Gabapenton

[Grant Lamontagne]

Anyone else using Gabapenton for anything?

My doctor prescribed it for me on Friday, I got around to picking it up yesterday and I took it for the first time last night.

This morning I am so dizzy that I am seriously considering taking the day off work.   

Def

[SteveC]

Sorry no experience with it. What are you taking it for ?   Looks like it's mainly for anti seizure and nerve pain.

Sometimes it will take your body a few days to get used to the drug and the side effects will minimalize.

[kkokkolis]

I don't, but some of my patients do. I don't like it that much. Topiramate and Pregabaline are more useful.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Sorry no experience with it. What are you taking it for ?   Looks like it's mainly for anti seizure and nerve pain.

Sometimes it will take your body a few days to get used to the drug and the side effects will minimalize.

Chronic pain due to post traumatic arthritis.  My orthopedic surgeon referred to my left foot (not the one he did!) as "a salvage job."

It was an alternative to Tylenol, Anvil etc that I stopped taking as I enjoy having a liver.

I am pretty sure I'm not going to take it again as the pain is still present and I'm pretty queasy.  I gave up being dizzy just before lunch today, and have been dealing with general queasiness ever since.  I don't see myself being in a hurry to do this again.

Def

[PitCarver]

I've been taking it for a while now.
Never had any ill effects.  Perhaps try taking it on a Friday and Saturday first to let it get started.  Had to stop Advil and ibuprofen a couple years ago to save my kidneys... I'm also having to use a duragesic patch for pain which just keeps the wolf at bay.

[Grant Lamontagne]

They told me the only side effects were drowsiness and suggested I have it before bed.

I might try it next weekend, but I hate the idea of losing an all too short weekend to these damn things.

Def

[kkokkolis]

Venlafaxine, Duloxetine and Pregabaline should all be better. The first two will not produce dizzyness. I prescribed them thousands of times, very rarely there has been a problem. Pregabaline might, or might not, produce some sedation, it depends on the dose. Go to a pain speSmurfpillst, usually they are anesthesiologists.
In Canada you may take legally cannabis also. You may get a prescription, but smoked marijuanna might also work. This might make you dizzy, but there is a chance that you won't mind.
I am not a pain doctor, but I am an Addictologist, MSc 9.83/10, 23 years of experience in the field, trainer nationaly and internationaly. So, I'm not joking here.

Wat's that smurf with speSmurfpillst? I didn't know there was a dirty word there!

[Grant Lamontagne]

I've experimented with CBD oil (cannabis oil with the THC removed, for anyone who may be curious!) and I haven't really found it did a whole heck of a lot for me.  Maybe I didn't try a high enough dose- one of these days I'll try again.

My doctor recommended many of the things you did, and has put me on the waiting list for a chronic pain clinic- I may hear from them within the next 18-24 months.

Meanwhile I have also been referred to a sports medicine clinic.  These are the guys that help athletes with bigger problems than mine do things I couldn't do in my best days, so it will be interesting to see what they come up with.

I had a cortisone shot last year and I have to say I've had more unpleasant experiences in life, but not many!  I know it works wonders for many people, but for me it was intensely painful, and a pain that lasted for weeks afterwards.

I've been living with this pain for over 20 years now, so I'm pretty used to it.  It's nice to have some options for managing it, but I'm also okay with just living with it.  I'd give it up in a moment if there was a way, but so far there hasn't been.

Unfortunately for me, as my left ankle doesn't move the way a left ankle is supposed to, I have been developing pain in my knees and hips as everything is out of alignment.  Knees and hips I can handle, but I really cannot comment on how much I really, really don't want to develop back issues too.   

And that's why I am experimenting with this stuff, but so far I don't see much of an opportunity to improve.

Def

[Farmer X]

Wat's that smurf with speSmurfpillst? I didn't know there was a dirty word there!

The filter thinks there is; specifically, a pill for treating a dysfunction found only in males.

I have no experience with Gabapenton (and didn't know what it was until I opened this topic). Hipe you can find something that alleviates the pain and doesn't have smurfty side effects.

[kkokkolis]

Ci@lis? That's not dirty. Anyway.
Bone issues are difficult to cure Def. I hope you'll find your peace. CBD is a gimmick though, THC does the job. I don't take any, but I'm not in pain.
Waiting list for pain clinic? I would never have guessed that for Canada.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Government funded Healthcare means that anyone can get treated and won't go bankrupt over it.  Unfortunately it is also overburdened and underfunded thanks to typical government mismanagement.

Many people here do not have a family doctor despite having one of the better ranked medical schools in NA in Halifax, simply because doctors make much better money elsewhere.  They graduate and usually move to the US, and honestly, I don't blame them.

I am remarkably lucky to have a family doctor, but then I am also a good place filler.  I am an easy patient.

"July 12th, 2007-
Patient came in with arrow in forehead.  Arrow removed from forehead, prescribed antibiotics, sent home.

August 12, 2012-
Patient arrives with car bumper in left lung.  Bumper removed, prescribed antibiotics, patient discharged.

October 03, 2021-
Patient arrives following accident involving a raccoon and airline engine- details fuzzy due to patient's inability to speak.  Wrench removed from patient's windpipe, prescribed antibiotics, patient discharged"

Not actual exerpts from my medical file, but probably not as far off as you'd think.

This new doctor I have has sent me for a battery of tests to establish a baseline, which is why I have been prescribed Gabapenton.  Nothing in my life has really changed otherwise. 

Def

[Farmer X]

Prescribed antibiotics, patient discharged.

Replace "antibiotics" with "Motrin," and you have a good idea of how it typically goes when a United States Sailor leaves a Navy medical facility.

[Grant Lamontagne]

"Sir, he's dead."

"Tell him to walk it off, we have work to do!"

Def

[PitCarver]

This new doctor I have has sent me for a battery of tests to establish a baseline, which is why I have been prescribed Gabapenton.  Nothing in my life has really changed otherwise. 

Def

I hate changing doctors...
Had to change mine last year.  Just glad that my new one hasn't done anything extreme with my treatment.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I agree.  I had a good doctor for many years, but he eventually retired.  A replacement came in and i managed to get in with him.

Unfortunately he had a heart attack as the workload on doctors here is pretty heavy.  He survived thankfully, but moved back to Ontario where the demands aren't as all encompassing.... and where he could make more money.

This new doctor is quite good.  I like him a lot, but he is young and has a young family.  I wouldn't blame him if he went off to greener pastures in the next few years, before his kids start school.

Def

[Alan K.]

I've been on it as a nerve blocker for various permanent pains for the last 3 years.  Once you get used to it you won't get dizzy or have any of the other side affects that they warn you about, but it does still make me drowsy.   I drink copious amounts of coffee or tea (less than I used to but probably more than most people) in order to function, and if I don't I get very sleepy about mid-afternoon.  I can work through it if I need to, with or with out the caffeine, but some days I take advantage of being semi-retired and have a nice long nap before supper.  In any case, not being in constant pain is a big improvement.

[kwakster]

Look up PEA, short for palmitoylethanolamide.
Doctors call it a lipid mediator, and your own body makes it in your younger years.
It’s also in small amounts in egg yolk and peanuts.
It can do many good  things in your body, and one of them is treating neuropathical pain, which it does without any side effects.
Recommended minimal dose is 600 mg a day.