neurontin?

[NicoleB]

i'm sure this question hs been asked before, but has anybody had success with it? i'm getting tired of the weight gain from Trycyclics, but i REALLY need somthing for nerve pain because the TCAs saved me, but i really cant deal with hte steady weight gain. i'm trying to eat less and i'm still gaining. i cant just let that go on forever. my uro said i could try nuerontin, but she confessed that she has seen very little success from it. we talked about lyrica but i heard about gaining weight on that as well. anybody have success with this, especially with VV and urethral burning?

[ICNDonna]

I have never taken it, but know that several who post regularly are having some success. Hopefully some of them will chime in here.

Donna

[glassd18]

Thanks for asking the question Nicole. I too have just been prescribed neurontin, but have not purchased it yet. I'm very sensitive to meds so it takes me time to work up the courage to try them. I too would like to know if anyone has used this drug, and what their experiences are or were.

[Bessie]

I tried it but it gave me severe chest pains and made my teeth feel numb. It also made me extremely tired. I did not have good luck with it but I know of others that it has helped. Maybe they can give you some samples to see if it will work for you before you have to pay for a prescription. Good Luck and I hope it works for you

[**Angie**]

Nuerontin made me incredibly tired. So tired the first time I took it (300mg) I didn't wake-up all day. When I did get up to potty and eat everything was blurry/dble vision. So we went down to 100mg a day--still to sleepy. Stayed on it 3wks then upped it to 200mgs--3 naps a day. Back down to 100mgs--one long nap a day and sleepy. We did this for about 3 mos. I could never get used to it. But when I was sleeping all the time I didn't have any pain.

[glassd18]

Thank you for your responses.

[shvlnose]

LOVED it!

I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED, neurontin! I've had to quit taking it temporarily as I was trying to conceive and I am now pregnant. It will be one of the first meds added back to my cocktail when appropriate.

I started with a dose of 300mg, taken at night. I ended up with a dose of 900mg, once a day, taken about 1-2 hours before I wanted to go to bed. I had trouble taking it during the day due to the sleepiness issues mentioned. As long as I took it at night, it was wonderful and I didn't have sleep med "hang over" in the morning.

With it, I was sleeping 6-8 hours straight for the first time in about 7 years (instead of getting up to pee every 1 1/2 to 2 hours). I was getting good sleep.

My IC pain pattern generally starts low in the morning and increases through out the day (due to sitting at work and stress, no doubt). It was good for dampening the pain signals before going to bed. I am also a generally somewhat anxious person (which contributes to the sleep problems) and it calmed that as well. It did not cause the weird dreams/nightmares that narcotics cause for me.

So for me, it helped IC pain, anxiety, and sleep. Another good thing is that it has been around forever and has a relatively cheap generic versions available (if insurance is a problem for you). I would give it a shot and see if it is helpful. It definitely was helpful for me!

Oh, I do not (did not) have the VV pain, but do have the urethral burning and spasms. It was helpful for that and general bladder/pelvic pain, for me.

Aly

[jamie_visiting]

Neurontin allergy

I was given gabapentin (Neurontin) for my migraines a while ago. Within 2-3 days, my entire skin started itching and I had to take Benadryl for several days before that went away (i.e. even after discontinuing it). It is the only medication to which I am definitely allergic. I suspect, however, that this is not a terribly common reaction.

[soccermom32]

I am currently weaning off Neurontin. I have been on 900mg a day since March 1st and have steadily gained 10 lbs despite walk/running 5 miles everyday and watching my diet. I was 125lbs at 5'4 and now I'm 135 and none of my clothes fit.

This all wouldn't matter to me if I was pain free but I'm NOT!!!! My doctor wants to switch me to Topomax but I'm thinking of switching to nothing quite honestly. I don't think all these drugs are good for our bodies.

Good luck.

[**Angie**]

I totally understand the weight gain. We went on vacation in Feb. At the time my clothes I noticed were a little snug but fine. Now that it's summer nothing fits. Since the beginning of this IC rollercoaster I've gone for a slim size 4 petite to a lovely size 8 petite---I'm 5' tall even 5 lbs shows on my body. All these meds are killing me. I have no will power to stop stuffing junk food into my face. I'm going to try again. I'm okay at a 6 but I'm to short to carry off an 8.
So what are the options when we stop the medications that make us gain weight. My husband says he doesn't care if I gain weight as long as it makes me pain free and "nice again".

[Claredale]

That was definitely a med that I went crazy on. Be sure if you do start on it, that somebody in your family is monitering you. I had no idea that I wasn't myself until my husband kept noticing that I was very forgetful and as he put it, I looked very drugged. It did help with my pain though, but it scared my family and co-workers for me to stay on it.

