| Key to ratings for neurontin: 5-Very Satisfied: this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal. 4-Satisfied: this medicine helped. 3-Somewhat Satisfied: this medicine helped somewhat. 2-Not Satisfied: this medicine did not work to my satisfaction. 1-Dissatisfied: I would not recommend taking this medicine. |
| Rating | Reason | Side Effects | Comments | Sex | Age | Time Taken | Date Added | |
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| 2 | Nerve Entrapment Pain & poss MS | took at night, first morning, whoah, hang-on the world is spinning which lasted a few hours, didn't dare drive, extremely tired. Leg didn't hurt though. Second morning, less dizziness, still extremely tired, could drive though. Third night, had to take 2 pills 6 hours apart to get relief. Fourth night, refuse to take more than 1 pill as surgery is in two days and tomorrow I won't take it. | Interesting how quick the dose had to be increased to get relief. Other pain areas that are from irritates nerves settled down immediately and stayed settled down as long as they were not re-irritated. Was somewhat a staggering drunk the first two days on it and took several hours to feel awake. After taking the dose, the problem area became almost locked in position, not wanting to bend normally. Somewhat dulls one's perceptions and releases inhibitions, where I did stuff I ought not to have, nothing criminal, but I may later regret those actions. After halving the previous night's dose, the pain is as if I had taken nothing at all. | F | 31 | 4 days | 11/16/2009 | 1 | numbness in legs and arms with move | Took 300 mg for two nights. Felt goofy and sluggish the first day. The second day I woke up ok but felt really weird. Mental fog then right side of face and head felt like it was burning while the left side of face esp nose felt like it was swelling. Said wrong names of people I know well! | Don't risk it. I had to be driven home by coworkers and on the way I took two benedryls for an allergic reaction and went to sleep. | F | 34 | 2 days | 11/13/2009 | 5 | L4 Disc Herniation | This has been a wonder drug for sciatic pain. I still have a herniated disc after re-herniation after microdisc. in 7/9 wonder now if I needed surgery in first place if was put on neurontin sooner. 300 3x a day. side effects manageable. Some weight gain maybe, but am not exercising as much. try it | Great medication ....start out slowly if it makes you tired initially...like at 100 mg | F | 43 | 3 months | 11/10/2009 | 4 | degenerative scoliosis | "Brain Fog" occassionally, word loss, forgetfulness, weight gain...hmmmm, it may have turned me into a ditz. Just kidding, the side effects are mild, and I certainly do not get high as some others have posted. | I was ready to wait my turn for extreme back surgery (read up on it sometime) at the hospital ER. I was put on 300mg 3 times a day. With the occassional help of hydrocodone it made my severe problem, liveable. No longer do I have an icepick buried in my lower back, and a lump of burning coal resting on my leg just above my ankle. I will deal with the side effects in exchange for the relief. | M | 53 | 28 months | 10/30/2009 | 4 | RSD Right Leg/L5 - S1 Bulged Disc | Only been on it for a week. So far no real side effects other than feeling a little sleepy the next day, but that was only for about 2 or 3 days. | I have noticed already that if I don't take it one day, the pain comes back immediately. Prescribed 300 mg - 3 x's day but only taking one at night because I don't want to be tired during the day. Injury from car accident & surgeries due to accident. I am very concerned about the weight gain I have been reading about. I don't want that to happen. | F | 38 | 1 weeks | 10/28/2009 | 4 | nerve pain | Felt foggy at first, but that subsided. Noticed recently that I've gained weight and have been concerned with hair loss. Have had some on and off depression,and I do find that I forget things frequently. | I tried to cut back to 3 300mg per day, but I couldn't stand the nerve pain, so I went back up. The side effects outweigh the pain. | F | 44 | 9 months | 10/26/2009 | 2 | sciatica, leg pain and tingling | brain fog and dizziness | Decided to give neurontin a second try after my first experience several months ago. No different this time. Took 300 mg at night after 10 hrs of sleep I can barely function.Was prescribed 1-3 caps per night. Can't imagine taking 3, I'd be comotose.I know I should give this drug more than 2 days to work, but I'm not willing to feel like a zombie while it does the job. I know this drug works for others including 2 of my friends who have been on it for years, but unfortunately it's not for me | F | 75 | 2 days | 10/22/2009 | 4 | Transverse Myelitis | Some weight gain, terrible hair loss (which I have stopped with generic rogaine 5% 1Xday). Extreme fatigue but TM causes that too. | The worst is how dependent I am. Without it the nerve pain is beyond what I can endure. Dosage was 300mg 3Xday, now 4003X. I fear having to take this in increasing dosages. I will know in another year or so if I am one of the lucky 1/3 of people who recover. TM is rare so there is no research $. Neuro can just prescribe meds & cross fingers. | F | 64 | 5 months | 10/19/2009 | 2 | migraines | weight gain and hair loss. | Taking 1800mg a day, gaining weight and losing hair everyday! I'm asking to go off and back to Topamax. I am concerned that my hair may not go back to "normal" for me. I still have a headache everyday too. | F | 45 | 3 months | 10/18/2009 | 1 | Off label back pain management | DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG FOR ANY OFF LABEL USE. I have suffered thses side effects for almost 10 years. The drug company, Pfizer, has settled some law suits but they make literally 100's of billions of dollars on this usage, and have only paid out a few billion, so it is profitable for them to continue to market it to doctors who are encoouraged to prescribe it for any type of nerve pain and even psychiatric conditions. I developed Meniere's disease. Symptoms are vertigo, ear ringing,nausea,hearing loss. This side effect never went away, nor will it, and has rendered me disabled. It is a disease that has no cure nor any consistently effective management techniques. One never knows when it will strike and I have had acute episodes that have lasted over a month. It feels like the absolute worse case of motion illness you can imagine. Often one cannot even walk or lift one's head. One can not even move one's head slightly without making it worse. The acute symptoms are managed with l | DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG FOR ANY OFF LABEL USE, or any drug for off label use. Basically "off label" means there is no verifiable data that supports that the drug is useful in any way for any conditions not specifically approved. This means there is no data nor any information being officially compiled about the off label use. The drug companies can and do just make up the idea that it is useful for other purposes other than those for which it is approved., and they are not suppose to market it for off label use but they do. Thery have had to pay the "whistle blowers" billions, but not enough that the products aren';t still profitable. If one makes $1 Billion and only has to pay out $100 million out in settlements, they will continue. This is a common business practice. The auto industry is known for this. It is cheaper to pay off the families of the dead than to fix the problem. You may recall the gas tank explosions that would have reqired a change costing less than $50, but it was still cheaper to let some consumers burn up, than to fix the car. | F | 57 | 90 days | 10/15/2009 | 3 | fibromyalgia | I have taken this drug for about one week this time.I also took this drug in April of this year but stopped. My side effects are memory lost, sometimes i jumble words up or just plain