Gabapentin

[Unconcious_Ghost]

When I landed in the ER for the 2nd time because I thought I'd had a heart attack...the Doc suggested I had developed trigeminal neuralgia.  Prior to the ER, I had extremely painful shooting pains alongside the left side of my head which culminated in my upper and lower jaw.  The pain made me think I had two abscessed teeth!  I went to two dentists and got examined, no problems at all.  When I had endured a long series of wicked panic attacks, that ramped up the cranial nerves and caused pains down my left arm and up my neck, hence thinking I was having a heart attack because the pain was NOT subsiding (that whole situation lasted a month+).
ER ran all sorts of tests, nothing came up.  Doc wanted me to get an MRI, which I refused to get since I cannot afford insurance.  He prescribed Gabapentin. 
For me, Gabapentin 'stuns' the nerve pain along the left side of my head and also 'shaves' off some anxiety, depression and bizarre highs/lows.  However, panic attacks do sneak through on rare occasion, and I just got zapped by 4 days of them. -Currently hiding away from others, I freaked them out and unfortunately hurt their feelings really bad. 
I have seen Gabapentin given to combat vets for nasty PTSD & depression as well. Typical dosage: 300 mg, three times a day.  Takes about an hour to take effect, lasts strongly for about 3-4 hours. 

Side effects:

Negatives: zero sex drive, dry mouth, kills appetite, picked up weight, zaps ambition to do much, dampens ability to remember things, occasional dizzy/light drunken-stony feeling.  Can make it tough to think crisp/sharply because it 'dulls' your personality and mental processing.  I wouldn't take it if I had be high functioning...i.e. take a test, give a board room presentation, sound intelligent, make clear sense, etc.  Doesn't always prevent panic attacks from coming through on rare occasion.  If it's really coming on strong, I'd avoid driving; you get a slight vertigo/dizzy feeling which does NOT mix with driving!  And it doesn't 'smell' great when it surfaces through your skin, I don't like that chemical drug tinged smell combined with my own natural chemicals.  I take more showers because of it.

Positives: kills sex drive (which keeps my mind off of dating related interests), has a 'leveling' capacity for evening out highs/lows, knocks down some anxiety, I sleep fine on it (at times it can really knock you out if timed right), almost eliminates menstrual cramps, tends to tackle other nerve related pains in your body, is helpful in social settings to keep your anxiety down (i.e. mild 'stony' feeling) to avoid confrontation, doesn't upset my stomach, doesn't cause skin problems, etc.

[Kizzie]

Hi UG - I am currently on Gabapentin (900 mg down to 200 now) for shingles which started in April if you can believe it and still have tingling/burning/numbness in nerves on one side of my my chin. Shingles is one really nasty virus that involves a lot of nerve pain.  It showed up on the right side of my face but didn't extend down to my arm like yours did. If you don't get on the shingles meds within about 72 hours after symptoms appear it often turns into ongoing trigeminal neuralgia once the rash has subsided.  Excruciatingly painful so I hear you when you say you ended up in the ER more than once, and at the dentists!  I was also on Ketorolac which is a med for short term acute pain. That I'm off of now.

So I know the pain very well and never want to go through it again.  I think the Gaba it also helped with my Social Anxiety Disorder, at least I think it may have as around about the same time I started on Celexa for BIG time panic attacks. I haven't had a panic attack since starting both meds even though I have decreased the dose of Gaba. I have read though that going down or off of it can bring on the anxiety, especially if you do it too quickly.  Are you still on Gaba?  And if not, maybe you reduced too quickly?  Are you still getting the nerve pain at all? 

I don't have any side effects save some occasional sleepiness which I like because I sleep better and some vivid dreams although again that may be the Celexa.

I was not exactly Mary Sunshine during the time when the pain was at its worst and who could blame me, it was hard to get through the day. Anyway, you might want to focus on just getting better as that kind of pain takes all your reserves.  Once you do feel better I'm sure you can help those people whose feelings you hurt understand that you were not yourself. 