Lyrica did better with me mentally, but I did experience the weight gain. It drastically changed my energy level to almost none. I tried Topamax next, and that was what made me feel like my hands, feet and face were tingling. It also made me very emotional and I still had the burning pain at night.

Hugs!
T83

Good luck!

[RAS6]

NicoleB,
I just started Neurontin and haven't seen any changes, good or bad. However I am starting at the lowest dose possible: 100mgs at night. I haven't been sleeping well on just the Neurontin, so I have to take Valium at night too. Next week I will be up to 200mgs at night. My understanding is that this is different than an anti depressant. It is considered an anti- convulsant I believe. I am hoping it will help with my constant pelvic pain and the vaginal and urethral pain and burning. I desperately need something to work for frequency and urgency too. Nothing I have tried touches it. I too had bad side affects with the Tricyclics. Elavil made me gain 10-15 pounds and I was a zombie the next day. Neurontin gave me terrible heart palipitations and ringing in my ears. Thankfully once I was off those meds all the side affects went away and I have lost 10 pounds just by going off of Elavil. I am unable to exercise beyond very simple yoga due to pain.
Good luck and let us know how you do!

[NicoleB]

ok, so its been 3 days on nuerontin. i'm slowly cutting back on the nortryptiline (and i feel it ) and slowly upping nuerontin. the first 100mg dose made me feel a little drunk for a few minutes, but it was very mild.
yesterday i took 300mgs spread out through the day and didnt feel weird at all. Now i just took 2 at once this morning (200mg). Still, maybe a little lightheaded but i had to stop and think about it, so its again, very mild. However, i have a lot of burning pain this morning and its not helping that yet. It could be too soon. i suspect my pain is due to dropping down on the other med. its a shame, the nortript worked so well for pain, but i was gaining weight faster than i could ever lose it. i'm just trying all my options before going back on it. I'm pretty lucky when it comes to drugs that supposedly make you tired. i can take atarax and trycyclics all at once in the MORNING and make it through the day without feeling tired. i guess my body just gets used to it very quick. Elavil never made me tired, and niether did atarax. (maybe a little shaky at most). My bigger issues are increased sugar cravings through the roof, and dry mouth.

so, no bad effects from the nuerontin yet, but no releif either. but its only my third day! for those of you who it worked, how long did it take?

i also take occasional tramadol. i know it can react to some siezure meds, but whenever i try to search tramadol and nuerontin interactions, i only get sites like "buy tramadol!". so....since i cant always get a hold of my doctor, (phone tag..i'm sure you all know how that is) do any of you know of a possible reaction? i'm feeling very burny today and hope i can take it.

[shvlnose]

I'm sorry your pain is increasing. Trying to find the correct med cocktail can be very hard!

As for drug/drug interactions, I can recommend the site https://www.aidsmeds.com/cmm/. This is the "check my meds" section. It should provide you info on actual interactions (ie "don't take these 2 together"), and possible side effect results (ie "taking these 2 together may result in increased drowsiness").

The site was originally created to help aids patients manage their meds, but they have all of the normal meds on there as well (at least all of the meds I've ever looked for - including OTC stuff).

Prior to pregnancy, I took both Ultram (at relatively low doses) and neurontin as part of my IC cocktail. Hope this helps and you are able to find some relief soon!
Aly

[NicoleB]

I totally understand the weight gain. We went on vacation in Feb. At the time my clothes I noticed were a little snug but fine. Now that it's summer nothing fits. Since the beginning of this IC rollercoaster I've gone for a slim size 4 petite to a lovely size 8 petite---I'm 5' tall even 5 lbs shows on my body. All these meds are killing me. I have no will power to stop stuffing junk food into my face. I'm going to try again. I'm okay at a 6 but I'm to short to carry off an 8.
So what are the options when we stop the medications that make us gain weight. My husband says he doesn't care if I gain weight as long as it makes me pain free and "nice again".

this is why i want to try a TENS. Tricyclics made me gain weight. I understand Nuerontin can too, but as my doctor said, she sees weight gain less in her patients on nuerontin, than TCAs. i also read a lot of the weight on nuerontin is water weight, and the weight gain affect usually tapers off after around 6 months whereas TCAs keep making you gain. however, i know everybody is different.

on another note: a while ago i drank an herbal tea blend that had herbs like skullcap, passionflower, wood betony, chamomile etc. i drank it and felt like it was calming on my bladder and decreased the burning. now i realize that those particular herbs are good for nerves, or so i've read. that may be why i felt better. This tea was sort of a homemade blend so you cant buy that blend everywhere as far as i know, but i also noticed all those herbs are also in CystaQ so they must be beneficial. i plan on going to an herb store and re-creating that tea.