forget what I was about to do. The first time i took it i had some thoughts of self harm but that has not been the case this time. | This has helped some with the pain. Not as much as i hoped since the pain can be bad. I don't want to be addicted to pain killers so this is really the only option. I was also given lyrica but decided not to take it after hearing bad feed back. I also have diabetes so that might contribute to my pain. | F | 31 | 7 days | 10/13/2009 | 3 | Peripheral Neuropathy -non diabetic | Memory loss (went from 4.0 college student to a 3.0) and that in only 8 short weeks. I cannot remember jack sh*t. Laziness, weakness in the entire body. Zero sex drive. Dizziness, blurred vision, moments of binging for sweets (Never done that before prior to this medication) | I began taking this drug 4 months ago. I started out at 200mg every 8 hours which was near impossible to keep up with. I had funny dizzy type feelings at first then it went away. I was fine pain gone, then pain back, doc upped me to 600mg every 12hrs. Ok pain gone, now I cannot remember anything. NOTHING! I ask people things twice then ask again. My college classes are getting so difficult I cannot hardly do it. I was a 4.0 student! Not anymore. I haven't gained any weight, but have no sex life period any longer. I get strange feelings that come over me, insomnia you name it. While the pain is gone it isn't worth it I have to find something else. I check out lyrica and cymbalta and I am terrified of them too! | F | 37 | 4 months | 10/8/2009 | 5 | Nerve pain | I just recently started Neurontin and for the first few days felt no side effects and still had nerve pain on the side of my head due to a vp shunt placement. After 3 day of being on the medication, I felt dry mouth, developed hives on arms, some trouble concentrating and focusing and trouble finding the right words to say, this is only right after taking Neurontin. Besides the side effects, I no longer have nerve pain. | I only take 600 mg a day. I have not had a problem w/weight gain at this time. I feel at this time, the medication is worth taking. But only time will tell. | F | 43 | 2 weeks | 10/6/2009 | 5 | disc herniatian L4 | Some memory problems, forgetting words. Initially was drowsy...drunklike, but that went away. I think the side effects are pretty manageable for the great gain. | This drug worked wonders for my sciatic pain after a microdiscetomy. I was on a lot of vicodin...and have propensity to abuse opiates. So neurontin really helped take the need for narcotics away. It does seem to take a bit to work but I do notice it helps the pain soon after. I usually need to take it up to 4x a day. I usually take 100mg as needed in am and pm and at bedtime I do 300 mg. | F | 43 | 5 weeks | 9/23/2009 | 3 | leg numbness/tingling | At 600 and then 900 mg/day, very slight memory problems and mixing up letters and words. When starting and increasing dose, drowsiness & dizziness, but these faded to quite mild within a couple of days. In summary, pretty mild effects compared to some other drugs I've taken, though my dose is fairly low. | I'm not yet sure how much this is helping my leg pain/numbness/tingling (secondary to a spine injury) because these things improved somewhat while taking oral steroids just before starting the Neurontin. The improvement has held while I've been on the Neurontin. I'll have a better idea of the benefit when I further increase the dose (as my doc recommended), or when I someday taper off and quit. | M | 50 | 45 days | 9/19/2009 | 1 | fibromyalgia | dizziness,ear infecion, major loss of concentration or ability to funtion, fatigue, mood swings | I am a student in high school and this drug has really been bad. Ive had ear pain for over a week. I was always a good student i had a 4.0 and always cared about school. Since i started taking it i can't focus at school, im really tired, i spell things wrong, i forget what i learned. I was always good at math and now I cant do basic math. My whole mind set has changed and i feel like i dont care anmore. I get angry and then upset. I stutter. I space out. It hasn't helped for my pain either. It's the worst medication ive ever taken. I am weaning myself off. I hope things go back to normal. | F | 16 | 3 weeks | 9/16/2009 | 4 | migraine prevention | felt "stupid" at first, gradually that went away | cut down on frequency and intensity of migraines by about 1/2 | M | 61 | 4 years | 9/13/2009 | 4 | fibromyalgia, restless leg syndrome | I cannot take 900 mg daily as my dr prescribed because I do medical transcription and midday I was totally wiped out and unable to work; very sleepy, brain fog, blurred vision. I now take 300 mg am and 300 mg p.m. After 1 day I had a drastic improvement in the RLS; gone completely, and it had suffered badly with this. It has helped enough with the fibro that I can tell a difference, but not a huge difference. Without a midday dose I can work fine, but definitely need it for pain about 5 p.m. which begins to become almost intolerable. | I have gained 45 lbs taking Neurontin only 9 months. SO I decided to wean myside and see what would happen. I weaned slowly over a 2-week period. After just 1 day of no Neurontin IMMEDIATELY the RLS returned and kept me awake at night with leg pain. But the really scary part - I believe to have tremor-like seizures in my head; it felt like I had a drill turned on in my skull for a few seconds that left a taste in my mouth and my teeth sore. I stood this for about 1-1/2 weeks of these seizures increasing to 3 a day average and I jumped back on the Neurontin. It tooks another 2 weeks for my head to "feel normal" and the seizures just gradually weaned away. So, no matter how large I get (I am 230 now) I will be too afraid to ever stop the Neurontin again. But I tell myself it is worth it for the leg pain to be gone. I would toss and turn all night and feel a deep ache in both legs and a feeling as if electricity was running up and down my legs, even in my feet. To have that gone and be able to sleep is worth wearing a size 20, although a devastating blow has been struck to my vanity. | F | 59 | 9 months | 9/12/2009 | 5 | chronic pain due to neck injury | I am so depressed and am having suicidal thoughts and am at the end of my rope. I think it's time for me to get some help. This drug has been a lifesaver so far as almost totally eliminating my pain, but recently have woke up screaming from nightmares and this depression will take my life if I don't do something soon. | F | 47 | 2 months | 9/4/2009 | 4 | Stage 3 Lyme w/Neuropathy & Tremors | Dizziness, loss of coordination, drowsiness, word-finding difficulty, articulation errors, pooling of fluids in hands and forearms, numbness/tingling in lips and tongue, headaches. | The first couple days I felt foggy-headed, but otherwise great. Symptoms disappeared with no other side effects. I'm taking only 300mg daily, an hour before bed. After 3 days, side effects began to appear and increase steadily. Though distracting, they are still preferable to the condition they are treating, which seems to be controlled. No more seizures disrupting sleep. No more "clenched" feeling in throat. No more constant muscle tremors and random twitching. The side effects are increasingly annoying, however, particularly the poor hand dexterity and puffy feeling in fingers, making it difficult to perform precise small-motor functions. It's getting difficult to write with a pen or use the computer keyboard without frequent typing errors. | M | 52 | 12 days | 9/4/2009 | 4 | RLS/nerve damage in legs | Started with 300mg 2 times a day, and 2400mg at night to combat the RLS. This medicine works pretty well for RLS, and my episode per month have gone down quite a bit. Gabapentin was also invaluable for me when I was withdrawing from Vicodin. It made the opiate withdrawal much more bearable. I only had one uncomfortable incident after taking a