neurontin side effects

Dr. Shawn, Lyrica has side effects also. Its just different for everybody. I have gained weight, not only due to neurontin though. The weight comes and goes with every passing day, it just depends on other factors for me. My only side effect is a little sleepiness when I increase the dose, other then that I’m good with it until my body gets use to it, then I have to either raise the dose or lower it for a while. My usual drug reactions. If it was helping then by all means go back on it. You need to have good control of your pain to be able to do your job. A little weight never hurt anyone, alot of pain can have a bad affect on your body(the dreaded R word) That is great that you are able to work 7 hour days! Congrats!! Take Care.

the site affect of Lyrica is gain weight and lot of appetite, I’m on lyrica and are changing to neorotine again, I felt it when I started on Lyrica how my weight got up, and the doctor at the rehab center did not listen to me, and I got now my doctor that I had when I was dx and he wants to pull me out of the Lyrica because the first site affect is gain weight, but it is many other site affect with lyrica, and more it is working on you more site affect you get.

Dr Shawn you may try Lyrica. I am on Lyrica and I can’t say if I gain weight because I didn’t but the reason might be that I am also on Concerta for my ADHD and that made me lose weight because I didn’t feel the need to snack all the time.
But maybe Lyrica would work for you. But the list of side effect is weight gain.
But if the Neurontin works for you even though there is weight gain you have to decide how much weight you are gaining versus the fact it is helping you.
I was on 1800mg a day before I switched to Lyrica.
I am glad you are working 7 hour days. But for your 11 day rotation you might consider going back on Neurontin to help you get through it then worry about switching medication.
Good Luck

Sue

I have been following this string with great interest. My pain level has been increasing and sleep has become a problem. Now that school has started I have to appear somewhat alert. Middle-schoolers can sense any weakness [just kidding].

At 6″6″ 325 lbs I don’t want to try anything that is going to increase my appetite. Has anyone found anything that works?

I have been on Neurotin and Elavil since June. I have not noticed weight gain. I have noticed an increased sweet tooth. I try to keep it in check.
I also thought it was the elavil that caused the sweet tooth.
Both meds though make me sleepy tired. So it is hard for me to tell whether it is the medication or the GBS/CIDP that is causing the fatigue/sleepy/tired.

dr. shawn, nuerontin made me gain alot of weight but did help the pain. i was taking 2400 mg. per day. the elavil also helps but increases the sweet tooth. i liked cymbalta and was able to lose a little weight on it but the price was too much for me. now the elavil and darvacet and naproxen keep the pain at a tolorable level.now i have a fatty liver and high cholesterol due to the weight gain. guess its always boils down to the lesser of two evils. lots of luck. barbara

I noticed an increase in appetite too. Also, I seem to have violent dreams. they are scary, and they seem so real. But the neurontin seems to keep the vertigo, lightheaded feeling I get away so I keep taking it. (100 mg baby dose does the trick.)

Hi Shawn,
Grandpa Bob took neurotnin for his trigeminal neuralgia, he did gain weight and it made him very tired, as well it was not enough for the pain. He currently take Lyrica, for the first time in years, the pain is manageable. He has gained weight, but he does snack alot! Alot of the weight also seems to be water retention in his legs, as he is on hydrochlorot max dose. There is no congestive heart failure causing the water retention, they feel it is a side affect of the lyrica. I should mention he is on a higher than reccommended dose.

He also is very tired and takes naps often and he is a little spacey some times. Who is to say this just isn’t age. Regarding his pain however, he thanks God every day for the person that came up with this drug!

Try to take it easy with the 11 hour days! Maybe you could get a cleaning lady twice a week that week! Take out dinners and a babysitter to help with the kids after school! Ahhhh would that be nice!!! Well, I will say a prayer for you and for all of the doctors that you work with so that one day they can better understand! Have a great day!