[Unconcious_Ghost]

Kizzie said: Hi UG - I am currently on Gabapentin (900 mg down to 200 now) for shingles which started in April if you can believe it and still have tingling/burning/numbness in nerves on one side of my my chin.
I think the Gaba it also helped with my Social Anxiety Disorder, at least I think it may have as around about the same time I started on Celexa for BIG time panic attacks. I haven't had a panic attack since starting both meds even though I have decreased the dose of Gaba. I have read though that going down or off of it can bring on the anxiety, especially if you do it too quickly.  Are you still on Gaba?  And if not, maybe you reduced too quickly?  Are you still getting the nerve pain at all? 
I don't have any side effects save some occasional sleepiness which I like because I sleep better and some vivid dreams although again that may be the Celexa.

Hiya Kizzie.
Because I thought I was having root canal problems and what seemed to be heart attack symptoms...landed me in the dentist's chair, and then the ER.  -I had no clue what the heck was going on, and it was ALL starting to freak me OUT.  ER doctor highly recommended an MRI, which I declined due to no medical insurance.  I simply cannot fathom burning thousands of dollars for medical examinations which may or may not figure out the source reasoning why I have trigeminal-N.
Leading up to the ER visit, I was having vicious, long lasting panic attacks that spanned days, weeks and months.  Just torturous stuff.  I think I literally 'blew' a 'head gasket' brought on by the extreme stress in my system.  I'm still on Gaba, 300 mgs 3 times a day.  It does help stun the anxiety, but I have had catastrophic, highly disorienting panic attacks while taking it.  So, within a year of taking Gaba, I've had about 5 devastating panic attacks.  I think Gaba keeps the anxiety/stress under wraps, but its only suppressing it vs. ensuring full coverage.  It's not wholly reliable to prevent panic attacks.  I agree with you, it does numb up the brain/senses, which in turn levels out some of the anxiety urges.
I have seen combat veterans get issued prescriptions of Gaba for anxiety, etc.  Personally, I'd like to get off the stuff, it dulls my brain a lot...and I need to be VERY razor sharp with my work and during conversations.  It also makes me feel a little dizzy, which isn't good while driving.  I do NOT like the subtle 'detached' sensation while driving.
I will be searching out a brand new counselor in a month or so, and trying to figure out how to shop for a counselor who specializes with CPTSD.  -Do counselor's exist like that?
After really searching around the Net about Celexa, I'd really like to try getting on it.  Which leads me to a couple questions...how can I get a counselor to prescribe me Celexa...instead of some other drug? 

[Kizzie]

Hi Ghost - there are T's who do know about CPTSD specifically although fewer than is needed, but many have some training and experience in trauma so it's not a big leap for them to understand and treat CPTSD.  My T is like this and I've provided him with links to Walkers site and a few others.

Celexa - hmmmm, I was prescribed thru a psychiatrist I saw when I was having the panic attacks and am now monitored by my GP so unless your T is a psychiatrist, I guess you'll have to go to your GP.  It helped me because my Social anxiety disorder was out of control early on this year as I think I mentioned and the psychiatrist I saw had had a lot of success with Celexa in this respect. 

Hope this helps and that you can find some relief thru therapy and a med that helps!

[Trees]

Hi, I have been taking gabapentin for maybe ten years.  It was first prescribed for me by a VA psychiatrist treating me for ptsd.  Currently I take a total of 3200mg a day.  And in the past I used to take a lot more.

I don't notice any side effects.  For me, gabapentin reduces the torture of the endless negative thoughts erupting out of my mind like clouds of mosquitoes in my face.  I feel less tormented, less exhausted, far more able to think clearly.

I have tried out many different meds.  The only ones that have continued to help me throughout the years, without side effects, have been gabapentin and fluoxetine.  I would take higher doses of
each if a prescriber would permit this.  But I find that even an "inadequate" dosage does make a significant difference in my ability to function.     Trees

[Kizzie]

I did not know anything at all about Gabapentin before having shingles but it sounds like it is used for so much more than as an antiseizure medication.  Tree, my GP was reluctant to give me more than 300 mg/day for really intense pain (they call shingles the suicide virus because it is so painful and for some people goes on and on), I almost had to beg for an increase.  I do have sleepiness with it, even now at 200 mg/day, it just goes to show you how different we all are physiologically.  Prozac did very little for me, but when I was switched to Celexa earlier this year and it made a huge difference - it's the first time ever my SA has been so manageable. Meds are a crap shoot or can be!