larger dose one day; I became very manic, wouldn't shut up, mind was racing, and I felt like I was under the influence of alcohol. This has not happened again, but I do get a noticeable mood lift (almost euphoric) from Gabapentin, and it often makes me feel inebriated. | Works pretty well for RLS, but be careful because you can have a nasty withdrawal if you've been on high doses of Gabapentin for a while. | F | 24 | 4 months | 9/3/2009 | 1 | Diabetic Neuropathy Pain | It helped my neuropathy pain; but the horrible next day groggiest wasn't worth it. I have never felt this dreadful with any pill the next morning as I have with Neurontin. I cannot imagine how people report taking 600-1000-1200 mg. a day. | 300 mg at night about did me in. | F | 60 | 60 days | 9/3/2009 | 2 | Trigeminal Neuralgia | Depression, Suicidal Ideation | I don't know if this drug would have worked for my neuralgia or not, as I never reached a really therapeutic dose. At 900mg/day, I started thinking about killing myself all the time. I have never had suicidal thoughts before in my life! I had noticed feeling depressed at lower doses, but hadn't given it much thought until the terrible thoughts started happening. Take care with this med -- the suicidal ideation came on quite suddenly, and was very frightening. | F | 42 | 8/26/2009 | 2 | Meralgia Paresthetica | Groggy, dopey, losing my balance, blurry vision, very dry mouth and thirsty all the time. Gaining weight. | Neurologist wanted to start me at 900 mg/day and then cut back if I had ill effects. I said I would prefer to start at 300 mg/day and work up slowly unless I had ill effects. Got to about 600 mg/day and started feeling groggy,etc. He had me cut back a bit but I am weaning myself off and will figure out some other way to deal with the leg pain! This side effects of this medication are worse than the problem it was supposed to help. I've since had others tell of similar problems with Neurontin. Thanks but no thanks. | F | 68 | 2 months | 8/23/2009 | 4 | Rapid Cycle Bipolar | Fatigue, grogginess,memory impairment. If doses are taken too close together, it has an alchol-like effect on me. Also, if I take too much of near bed time, I have a harder time waking up and have a 'hang over'. The side effects can be a pain, but's better than manic cycling. | This has been a good medication for me; it prevents manic episodes and is works for anxiety. For those of you with bipolar disorder, this medication is worth a try. It's a good mood stabilizer for me and I haven't had terrible side effects from it. Something to bear in mind; neurontin IS a safer drug than the benzos; it's not addictive and is much easier to get off of. It's also the best medication I have found for sleep and I have been on quite a few; a dose taken an hour or so before bed time works very well; as long as I don't take too much. I have found that, at the higher doses (900mgs+), it's important to space the doses out evenly; it will limit the side effects. | M | 27 | 7 years | 8/16/2009 | 3 | Damage to the meylin in my arms | constipation | M | 42 | 1 months | 8/16/2009 | 3 | 8/12/2009 | 1 | seizures | Getting off dilantin, dr. recommended. Felt I was going crazy, out of control emotionally, all this quit when I was tapered off. | A extremely poor drug for me w/ complex partial seizures. | M | 55 | 30 days | 8/5/2009 | 1 | chronic joint pain | I was prescibed this drug for chronic joint pain. It did absolutely nothing for pain, but it did cause me to gain 45 lbs. in 6 weeks. I am only 5"2' , so 45lbs. is a lot of weight for me. | Before the Neurontin I was a thin person throughout my whole life. Now, because of the qweight, I am predisposed to diabetes, heart disease and many other health problems. I cannot lose the Neurontn weight because of the chronic pain and other issues for wbhich I sought treatment/ When my now ex-doc saw the 45lb. weight gain on my chart she casually said, "Oh yeah, that always happens," Do not take Neurontin for pain because it is usesless and dangerous. Take it only if you have the seizure disorder for which it was designed. Even then, I'd get as second pinion. | F | 57 | 6 months | 7/29/2009 | 5 | Neuralgia | Sleepiness, dizziness, memory loss. | I have been on Neurontin several times, and the side effects are always the same. I am sleepy all the time, dizzy all the time, and have no short term memory. I have bounced so many checks because I forgot that I used my debit card. I think the makers of Neurontin should pay my overdrafts! | M | 24 | 6 months | 7/27/2009 | 5 | post -herpetic nueralgia | Have taken 300mg 3x aday up to 1200mg 3x a day for 7 years higher dosages made me tired falling asleep driving is very easy be careful at high dosage. Ive had feeling of elation at higher dosages also. I have eye discharges but flushing them clears it. I have had vision changes over that time but do not know if its the drug. Miss a dose I get aggitated. 2 years ago I started having severe low back pain and pain down my leg have now started with lyrica that helps with that I have had multiple injections and mri's starting to wonder if it is from prolonged use of neurontin I will update this when I find out. Do not stop taking without a doctor!! you need to ween off over time. I have gained 40lbs in 7 years could be older age to? I didnt gain much when I was working long hard hours as an electrician but now as work slowed and now laid off its going on quicker! lower activity jobs and lifestyles weight gain will increase. I have never had suicidal thoughts while taking this drug in 7 year | It has helped greatly with my nerve pain and hyper sensitivity from shingles I was hopeless before I finnaly found this drug!!!. To me it was a life saver! nerve pain is very aggitating and this drug has helped rid me of that feeling so I can function. I have an email link feel free to ask some questions. | M | 30 | 7 years | 7/22/2009 | 1 | Nerve damage, back & hip pain & tingling | Wish I would have read this board before I began taking gabapentin (300mg 2X/day). Have experienced most every side effect mentioned. Hair loss begun a few weeks ago and it is frightening. It did help the tingling which had prevented walking. Just not worth it. If you've been able to get off this drug please tell me what I can expect to go through. Also if you had hair loss, did it ever grow back? I hate this stuff. If you are considering taking it -- DON'T. | F | 64 | 3 months | 7/19/2009 | 5 | geniculate neuralgia (ear pain) | Tired at first, jittery/restless/shakey if I forget to take it | I was tired when I first started taking this drug, but I eventually got past that. I take 300mg twice a day and has totally wiped out my ear pain. The only side effect I have now is if I forget to take it at bed time. Which is rare. About two hours later I'll wake up jittery/restless/shakey. It goes away in about 30 minutes after I take it and can go back to sleep. So my body is addicted to the medicine. If I decided to stop, I would have to ween off slowly. | F | 42 | 3 years | 7/17/2009 | 4 | plantar fashia pain-high arches | dry mouth, groggy for an hour or two after waking | pain kept me from sleeping, neurontin resolves the pain, I only use the medication as needed, 2 to 3 times a week at 800 mg prior to sleep--knocks the pain out and is worth the side affects | F | 54 | 2 years | 7/16/2009 | 1 | peripheral neuropathy (Feet) | Tired, very drowsy, back and legs ached, very clumsy, unable to walk straight, blurred vision, slurred speech, trouble concentrating, irritable and easily angered, increased BP (116/60 ->163/82). One 300 Mg dose. Diarrea the day after (when I did not take another). | As one diagnosed with autism, it seemed like voltage to brain was reduced. 