Dawn Kevies mom 😮

Hi Dr. Shawn: I have been on neurontin since my diagnosis and have gained a lot of weight since getting out of the hospital. I wouldn’t give up the neurontin as it makes me feel much better and wonder if the weight loss is also due to the difficulty I have getting good exercise. When I watch my diet and get exercise, such as water walking, I do loose weight. I think I would say I gain it a lot more easily than before GBS but can’t say why for sure.
I think it is great you are hanging in there trying to do what you think is right. If the neurontin helps, why not take it? It sounds like you are on a minimum dose anyway. I am on 2700mgs now. Anything less and the pain came back. Now that I am on oxycontin I may try to lower the neurontin in a while and see what happens, though my pain doc says that now that I have finally gotten pain free don’t mess with anything for now. Jeff

I took neurontin in 2004 when I was having a lot of numbness in my feet and deveolped restless leg syndrome. At first it was a godsend. I took 300 mg before I went to bed. Within a few weeks, the numbness was gone and I felt great. After about six months, though, I started to get this strange side effect….my tongue felt thick. I stopped the neurontin and it went away. I have never taken anything stronger than Advil for pain. I have gotten myself use to the occasional leg , feet and back pain. I think I have a high tolerance.
Good luck and I hope that one day the other doctors come to understand your illness. The problem with GBS is that most of us show no outward signs of our residuals and people don’t understand.

I have been on 5400mg of Neurontin daily for three years. I have gained fifty pounds and holding. I could blame it on my diabetes type 1 so not sure where it came from. Sometimes it makes me sleepy but not often. Then again there are times that I can’t hold my eyes open and just fall asleep for no reason. For sure it gives me gas but I live in my room and seldom go out so it offends no one. I once cut back to 900mg a day for a month but the pain was horrendous so I’ll never experiment again. I thank God for Neurontin. My residuals constantly fluctuate but my diabetic neuropathies surely contribute. Wish there was a pill for that. I almost consider my GBS next to nothing when compared to diabetes. Would like to find someone else with Juvenile Diabetes Type 1 and GBS just to compare notes. Good luck finding what will help you for the rest of your life.

Hi Michael, Welcome to The Family. Sorry to hear you are having such a rough time of it with the dn, neurontin should help that pain as well. Is there a chance you could add an anti depressant or Lyrica to help control the dn? Take care.

Hello Cheryl. For 3 years I’ve been taking Neurontin, Prozac, Zocor, Inderal, Enalapril, Flexaril, and Prilosec. All these seem to be doing their jobs. My Dr. still isn’t happy that my A1C is 9.5. He wants it a 6. It’s hard to make them all happy.

michael, what are you taking for your pain? whoops, i see it is neurontin. how much do you take? take care. be well.

gene gbs 8-99
in numbers there is strength

You got that right Michael.;) Have you been able to try the inhaled form of insulin? Are you on any supplements? or diet restrictions that might be causing some problems? I understand how frustrating it must be for you, I wish there was an easy answer for everything. Take it easy.

Im getting of the Lyrica and taking neurotin, and for me it is a relief, why Im awake for long time, I got so sleepy of Lyrica, but yet Im not on same level on the neurotin that is im only taking 900 mg and I have bad pain when Im walking more then few meters. But my apertide have are not as much as it was on Lyrica, I think we all have diffrent side affect of each med. But for me neurotin is better, less water on my feet, feeling much better in my head 🙂 and that is sure good

helga,

trying to compare the amount of neurontin & lyrica doesn’t work. the max of each is so different, but more important is that 900 mg of neurontin sounds like too little for you. try doubling it or tripling it. and/or take 400 mg 4 hours before you plan on walking. take care. be well.

gene gbs 8-99
in numbers there is strength

Michael,
Just wanted to let you know you are not alone. I am a 33 year veteran of Type I Diabetes. It is such a drag trying to manage the two together. I have the pump and still struggle to get my A1C down. It’s around 8 and that is because I can’t exercise the way I should. Dr.Shawn, there seems to be a higher incidence of CIDP in people with diabetes. Of course there has not been enough research on this to make any definite connections but the autoimmune response is similar and would seem to make the connection sensible. Neurontin is a great drug for blocking nerve pain and does make one tired and hungry. I went off it as soon as I could but would use it again in a heartbeat for the kind of pain I was having so weigh the pros and cons and do whats best for your pain management. That is the priority. Be well.
Linda

