Gabapentin and guanfacine?

[JennieW]

Hello all,
My dentist just diagnosed me with Trigeminal neuralgia and my neurologist has prescribed gabapentin. I have not been diagnosed with ms but had my MRI today and have symptoms that point towards it. I have tried to read up on Gaba but there seem to be mixed reviews on this drug. Some say it's highly addictive and others say it is not at all. I have severe anxiety about medications and am wondering if any of yOu can ease my fear Of this drug (or add to it). I was using hydrocodone to treat my symptoms until now so I am wondering if this will help with withdrawls from pain meds, I don't like Pain meds and want something that works better.

My psychiatrist has prescribed me guanfacine for anxiety and I am wondering if these two medications can be taken together and if anyone has experience with this drug as well? This was prescribed to treat my anxiety. Thank you!

[Redwings]

I have tried to read up on Gaba but there seem to be mixed reviews on this drug. Some say it's highly addictive and others say it is not at all. I have severe anxiety about medications and am wondering if any of you can ease my fear Of this drug (or add to it).

Hi Jennie:
Where are you reading these "reviews"? If you're getting your information from forums, chat rooms and homemade websites, you're likely to be reading the oceans of misinformation that engulf those venues.

For reliable information, stick with reputable authority sites like drugs.com, MayoClinic.com, PubMed Health and WebMD. You can check for drug interactions at drugs.com. You can also ask your pharmacist. Pharmacists spend years studying chemistry and pharmacology and are an excellent source of information about your meds.

It's interesting to read other people's experiences, but whatever someone reports about their experience might or might not happen to you. No medication works for everyone, and people's experiences vary, so of course you're going to read and hear conflicting experiences. You can't really predict what's going to happen with you based on what a few people tell you. In addition, all drugs have side effects. What's an acceptable trade-off of benefit vs. risk for one person might be unacceptable to another. So it's possible that one person's experience could needlessly add to your fears, when their situation and trade-offs are different than yours and don't apply to you.

Especially if you have anxiety about medications, it's in your best interest to make your decisions based on factual, authoritative information. In addition to your pharmacist, a drug's official prescribing information and the reputable authority sites will tell you the medical facts about a drug and what good and bad effects can be expected, based on the experiences of hundreds or thousands of people. Then you'll know how to keep other people's experiences in perspective.