24 hours later, neuropathy pain returned more than ever before. It "made me stupid", clumsy, edgy, and 'fuzzy' while only moderating my Charcot foot pain slightly. I need to use my brain A LOT to be 'highly functional' autistic...this stuff did not help at all. Won't take it again. | M | 55 | 1 days | 7/13/2009 | 3 | peripheral neuropathy | Doctor had to keep increasing the dose. It would work for awhile, then stop working. I am still in the process of trying to get good results. | M | 67 | 7 weeks | 7/9/2009 | 5 | Central (Thalamic) Pain Syndrome af | Weight gain. Brain fog, esp after increasing dosage. More vivid often nightmatish dreams. Word forgetfulness, even in the middle of a sentence. | I developed CPS after a stroke - a constant horrible cold burning pain on one side of my body. I am lucky that gabapentin helps me control it by lowering the pain intensity. It has saved my life. No joke. It has made me forgetful and thickened my waist. But at least I am not crawling on the floor, retching with unbearable pain, which is what happens when I do not take it. Gabapentin has side effects. CPS is Hell - a never ending burning pain that does not consume your flesh. Given a choice, I will continue to take the drug. | F | 52 | 21 months | 7/6/2009 | 4 | insomnia | slight dizziness but worth it | seems to be helping for my sleep | F | 43 | 2 days | 7/1/2009 | 3 | Bipolar/panic + lamictal 150mg | sudden mood shifts, headache, inability to think of words, typing is next to impossible, tired, loss of equilibrium, weight loss | am taking 1800mg in conjunction w.150mg of Lamictal for bipolar + agoraphobia w/panic attacks + insomnia. i had been on Wellbutrin and Zoloft when they thought i had clinical depression - turns out it was bipolar. they put me on Zoloft & lamictal - the zoloft made me manic no matter what. then just lamictal but i wasnt sleeping and i was having more frequent panic attacks due to my agoraphobia. then i was given Ambien - i hallucinated on that. then they gave me xanax and ativan - neither did ANYTHING for my agoraphobia. so my psychiatrist consulted a psychopharmacologist who recommended 1800mg of Neurontin witht the Lamictal. seems to be working OK so far. i feel off-balance a lot, and i have tension in my back & nexk, and i have headaches and i am not hungry at all. i also notice that my eczema doesnt hurt or itch as much as it did before to started teh Neurontin.... | F | 31 | 6/17/2009 | 3 | Anxiety, Insomnia | mild dizziness, slow speech. | This drug has helped me with anxiety a bit, and it helped my mood a little. The drug is not addictive as the benzos, it can help with mild anxiety symptoms, it is really used for pain and as an antisconvulsant. Unfortunately, you will need a higher dose to get some of those off label benefits | M | 33 | 3 months | 6/13/2009 | 4 | fibromialgia | blurred vision | i recently was diagnosed with fibromialgia a few months ago, and i have been taking 600mg 3 times a day. it has helped a lot with my burning pain that has been shooting up from my hands to my neck and back. it doesn't take all the pain away, but without it, i would be in misery. the only side effect i have noticed is blurred vision, but only slightly, and not all the time. | M | 27 | 3 months | 6/8/2009 | 1 | Chronic Pain - from Ruptured Disc | Dizzyness, Equilibrium imbalance, Memory Loss, Comprehention, All-over muscle spasms, sometimes causing "pain spots" throughout body. | I have been taking Neurontin for over 7 years now, at 600mg three times daily. The most noticeable side effect now is Memory Loss. It has escalated to the point family has mentioned they notice a problem. About one month ago, I recieved my usual one month dosage from my pharmacy. Attatched to it was a -complete "mini guidebook" as to all types of adverse reactions that can be attributed to this drug, including interaction with other drugs, case studies and results, effects of this drug on other body systems ect.. I found that Memory Loss is not listed anywhere, and am finding it odd considering it is the biggest long term side effect. No, I do not have epilepsy, therefore it is not related. In addition, I read that this drug can be the instigator for arthritis, particularly in the neck, whiich is where my injury initiated. Arthtis is now and additional medical problem of mine since the injury. In addition I found that one of my other prescribed drugs "time controlled morphine" is exposed to the body 44% times more when taken 2 hours within the time Neurontin is taken. | F | 40 | 8 years | 6/3/2009 | 2 | CHRONIC PAIN FROM CAR ACCIDENT | if tired would cause a high feeling, slurred speech, bloating, weight gain of 5# in a month, blurred vision, swelling of hands and feet | Did not take the pain away completely. Dosed up to 2700 mg every day and it didn't take the edge off. | F | 29 | 1 months | 5/19/2009 | 4 | Post-Herpetic Neuralgia | Grogginess for the first few weeks and whenever the dose is raised. | I have an atypical PHN that grew dramatically worse in my fifties (I had shingles in my 20s). Neurontin has been a miracle that gets me through the day. It isn't perfect as I still have some pain late in the day, but it isn't an opiate and it makes the pain manageable. I only take 1600mg a day to avoid brain fog. | M | 52 | 3 months | 5/18/2009 | 3 | This isn't a review: Could someone tell me how long it took for the drug to kick in? LAst year when I used it, it helped immediately, when I first used it 3 months ago, it also worked within a few hours. Now, even though I've been still on it, my anxiety has returned. We've increased but i haven't seen anything happen. I'm so confused. Does this mean it's not gonna work? Or does this mean it could still work, just take longer? Or since cuz with my body, it has worked fast, the fact that it hasn't means it won't? I know these are questions for my doc, but I wondered what any of your experiences were. | 5/15/2009 | 5 | Hot flashes | drowsiness | This has worked wonderfully for me. It makes my hot flashes shorter and less severe, and it lowers the feeling of anxiety that preceedes them. I only take it at night, and since it makes me drowsy, it helps with my insomnia as well. | F | 56 | 7 months | 5/13/2009 | 2 | shingles/fibromyalgia | Gabapentin was ok when I only took it at night but when the dose was increased to 3, 300mg a day I felt totally spaced out and was unable to go out! | Maybe I should have continued it at night instead of increasing it as advised by my doctor but as it made me feel so 'wooly headed' I did not take anymore. | F | 64 | 7 days | 5/9/2009 | 2 | migraine prevention and rls | Extreme fatigue, weight gain, severe leg twitching, memory problems, no migraine relief at all, dizzy and loss of balance, no energy, legs get weak just walking thru grocery store | I have told my doctor about side effects and no relief from original issues. He increased my dosage and sent me to neurologist who blew me off and said come back in two months. I feel worse now physically than I ever have, I'm only 32 years old and I feel like I'm 70. I want off of this stuff, I've already tapered myself from 1800mg a day to 600mg a day but because the tablets are 600mg I'm not sure where to go from here. I feel like a fool for just getting on the med because my doctor said it would really help. I should have read up on it first. I can't recommend or not recommend but maybe sharing my experience will help somehow. Reading everyone elses experience helped validate a lot of what I was thinking about this drug. | F | 32 | 8 months | 5/8/2009 | 3 | shingles | Moody, sleepy ,bitchy.forgetful | My husband is taking 3600 a day... What is this going to do to him ? I'm very concerned. They really dont say you cant drive while taking the meds but he is out of it most of the time.. | M | 47 | 30 days | 4/30/2009 | 3 | 3 weeks post shingles | Sleepy, forgetful, mood swings | Cut back to 600mg a day due to the side effects. It is somewhat effective, Dr. says it is the best for shingles pain..Who knows? | F | 59 | 3 weeks | 4/14/2009 | 2 | Bipolar I Disorder | Severe reflux w/food backing up into