Hi Dr Shawn,
I’ve Been Spending Alot Of Time Reading In These Forums. Usually Late Because I Too Have Difficulty Sleeping. I’m Finding My Limitations, Which Is Hard For Me Because I Don’t Have Time Really To Be Limited. I Worked Last Thurs. X 4 Hrs. And Had To Remove My Shoes @ 10:00am. Dr J And The Other Nurse Is Allowing Me To Do Call-backs, Computer Work… I’d Rather Be Running, Which Was The Norm For Me Before This Started. I Am Going To Work Tues And Thurs At Least 4 Hrs Maybe 8. Then Slowly, Hopefully Go Back To 8 Hrs Daily. It’s Really Hard To Know What To Expect From Day To Day. These Forums Have Helped Me To Realize I’m Not Alone! Hope To Hear From You Soon.
Jerrie

Hi Jerrie, Welcome to The Family. Don’t overdo it, don’t rush into long hours, your recovery can’t be pushed. Linits are best, overdoing it can cause a relapse, and believe me those aren’t any fun. Take care.

Dr. Shawn,

Does Neuronton have anything to do with “hemochromatosis”?? Which…….My Dr. is diagnosing me with (preliminary).

See this email from my Doctor inre to this:

…………………”From: Gregory Hanson
Date: 2007/09/08 Sat PM 02:11:32 CDT
To: [email]leachp@windstream.net[/email]
Subject: Update

Hi Mr. Leach:

Ferritin 1329 Very high
TIBC 275
Iron 212 High
Transferrin Saturation (TS) (212/275=) 77% Very high

[url]http://www.irondisorders.org/Disorders/[/url]

Try this website. We need to confirm the diagnosis of elevated iron,
so will do a repeat fasting iron levels test Tuesday or later at
Labcorp. We will enter this Monday, and you can tell the lab persons
entered on the computer.

Explore the website, and you will not that some of the non-specific
symptoms could be related to the iron overload. Actually diagnosis
is usually worked up through the GI doctors.

I think this is a positive finding and we usually have good treatment
outcomes (Don’t get ahead of ourselves, we still need to make a
diagnosis, but hemochromatosis is the most common).

Thank you.
Greg Hanson “”………………………..

Could you please give me some of your opinion on this……………as a “second opinion”, if you will.??? I am really worried about these blood results and the preliminary diag. from my Dr.

Thanks,

Per

Since there was nothing like a current cold or flu shot there was nothing they could pin it on. Then 30 days later I have 800 blood sugar. I was hardly ever sick my whole life. My matabolism was high. I totally know that the GBS made way for the Diabetes. All the neuropathies seldom fluctuate unless my blood sugar drops below 90. Then I’m really hurtin’ and don’t have much time. You want to know about panic? So, I am 58 and can’t drive. I lost my job as a civilian working for the Air Force. Got early Social Security for being totally disabled. Just sorta spinning my wheels. My daughter in law has the pump. I don’t like a machine telling me when to eat. I use Novalog and Lantus. I have direct control with the syringe. Besides, what else do I have to do?

Good luck in your recovery DR Shawn. Take Care
We understand completely come back down the road and give us an update.

Sue

You will be missed! Would love to hear from you any time 🙂 I wish you “well”.

[quote=tofraljos]Im getting of the Lyrica and taking neurotin, and for me it is a relief, why Im awake for long time, I got so sleepy of Lyrica, but yet Im not on same level on the neurotin that is im only taking 900 mg and I have bad pain when Im walking more then few meters. But my apertide have are not as much as it was on Lyrica, I think we all have diffrent side affect of each med. But for me neurotin is better, less water on my feet, feeling much better in my head 🙂 and that is sure good[/quote]

well I though it was 100 mg per capsule but it is 300mg and Im talking 4 in the morning and 3 in afternoon and then 4 in the evening.. no wonder Im feeling good. im talkin there for 3300 mg per day. not 900mg. *LOL*
xoxooxoxo
Helga