shocks. I worry that there could be long term damage done if I don't do something for these shock like feelings.

Help...could use some feedback. Thanks ahead of time.

[mtnwillow]

I take Neurontin for the very same pain you are experiencing. At first it made me a little sleepy, now I cannot go to sleep (smile). I take 600mg at bedtime and it makes the burning/tingling/restless pain more bearable. I can tell when I've missed a dose because the symptoms get worse. I've been told by physician and pharmacist that Neurontin is a very safe effective drug. Dosing can be from 100mg to 2400mg per day.
I hope you feel better soon.

[isamadjul]

Just my advice

I would give it a try but if I where you I would ask my doc if 100mg at night for 1 wk to start with would be ok. Then if you want to build up with another 100mg at noon or in the morning...or take 200mg at night. In my opinion though I would always build my dose up over a wks time.

It can make you tired so I would start it at night maybe a couple hrs before "normal" bedtime. Then you have a better idea if you will be tired from it. I take 3000mg a day but I started at 100mg...don't go thinking you'll have to go up to my dose. A lot of ppl stay low on it and a lot don't take it and a lot take a high dose...its kinda broken down into 1/3rds in my head. NOT IN ANY MEDICAL BOOKS just in my head!!!

Unless I'm getting sick though I don't get tired anymore from the meds. I've gotten use to them

isamadjul
(allyson)

[dpmich]

I've resisted taking the Neurontin with my ms pain as I'd taken it years ago and I didn't like the side effects I got with it. The rx'ing Dr at the time though just had me start taking the full dose to begin with. No ramping up at all.

So with this newest exacerbation I just went through, I talked to my Neuro about it again. We've agreed I'll try it again, just slow build up. It will take a month before I am on the dose she wants me to start at. I appreciate that she understands my concerns. She even wrote out exactly how & when I am to take how many pills. I sure hope it works this time for me. (without the problem I'd had) My reaction was to a) fall asleep while driving b) sleep paralysis c) fall asleep when motionless for about 2 minutes. She thinks that just slamming into a med isn't good for us in general.

Neurontin doesn't seem to have the side effects that Lyrica does and is a whole lot cheaper to boot. I hope you are willing to give it a try and to see if it helps you. I think it's to be taken regularly though, not a pill here and there like an aspirin when you need it. Good luck to you.

Debbie

[wkikta]

Starting with just a dose at bedtime for a week then adding one in the morning and as needed more during the day can help your body adjust to any side effects. I started at 1x300mg at bedtime then increased to 3x300mg per day. 2400mg is kind of the upper mid level of dosing, I have seen dosing of 4800-7200mg per day. You use whatever works. Lyrica, the new Neurontin, is much stronge so the dose is lower. Neurontin has been generic (Gabapentin) for a while so it is fairly cheap.

[valeriem2220]

My Dr has me on Lyrica...I still suffer with the pain...this is all new to me but this doesn't seem like it is working for me...he just upped my dosage yesterday so hopefully it will help more.

[bammaw]

Thanks a bunch for your input. More questions for you....what kind of nerve pain have you had? How often and how long does it last? Just wondering how I compare to the rest of you. It may help me with my decision to take...or not take...the Neurontin. My symptoms are intermittent. Today hardly at all.

[dpmich]

My "pain" is intermittent as well. It is always there, just somedays at levels I can ignore if needed for awhile. The rest of the time I'd pretty much beg for mercy if needed to stop it. It's the intensity that gets me. My pain is a buzz, pulsating, burn, tingle, vibration in my calves and feet (mostly on the left). It spreads upward on bad days and keeps climbing. It doesn't sound too bad when I type the words, but oh to be able to share the sensation with someone that doesn't have it... now that would be priceless.

Debbie

[Shiela]

Doc started me on 300 mg of Neurontin and I got side effects ('ice cream headache' in my hand, feet, hips and sacrum). Told him I was going off and he suggested a lower dose (100 mg) for a week. I did and the side effects went away and it started helping.

[seal]

I have been on Neurotin for about 5 years. My neurologist put me on it for an unrelated (or so they think) head problem (hemicranial continua). This was long before I was diagnosised with MS (just diagnosised last month).

I would give up a kidney before I gave up Neurotin! I had SEVERE head pain and pressure on the left side of my face, constantly. Whenin a week, pain cleared up.

The bad thing of being on the Neurotin so long is I think it may have lessened the severity of some symptoms of the MS and that may be why it took so long to diagnosis.

Neurotin is relatively cheap and from the research I done, has very little side effects. But, any side effects may be harder when you have a flare up.

[jlm307]

I take Neurontin 3 times a day at 600MG each time, I would not trade it for anything, besides a cure for the MS of course, it really helps. I sleep much better and don't have the nerve problems I was having. I recomend it

[owlnona]

Hi!,I take neurontin & Baclofen, I have sever pain in my foot from an operation gone wrong.
I've been on it for about 4yrs. & never had any problums.
God Bless nona Judy

[onlyairfare]

I just started on neurontin for nerve pain too. I was reluctant to add another pill but I had gotten tired of waking up in pain every morning at 2 am - when the tizanidine I took at 9:30 wore off. The pain is in my feet and it feels hot and burning but my feet also feel cold. But when I put on socks to keep my feet warm, then the pain gets worse! Weird.

So far so good with the neurontin - just makes me sleepy but I am going slow, just take it at bedtime for now.

[kebsa]

i was on neurontin but was changed to gabapentin when it became available, i have nerve pain from MS but also phantom pain after a leg amputation- phantom pain is nerve pain and for me is intermittent but when it happens it is like severe electric shocks that are bad enough that i grit my teeth and yelp (the dog hides under the bed!).

as my problem was intermittent, i too wondered about whether or not i should take a drug continuously but eventually i decided that for me, when the pain happens it is severe enough to interfere with functioning and sleep is impossible so i do take it- it does not really work if you only take it when you have the pain as it requires a certain level in the blood that takes a while to reach. as for side effects, for me, minimal, i was a little tired at first but that subsided quite quickly. even if neurontin has side effects that are unpleasant for you, there are similar drugs in the same class they can try that may suit you better. Neuragic pain can be hard to cope with so i guess the question is, even if it is an intermittent issue for you, how much does it impact on your ability to function and sleep when it does occur? if that is that it does has a significant effect it is worth trying it perhaps

[Bob698]

I think Neurontin is more for constant symtoms.
I also have intermittent symtoms with an MS-related "fake itch" that can drive me nuts. Its not the flat-out pain a lot of folks deal with but its kinda related.
I asked my Neuro about Neurontin/Gaba and she suggested generic Benedryl instead (mostly because my "itchies" aren't a constant issue). It worked.
I guess I'm saying talk to your Neuro about Rx options. There might be a better alternative than Neurontin and it might even be OTC.