esophagus; bloating and gray bowel movements; kidney pain and infection; coughing up phlegm; worsening of asthma - highest dose 900 mg./day | Was mildly effective at best. Side effects grew more severe with use. I've been off it for over 1 month and side effects are just now subsiding. | F | 55 | 2 months | 4/7/2009 | 3 | Bipolar type 2 | None that I'm aware of. | No side effects but it only helps with the anxiety, and not very much. | F | 24 | 3 years | 4/3/2009 | 4 | Neuropathic pain caused by MS | Best: Feeling of extreme euphoria (like a high) Worst: sticky stools, smelly gas Other problems may be the MS or the Neurontin | Did a good job of controlling my pain, but at high dose (taking 800 mg 4-5 times a day). Seems to be short acting, would feel it start to wear off after 4-5 hours. Discontinued it due to the GI side effects. Now take Lyrica (but no high :-( | F | 47 | 10 years | 4/2/2009 | 3 | Trigeminal Neuralgia | Confusion, nausea, dry mouth, dry throat, poor memory, fatigue. | It helped a little bit with the pain but the side effects outweigh the benefits. I am having trouble remembering things and I feel tired all the time. I was on 1200mg/day for about 10 months. I am currently down to 300mg/day and hope to get off neurontin completely in a few weeks. | F | 31 | 10 months | 3/31/2009 | 2 | Lumbar Spinal Stenosis | Dizzyness. Drowsiness. | Taking 300 mg TID. Still have to take Vicodin to get relief from pain. | M | 68 | 20 days | 3/27/2009 | 3 | fibromyalgia | weight gain, drowsiness all day and not much relief even at very high dosages. | Pills are huge and difficult to swallow esp when taking several | F | 59 | 2 months | 3/25/2009 | 2 | blur vision, tired, dizzy. | M | 43 | 2 years | 3/22/2009 | 4 | Trigeminal Neuralgia and Headaches | Weight gain! Thirsty all the time, forgetfulness, forget how to spell words or when talking to someone forget the word of something almost feel like I have alzhiemers at times...also there are times when I go to talk that my mouth doesnt want to move with the words I am trying to say...hard to explain..I have major problems sleeping, which is funny because the medicine does make you sleepy but then I am wide awake like 2 or 3 hrs later or there are times when it doesnt make me sleepy I am just plain wired! | Yes it is a good drug. Definitely decreased my pain!! Basically it is just something you will have to talk to your Dr about and then if he recommends it then just try temporarily to determine how it works for you and if the benefits out weigh the negatives. I have tried to get off the medication before or there are times when I ran out and I was SEVERELY sick!! Major headache and nausea! | F | 37 | 3 years | 3/20/2009 | 1 | Fibromyalgia | My heart raced, I was hyper, agitated, edgy, on a "high", but not a good one. Couldn't sleep. | Definitely was not the drug for me. Never felt so "out of sorts" as when I was on it. | F | 60 | 2 days | 3/19/2009 | 4 | PLS-Post Laminectomy Syndrome | Extremely chatty :-) , feeling like a "zombie", sleepiness, memory issues, VERY edgy, when decreasing the dosage I've had terrible eye twitches, mood swings and the edginess has gotten worse. | Overall, it has been a GREAT drug for me! I feel that it really has cut down the amount of pain that I would have had without it. I have been able to distract myself (for the most part) from the side effects. | F | 32 | 5 months | 3/9/2009 | 3 | Hand tremor and siezure | I feel tired on and off the fatigue goes away. Fine hadn tremor typically around 10 am and also at night 9 - 10 PM when I want to go to bed I feel a fine tremor on my back and neck area. Very funny feeling 2 x 300 mg I may go with 3 x 200mg if I can find it. 600mg/ is a low does for a my size. | Take with a glass a water and make sure you keep hydrated. It seems to dehydrate the body. ALSO if you DO NOT keep hydrated it develops into headache/migraine...lasts 12 to 30 hrs | M | 44 | 14 months | 3/9/2009 | 1 | Peripheral neuropathy from Taxol | trouble recalling words, foggy feeling | After 2 weeks, dose was increased to 1200 mg/day. I developed swelling in hands and feet, severe bronchitis and shortness of breath. I read these are both side effects. My internist and oncology doctor are not relating it to the Gabapentin. I am taking myself off of it, gradually, of course. | F | 50 | 22 days | 3/1/2009 | 3 | severe osteoarthritis, fibromylgia | increased appetite, weight gain, feeling of depression, and oppression, then loss of appetite, didn't want to leave the house, antisocial behavior | 300 mg twice a day and after about a month did have decrease in pain which was incredible but after two and half months the side effects were severe enough that I stopped taking it--then I was so irritable I wanted to twist somebody's head off which passed after a couple weeks | F | 56 | 2 months | 2/24/2009 | 5 | post-herpetic neuralgia (shingles) | exteremely blurry vision at times -but perfectly fine vision most of the time. extreme thirst, rapid speech. i have difficulty speaking what is on my mind..i know exactly what i am trying to say but when it actually comes out of my mouth it seems like all of the words come out at once. then i wish i never opened my mouth to begin with. i've managed to embarass myself quite a few times now which is a shame because ever since i began taking neurontin all i want to do is talk and socialize with people -anyone who wants to talk. before neurontin i was mostly shy, reserved and well spoken. my sleep pattern has been somewhat disrupted. i wake several times throughout the night, and can't fall asleep for hours sometimes. other times i want to sleep the day away. i am still in the process of finding the right dose to ease my back pain, but i have found that it does help a great deal with the stabbing and pins and needles sensation. | on the more positive side, people around me have noticed some positive changes. i have been told i look better, and well rested, sound perkier and am just more friendly and approachable..which makes me happy and sad at the same time because i was unaware i was so miserable to be around to begin with. i often feel like i could burst out into laughter for no reason at all. i would recomend giving neurontin a shot...for me, the good has definately out-weighed the bad. | F | 24 | 14 days | 2/22/2009 | 5 | interstitial cystitis | 1st few days feel very hyper, like a speeding feeling (not that I've ever had speed). Weight gain of about 1 lb a month even after trying very hard to keep it off. | I love this drug!! No side effects, just took all my pain away like I have never had IC! Is amazing!!!! By the 3rd day I was pain free!! I'm upset about the weight gain though. 5 lbs in 5 months on a 1200 calorie diet and exercise. I am on 4 x 300mg daily. | F | 34 | 5 months | 2/17/2009 | 1 | Neuropathy | Severe dizziness, forgetfulness, drowsiness, etc. Numbness in hands, delayed movements. Mood swings, personality changes. | I could not be more dissatisfied with this medication. I feel like I am high all the time. I have bruises all over my body from walking into things. I am in graduate school, and I had to take time off because I can't even spell; yesterday, I forgot how to spell the word "does." As a math major with a 4.0 GPA, forgetting the basic multiplication tables (when I am supposed to be working on the "hole argument") is beyond infuriating. I am almost in tears with how much my mental capacity has decreased. The side effects are so severe that I am even forgetting how to do very rote things, like turn on the television or slice a piece of chicken -- that is, if I even remember to eat (sometimes I cannot even identify what that 'weird sensation' in my stomach is, a.k.a. hunger, so I go the entire day without eating). It isn't normal that I cannot coordinate holding a knife and a fork at the same time. Give me a break. This medication is horrible. I have seen no | M | 24 | 7 weeks | 