[Trees]

Kizzie, you are so right about the wide variety of reactions to psychiatric meds, due to physiological reasons that are mostly still unknown.

I have found that anti seizure meds do often help me to some extent.  I have tried a variety of them over the years, and it was gabapentin that helped me the most with the least side effects.   It is unfortunate that so many people don't know how helpful the higher doses can be for some circumstances.

These days I even adhere pretty much to a ketogenic diet, which has helped a lot of epileptics with otherwise intractable seizures.  I find that it does indeed calm down my brain considerably.   Trees

[marycontrary]

Gapapentin made me violent and psychotic (900mg). I went off of them after 5 months. It took about a year for the terrible side effects to go away.

[Kizzie]

Good grief Mary, so sorry to hear this! It's a good for members to know that reactions to meds are very individual and can be such a crap shoot.  Do you use any other med(s) now?  Strike the lat sentence, I just read your post in another thread that you do not and I can see why. 

[Unconcious_Ghost]

To echo MaryContrary's assessment of gabapentin...re psychotic side affects, I read the side effects of Gabapentin and instantly assessed that I had every extreme side effect listed.  Also, there are several online references to class action lawsuits against the drug manufacturer for Gaba's worst side effect.
Since there are rules on here about excluding detailed extremes, I cannot divulge how far & how badly those side effects instigated a horrid breakdown 3.5 weeks ago.

So, about a week + ago, I tossed out ALL of my gabapentin meds.  Was on Gaba since December 2013, which was initially prescribed for trigeminal neuralgia.
Already feeling better, more alert, positive sensations returning, the fog of sedated depression beginning to clear.  Of course, this is on my own and not at the behest or guidance of a counselor/doctor.  Typically, going cold turkey off meds or deciding to go off meds isn't recommended.  In my case, I do not have the luxury of medical benefits & a counselor, so I am doing this solo.

Currently taking 1,000 mgs of Inositol (natural mood help for panic attacks & anxiety) daily.  I'm still getting over the vicious spin which the Gaba. did to my brain & body and very slowly on the mend. 

[Kizzie]

Hi Ghost - I am so sorry to hear you went through such a tough time      but glad to hear the fog and symptoms are lifting and you're beginning to feel better.  I had not read about the side effects you or Mary describe or about any class action suits but it's good to be aware of this for those who may end up on Gaba. 

[Unconcious_Ghost]

Thanks Kizzie.
Takes only a couple minutes to research that information (side effects & class action lawsuit) about Gaba.

[Kizzie]

Tks Ghost, glad to see you back on the forum by the way 

[marycontrary]

Ghost, I am so glad you are doing this. Neurontin is horribly toxic and addictive and really needs to taken off the market. It was created as a "non addictive" alternative to the benzodiapene class...eh valium and xanax, etc. Well, this has not turned out to be the case.

Again, I will say that I have a tendencey to fall into psychosis if I am not real careful, and Gabapentin did a horrible number on me. I don't take meds, either. After 11 of them over many years, and with a strong physio knowledge background, I realized that for me, I was headed to an early grave with these drugs.   

[Trees]

My deepest sympathies to all who have had bad experiences with gabapentin (Neurontin).  I have tried many medications over many years, and a number of them did a number on me. 

But for me, gabapentin (Neurontin) has been a lifesaver, for more than 10 years.  I would like for it to remain available to those of us who find it so incredibly helpful.    I find it totally non-addictive, and it even fails to build up in my body.  I feel incredibly fortunate to have found something that helps me at all.

It is my experience that most of the professionals that prescribe these sorts of medications have little or no idea what they actually do in the body.  Nor do they know which parts of our mostly-unknown brains (and associated organs) are functioning in such a way, within each individual organism of us, as to benefit from any which medication.  A convoluted sentence, I am sorry.

Taking any such med is an experimental endeavor, always risky.  I think the prescribers should explain that more carefully in advance.