Does anyone have experience with taking Gabapentin (Neurontin) for neuropathy? If so, how effective has it been for you?
I do not take Gabapentin but I do take a similar medication called Lyrica and have taken the gabapentin for a few months to see if I could switch out the Lyrica (brand name) for the neurontin which is far less expensive. I do not take it for neuropathy (I have restless leg syndrome) but I think my experience will help some.
First off the bad- It makes me so absentminded it drives me CRAZY. I word search like you wouldn’t believe and this has not ever been a problem for me. When I first started on it I felt like I was in a haze. It also did give me constipation at first.
The good- It does indeed help. Most of the side effects went away in a month (besides the word searching- I still have that) otherwise I do not think I would have continued on it even though it does help.
If you really want to give it a shot to see if it can help you I would recommend waiting for a month before deciding if it has helped. You more than likely will have side effects for the first couple of weeks but unless they are seriously affecting you I would try to work through them depending on how bad the neuropathy pain is. My doctor said most people can’t tell the difference between Gabapentin and Lyrica, but I could, which is the only reason I did not stick with the gabapentin
Thanks for your input! So far the only negative side effect I am having is that it takes me longer to get to sleep. On the positive side, once I do fall asleep I am sleeping more soundly and a few minutes or so longer than usual. Also, I notice a very slight reduction in the pain. Nearly a month on this medication has pasted, and I will call my neurologist this week for further advice.
Good plan. Gabapentin has a very wide dosing range and if you are not getting good results the neurologist likely has a bunch of room to increase the dose. I am glad it is helping some without too many side effects!
I had an off label rx of some Neurontin cream as I had one toe that was colder than the other ones. I was doing a lot of barefoot Tae Kwon Do workouts in the winter and one toe was not quite there, a podiatrist rx’ed some cream but it was off label. I think it was pricey but it aybe worked a little bit but then spring came and it warmed up and went away anyway. It’s still there. I stopped doing TKD as we moved but have kept up with running and I still notice it during the winter. Last winter, it didn’t bother me as much but it also was a horrible winter for running outside as a 2’ snowfall shut me down as plowing didn’t keep up with it. I found the rest of the cream in a recent garage cleanup (in box from when we moved…) so I’ll have it this winter? Sorry for the long and egocentric report but I had a sense that it worked a little bit when I was using it and I’ll use the rest of it if I perceive the symptoms again?
I have been on Gabapentin twice for about 60 - 90 day’s & all it did for me was make me so tried, dizzy, loss weight, & my feet hurt all the time. I been on just about everything for it & pain ; Lyrica (perkasets, oxy-cottons) did help with the pain, but made me too stoned to function & wrecked my stomach. Dr. just tried Cymbalta witch is also a anti-depression med too that works well for a lot of diabetics, but like everything else I suffer the side effects & get even more depressed. Only relief I get for the numbing neuropathy I find is a 81 mg. aspirin each day & meloxicam 7.5gm. when it’s severe. I also fine a pillow between my knees/things when sleeping helps & peddling my exercise bike with my tip-toes, keep moving them to keep circulation in them. Talk with your Doctor about any of these things Jam
For anyone who may be following this discussion, I have added some related comments in the Neuropathy, Benfotiamine and ALA thread in the Neuropathy Discussions.
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