2/13/2009 | 2 | Fibromyalgia | none | 900mg 3x a day. Didn't even feel like I took it. No effect. | F | 19 | 45 days | 2/7/2009 | 3 | nerve pain due to 4 surgeries | Sleepy and feel drunk if I take the pills too close together. Cannot think quickly enough to speak. I talk and then pause for too long before I can find the words to communicate with. | Am happy all of the time even though I have a major problem in my life. I forget things more easily now. When I forget to take a pill and take it an hour or 2 later, I feel drunk. I have no balance, say the wrong words when talking, and feel silly in how I act. Worried about my accuracy at work but am ok. The relief I have is not 100% but it is far better than when I didn't take it so I would like to increase my dosage to see if the pain with leave me. I am still not convinced the pain is from nerve damage. If the pain lessens more then maybe I will believe it. I can deal with the tiredness. The drunk feeling would not happen if I didn't forget some days until later to take a dosage. Do not like the constant happiness when I should be feeling sad. Doctor says the side effects and pain will get better the longer I take it. | F | 46 | 7 weeks | 1/26/2009 | 4 | peripheral neuropathy | Son is in wheelchair and nonverbal and was in kidney failure and diabetic PRIOR to starting Neurontin. It did relieve excruciating pain & swelling in feet. Now on for 3 years, and about 18 mos ago he has had unexplained pain and some swelling in left arm, now developing in right. Extreme tendon tightness, feet turning out, floppy legs, and lack of coordination. | Even tho these side effects are listed as rare, they certainly seem to be a pattern, following increase of neurontin over time to control neuopathy. Yes, I know he needs PT, but we have been overwhelmed with home dialysis, other illnesses, and can hardly think to add another specialist to our reigime. | 3 years | 1/15/2009 | 3 | MS, Peripheral Neuropathy from MS | Taking appx 800 mg for 10 years Different side effects at different times. At this time trying to withdrawal at 100 mg each day is impossible. Neurologist confused and now recommending withdrawl trying to get me on LYRICA. He has correctly noted my sleep pattern of 5 pm to 5am needs fixing to a 10 PM bedtime for circadium rhythems... SIDE EFFECTS --insomnia, burning of hands of feet after taking 1400 Neurontin as a trial. Had that before. Hard to say what else | Seemed to work better in early years, | F | 48 | 10 years | 1/12/2009 | 2 | Mood stabilizer | None | I just wanted to share my opinion. I was placed on 400 mg dose for several years. A social worker said it helped me with my mood. However, my antidpressant and benzodiapezine are taken before bed. Based on my sleep, I either will feel refreshed or irritable if not enough sleep. Later on, I switched to a relative of Neurontin for skin pickers which didn't do anything. I gradually decreased off the other med this Dec., one reason being my drug insurance. I feel the same as before. I don't have epilepsy. I am dysthymic but not bipolar. | F | 49 | 1/11/2009 | 3 | brachiradial pruritis (itching arms | Water weight gain, occassional drunk feeling. | My neurologist prescribed this after a diagnosis for this weird itching on my arms with NO rash that we could not pin down that had been happening over 2.5 years. He said we had to build the dosage and it may make me sleepy at first. My highest buildup dosage was 3600 mg daily, and that would be make me feel weird sometimes, BUT it did help lower my core body temperature so that I didn't sweat so much, and thus helped with the arms itching during the summer. However, I was retaining a LOT of water and had to take Lasix daily for water retention. And the itching never completely subsided. I am now taking Buspar and Cyproheptadine for the itching, and that combination seems to do the trick. The only reason I still take Neurontin is to help me sleep at night, and it is a pretty good all-over pain reliever. I just can't get to sleep completely without it, though, and I have read that weaning off of this one completely is very difficult without a few weeks of "withdrawl." | F | 41 | 7 months | 1/10/2009 | 2 | postherpetic neuralgia | Sedation,brain burn, head jerking, muscle spasms, acne, poor vision, poor memory/speech, chills, gastro/intestinal distress, sore kidneys, new pains, ringing ears, cluster of sores in mouth/palette, hair thinning, congestion/cough, very low blood pressure, and emotional distress over the side effects. Note: no other drugs were being taken concomitantly. Strictly Neurontin | There is an initial honeymoon period - you get relief from intolerable nerve pain, you're sleeping, so you continue with the standard dosing protocols (300mg day 1 then up)Caution: if sensitive to drugs or coming off others, start low. I was underweight and struggling on drug treatments. No doubt this was a factor, while it reduced the core pain it created new types of pain in different parts. Within 1 hr of dosing I felt the chemicals entering the brain (brain burned),ears ringing, optical noise. Tummy fireworks became tummy torture. Sores on the roof of the mouth, and bronchial inflammation and coughing. These are big red flags. You know you've got stop taking it, but you know you have to taper gradually. My sense is that drugs can/will exacerbate pre-existing conditions or weaknesses, and create new weaknesses. Some of the damage I can see, some I can only sense. Some showed up immediately, some damage will no doubt appear down the road. Sadly, Dr. was't interested in the list of | F | 48 | 72 days | 1/8/2009 | 3 | chronic daily headaches | word expression difficult, confusion during conversations, insomnia and speeding feeling | I have had daily chronic headaches for over 4 yrs since my 2nd daughter was born. Neurontin has taken my headaches from a constant 7-8 level pain to around 3. I almost have a sensation like I feel the pain but perceive it less. Most people feel tired but Neurontin almost gives me energy. But I feel anxious sometimes when my mind takes a vacation when I really need it like driving or working! My decision making is horrible - being tormented by choices trying to pick out an apple at the grocery store! It is like the time/space relationship is all mixed up. Like I am on auto pilot almost an out-of-body experience. These all sound horrible but it the adverse events are much less on 100 mg taken 5 x before 5pm. | F | 41 | 6 months | 1/4/2009 | 3 | nerve pain - cubital tunnel | numb lips, drowsiness, dizziness, trouble thinking, clumsiness | I can only take at night(300mg) and have to have a lot of coffee in the morning to wake up...I only take when I have a flare up...as needed for the last 5 yrs. Not on it daily. | F | 50 | 5 years | 1/3/2009 | 2 | spinal nerve/disk damage | Major mood disturbances | M | 10 days | 12/18/2008 | 4 | Periphial Neuropathy | Drowsiness, slight short-term memory loss, weight gain | Worked reasonably well for my PN at (2 x 400 mg/day) in conbination with exercise and a healthier diet. You will have to watch your weight gain as I inially gained 20 lbs, but have since taken 10 lbs off that. May cause some depression if you miss a dose. | M | 49 | 1.5 years | 12/7/2008 | 2 | Insomnia, fibromyalgic pain | Extreme brainfog, unable to focus on anything, slurred speech | I was taking this along with Remeron (anti-dep) and the combination was absolutely awful. I told the doc that I didn't want to take Lyrica because of the dementia it causes while on it, but he still insisted that I try this (similar to Lyrica and apparently also lowers the energy level) in order to sleep better and without benzodiazempam. I think it's a poor sleeping aid (I couldn't do without the benzo anyway) and the total loss of vitality and ability to think and talk during the day makes it totally not worth the trouble. I prefer the benzos to any of these strange alternatives, they give me no side-effects, I sleep well, feel better as a result, and have no trouble to take a break. | F | 42 | 40 days | 12/7/2008 | 3 | Chronic Pain from leg AVM | I am experiencing hair loss from taking 300 mg of neurontin a day. | F | 36 | 6 months | 12/3/2008 | 4 | failed lumbar fusion | initiall had excessive dizzy, slurred speech on doses over 300mg/day | Back on Neurontin after a two week trial of Lyrica (so nauseated I could not continue) I am now slowly increasing this drug by 100mg a day every week. Have a great PCP, and feel very supported in my medical care which is invaluable to me navigating through. | F | 45 | 18 months | 12/2/2008 | 1 | herniated disk c5c6 | dizzines, pin and needle sensation in all my back and tingling in the fingers. Also burning feeling in my back after taking 900 mg daily for one week | F | 54 | 7 days | 11/25/2008 | 5 | Anxiety & Unpresented Back Pain | Slight drowsiness | I feel more comfortable, and this is the second day. I abused my clonazepam script, and have been suffering from motor tics and anxiety since I had to tell the doctor and pharmacy and haven't been medicated for that. For the first time in months I feel calm and hopeful. The doctor said that she believe that gabapentin may alleviate some of my anxiety but it does not bind to the GABA receptors, will not make me 'high' and i would not abuse it. This is amazing. She is right! I have no insomnia or anxiety effects that others report. I am very sensitive to medications, but this one is not giving me any side effects. I am at 100mg 3x a day. Wow! | M | 30 | 2 days | 11/19/2008 | 5 | Migraine, Nerve & Occipital Pain | A little jittery maybe. | My neurologist told me that I could actually take this drug on an as needed basis for my break through head pain and migraines, since I am taking Cymbalta as a preventative. I have taken 200 mg's twice for acute occipital nerve pain and migraine and am thrilled to say it helped drastically both times within the hour! The neurologist does not want me to take it daily until we determine whether the Cymbalta is working or not, but based on how much it helped my pain I will definitely try this medication next on a daily basis if the Cymbalta fails. I am relieved that it works because I am starting to have stomach pains from taking so much Motrin and really needed an alternative! | F | 43 | 2 days | 11/19/2008 | 2 | peripheral neuropathy | I have pins and needles in my feet which occur every month or so. When I first took nuerontin, 200 mg, the pins and decreased but not enough. Doubled my dosage to 400 mg and still had several episodes of pins and needles. Decided to take myself off of Neurontin and am presently having a severe, mean, ugly case of pins and needles. It has lasted for 4 days now an my nerves are wrecked. I hope it starts to subside soon cause I'm ready to fight anything. Constant agony on the pins and needles for now. | M | 120 days | 11/13/2008 | 3 | nerve pain (7 surgeries on arm) | sleepiness, lack of motivation, feeling "zombie-like"), difficult time waking up in the morning, hard time going to bed at night | been on it now for a month (100mg 4 times a day), still working up to larger dosing, feel like it is starting to help somewhat with the nasty pins and needles feeling in my arm where all that scar tissue is | F | 27 | 11/10/2008 | 2 | rls and neuropathy | I was on neurontin for about 6 weeks. In the beginning it worked well with no side effects; however after 5 weeks or so I became very, very tired all the time. I was afraid to drive. I'd fall asleep just sitting in a chair. The longer I took it the more tired I became. I've stopped taking it. While it worked for rls and neuropathy while on it the rest of my life was a yawn. | Besides the sleepiness I found it hard to follow conversations. My RLs isn't bad enough to warrant this medicine. The cure was worse than the conditon. Odd, that it worked well for a few weeks without tiredness to start. | F | 66 | 6 weeks | 11/8/2008 | 5 | nerve pain from car accident | Weight gain, loss of sexual libido & sexual disfunction, loss of concentration and a feeling of forgetfulness | I have been taking neurontin for about 10 months now to help reduce nerve pain in my neck, arm and shoulder resulting from a car accident several years ago. I have worked up to 300mg 3 times a day and the pain relief is very good. I really notice if I miss even a single dose as the pain gets much worse. Don't like the side effects, especially the sexual ones, so much so that I tried to discontinue the drug, but after a couple days off the medication the pain got extremely intense again and I realized how much relief the drug was actually giving me. Have decided to put up with the side effects to reduce the nerve pain. | F | 43 | 10 months | 11/4/2008 | 2 | Shingles | Blurred vision, extreme brain fog, fatigue but difficulty falling asleep, abdominal pain | I had the side effects mentioned while I was taking 600 mg daily (with no apparent pain relief)so I cut that dose in half to 300 mg. I still have a little blurred vision but the other side effects have pretty much gone away. Since I didn't feel I was getting any pain relief, I called the pharmacy and asked them how long it took for neurontin to start working, and was told 7-14 days. I'm on day 12 now, and continue to take 300 mg a day on the off chance that it's providing some relief. It's hard to tell as I still need to take a celebrex every morning and tylenol in the afternoon and before I go to bed. I don't know if my pain would be worse if I wasn't taking the neurontin, and I don't want to find out, so I'll take it another week or two until my shingles pain is hopefully gone. | F | 56 | 12 days | 10/26/2008 | 4 | nerve pain | Mood swings, Anger, Panic, Brain Fog, communication problems. | If I didn't have to work and I could spend my life isolated I would absolutly love the neurontin. The pain relief has been wonderful....I feel bad for my family because I am very dificult to deal with. I have always been ADD and emotional The doctor told me I am possibly bi-polar 2. I have been able to keep my emotional issues internal and hide my turmoil inside. The neuroton makes the ADD even more difficult to deal with. I can't stay focused on one thing. I have walked away from writing this 3 times allready. I have seen that they prescribe neuronton for Bi Polar disorders and All I can do is wonder WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT!!!! I am more of an emotional mess than usual and I have not been keeping it in. I loose controll over my reactions. Yesterday I forgot to close the refrigerator door. My husband said, "you should close that" Before I even had a chance to think about what I was doing I started yelling at him and he had to leave the room. I am very dificult to d | F | 40 | 3 weeks | 10/17/2008 | 2 | MS Acute Pain | Fatigue, Loss of Cencentration, Double Vision, Nightmares - and most importantly I have completely lost the ability to have an orgasm...this is so depressing as I'm only 25! | Started off on 100mg three times a day but this turned me into a zombie. Went down to just 100mg at night. Haven't had any sudden nighttime MS spasms since I've been on it (which is a relief) but I still think I'd prefer to have a decent sex life. I'm going to try coming off it this week and take a chance that I might have the pains. This drug is weird - makes you feel like you're not even human. | F | 25 | 3 weeks | 10/14/2008 | 3 | Nerve Pain | Grogginess, I feel like I'm in a fog sometimes. | It helped control my pain but the side effects were noticeable. | M | 18 | 2 months | 10/13/2008 | 4 | CRPS from venipuncture nerve injury | Significant and frequent brain fog! Difficulty finding words. Weight gain of 30 lbs the first year taking it. In general, significantly slows down my metabolism. Sleepiness. Flu-ish body aches about once a month. Difficulty concentrating. Sometimes I lose my balance. Almost constant twitches under one eye for about two weeks when dosage increased. | Although the side effects are significant, the pain syndrome is worse. In other words, the drug affects how I function, but I wouldn't be able to live with the amount of pain caused by the CRPS. I take 1800 mg/day, and for the most part it keeps my symptoms from being severe. I added Cymbalta 60mg/day this year, which helped take the edge off of symptoms even more, and helped with sleeping. It appears to be a good combination. The half-life of neurontin is short, so you need to stay on a strict schedule of taking the pills, or it will wear off quickly. | F | 42 | 3 years | 9/30/2008 | 4 | severe leg damage due to car wreck | Side Effects: I often feel off-balance, my body seems to just "hang a right". I have trouble concentrating at times, word retrieval is often difficult. I also fall asleep during the day, without warning. (don't drive) But then at night, I can't seem to feel sleepy until way past my normal bedtime. Usually however when I do fall asleep I sleep hard for 5 hours or so. | Neurontin has been a godsend to me, personally. It has greatly reduced daily pain, though it does little or nothing for event-induced pain (Such as 'doing too much', turning my leg incorrectly' and even bad weather symptoms). I am currently taking 3200 mg per day (800 mg 4 times daily). Due to a prescription error, I was without the med for 5 days... the pain then returned with a vengence. Would be very afraid to come off this medication quickly, if at all. Doctor has prescriped 50 mg Nortriptyline to be taken with the last dose per day... Not sure why, but ?? The dosage may be increased next month to a maximum of 3600 mg daily (900 mg x 4)with an additional increase to 75 mgs of nightly Nortriptyline. Doctor says after that we will have to look at alternative meds or procedures (whatever that means... LOL ) | F | 50 | 6 months | 9/29/2008 | 3 | Anxiety | At first this was working great for me. But then problems started to occur. I experienced a lot of mind fogginess and big problems with stuttering...not being able to form words....sudden stopping med-sentence. I am on 800mg 3 times a dy | I don't notice any big benefits from it. | F | 30 | 18 months | 9/28/2008 | 2 | Fibromyalgia | Knocks me out. Shortly after taking this medication I can not function, very sleepy and disorientaed and I sleep for hours apon waking I am dizzy and uncoordinated. Great for pain relief but not so great if you want to function normally. I am a single mother and need to work and on this drug it is impossible. | Like many others I have had weight gain increased fatigue, increased muscle spasm, and numbness and tingling in hands and arms. I also have increased muscle weakness and severe pain when I'm awake.I was also on Lyrica and I give that a 1 rating it was a hundred times worse. | F | 42 | 3 weeks | 9/16/2008 | 5 | Fibromyalgia | I did have dizzyness and a little swelling at first but I really don't anymore. The dizzy feeling comes and goes with me anyway. Lately I have had feelings of panic attacks and loss of control of life, but I am not sure if it is because the dose needs to be raised or the stress in my life right now. I see the doctor next month and will talk to her about it. | I have taken neurontin for almost 5yrs now. My Infectious disease doctor started me on it after taking 1500 mg of robaxin daily which could effect my liver and only took the edge off the pain. I only take 700-800 mg at night to help me sleep and control the muscle spasms, my husband says I am dangerous when I don't take it. I haven't really gained any weight and only recently had trouble with my gums and that may be just getting older, who knows. If I don't take the neurontin at night it feels like someone has taped electodes to me and is zapping me with electricity, not fun. When I haven't gotten enough exercise the muscle spasms get worse and I now walk at least a half a mile a day. | F | 56 | 5 years | 9/11/2008 | 2 | Fibromyalgia?, Diabetic | extreme pain and full feeling in ankles, knees (especially), elbows and wrists, shooting pains down legs and feet, and from elbows to fingertips,vivid dreams, crying when waking up from dream almost nightly, frequent urination (almost nightly), tachycardia, changing of clothes nightly one to two times, most recent symptom bleeding from vaginal area | I originally started taking this about a month and a half ago 300 mg 3 capsules at nighttime for general achy flu like aching all over my body. well this drug has resolved that problem, but the problems listed above have all occurred since taking neurontin about six weeks ago. The biggest one that my doctor's have noticed is that my heart rate has increased from 80 something to 135. Gave blood two weeks before started taking neurontin, and my heart rate was ok, not even mentioined. since then have had two or three doctors mention the fast rate of my heart, spent seven hours in emergency room (told to go there by my endocrinologist) and had almost every test imaginable, which came back normal, and all I received afterwards was that they didn't know what was causing my fast heart rate, and to have my endo check to see if could be my meds causing it. Went to give blood a few days ago, and was almost disqualified because my heart rate was too high. The pain that I was having before w | F | 52 | 45 days | 9/7/2008 | 4 | Unexplained pin & Needles and pain | On commencing medication some periods of dizzyness.Twitching under the lower eyelid. | Pin & Needles cramps and pain throughout body so possibly Fibromyalgia as all tests negative now. Neurologist started me on Gabapentin, started on low dose 200mg 3x day now up to 600mg 3x day. Took a few months for body to adjust, felt odd at first, but after some months the symptoms are greatly reduced, they 'rumble' not 'roar' and the dizzy feeling diminishes. It has enabled me to continue working and caring for the family, I was pretty much bed and home bound before with limited mobility and much pain. It is worth sticking with it a while, at least 3 months to reap the rewards. | F | 49 | 11 months | 9/2/2008 | 4 | L5/S1 bulged disc / pinched nerve | At first 1200 mg. a day with no noticed side effects other than a increase in sex drive. Dosage upped to 2400 mg ( 800 3 times a day ) and the following effects accurred. Drunk feeling first few days then only about 1 hour after taking. Sex drive is fine but I can't finish what I start. No problem being able to a normal amount of time. Can miss my mid day pill and I am able to finish. Greatly improved my attitude. Used to be depressed and at the moment I am more outgoing and happier. | Greatly helped with numbness in left leg. Pain from nerve and arthritis is not bothering me as much . | M | 46 | 3 weeks | 8/29/2008 | 2 | Multiple Sclerosis neuropathy | Sores on arms, legs and back. Irritability, brain fog, headaches, ear pain, tightness in neck and throat with difficulty swallowing, unable to focus. | I started taking 200 mg 3 x a day. I was a basket case. I couldn't think, sleep, or have a conversation which would end up in a difference of opinion. Couldn't make decisions. I dropped down to 100 mg 3 x a day which seemed a lot better. I started getting scabs on my legs, arms and upper back, ear pain, headaches, vision problems. What has scared me is that it feels like my throat is closing up and the muscles in my neck are so tight, I might as well be in a cast. I hope this is caused by the Neurotin and hope it will go away now that I have stopped taking it. | F | 46 | 6 months | 8/24/2008 |
| Key to
ratings: 5-Very Satisfied: this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal. 4-Satisfied: this medicine helped. 3-Somewhat Satisfied: this medicine helped somewhat. 2-Not Satisfied: this medicine did not work to my satisfaction. 1-Dissatisfied: I would not recommend taking this medicine. |
