neurontin reactions

[mak]

Thanks for all your comments. My doctor prescribed neurontin for nerve pain due to Multiple Sclerosis but I think I'm gonna pass on this stuff and head for canabis because that does not have any terrible side effects.

[Matiac]

I've been on Gabapentin 300 mg. little over a year for neck/back/shoulder/arm pain. Doc started me on one, then two, to three a day. After I told her it wasn't really doing anything, it got upped to 6 a day. Still not much of anything. She bumps me up to 9 (!) a day, and now I have raised, itchy rashes I'm pretty certain are being caused by it. Irritability, hyperactivity, both physical and mental, sleeplessness, forgetfullness, and now you people are telling me I have SEIZURES to worry about? I'm thinking the risks aren't worth the benefits, and when I stop taking this stuff the damage will be permanent? I didn't know this was part of the bargain...all the warnings indicated on the pharmacy slip was the usual "don't take with alcohol, makes you dizzy, thoughts of suicide"...NADA about seizures. Hmm...I'll be back with a status report after my surgery for my neck in April.

[Gabriel Trujillo]

neurontin widow wrote:

I am not a doctor and I can't tell you what to do but let me tell you my story in the Readers Digest version. My husband took neurontin for only six months starting in Jan 2004 after two surgerys for slipped disks. I read all the side effects before he starting taking neurontin and while it had somethings listed not what we really needed to know. By the end of May 2004 he had changed so much I finally called his doctor and said something was wrong. They didn't take him off the Neurontin they just said he had to come in. Some of the changes included, sleeplessness, paranoia (big time), inattentive to driving and surrounding things. Couldn't concentrate. He turned nasty and mean and abusive.
Unfortunately we were never able to take him off the neurontin because he hung himself the week before fathers day 2004. You will never make me beleive that Nurontin wasn't responsible. If you have any feelings like this or anything out of the ordinary. Call your doctor immediatly. I can not express how slowly these symptoms creep up and you are not even aware of it until you think back after the fact and things start to fall into place. You may ask why I didn't call the doctor sooner. If there had been a black box warning regarding suicide or thoughts of suicide I would have. That is all it would have taken to possible save my husbands life. I have two small children 7 and 3 my youngest was only 1 1/2 years old. They saw a side of their father they never should have.

Is been Godsend that I saw your post. I was placed on Neurontin 600 mg three times per day two months ago after disc surgery and about 4 weeks ago I woked up in the middle of the night with a terrible anxiousness, it was so bad I had to walk around the house until morning, I was completely puzzled as I never in my life ever suffered of depression or anxiety, then two weeks later I noticed I was sleeping less and less and would continued to feel even during the day this terrible anxiety, two weeks ago I started thinking of suicide when never in my life had I ever thought of that, I always been a very strong character person, I own my own business and doing well, I just could not understand what was hapenning to me, after reading your post I started decreasing the dose little by little and will be completely off of it during the next two weeks, now that I know is the Neurontin, is such a relief as I thought I was going insane. This is a very dangerous drug and I can see how it will influence people to suicide if not careful.

[Sherry]

I was on 2400 mg of Neurontin, I have been on it for a couple of years. I have had leg twitching,
tiney muscle spasms, It never occured to me that it could be from the Neurontin since I was concvinced it was from nerves. Well, a week ago my legs turned to jello and I fell down three times trying to get from one boulding to the next. I had a security officer, and two cops tell me I was having seizures. The scary thing is that I don't remember it. I had to stay in the hospital for observation overnight and had a cat scan and MRI of the brain. All the tests were fine and the ER doctor said it was caused from the Neurontin. Do not kid yourself, Neurontin can cause seizures. I am getting weaned of it, and my brain doesn't feel near as cloudy. I just feel blessed that this did not happen behind the wheel.

[allergic rxn to neurontin]

wheels wrote:

My wife recently had severe back pain. She spent one week in a local hospital and 2 weeks in a major research hospital--never quite found what it was. It left but she now after major doses of neurontin has slurred speech, mental processing issues and no longer knows her alphabet or numbers. Cannot process normal conversation quickly, read and etc.
Any thoughts or seen something similar?
Thanks Wheels

Yes, I had the same exact reaction to Neurotin, including amnesia. Please take your wife to the hospital if she is still experiencing these reactions. She could also be experienceing kidney failure in addition to complete lack of cognitive ability. My doctor explained that this was a known, but rare side effects where the drug begins to shut down processes of brain instead of just shuting off the primary receptor for pain.(allergic rxn)
In addition you may notice, hostility, or irrational behaviors this is common as well of the allergic rxn, especially when the medication is stopped abruptly. Please get your wife to the doctor, if you have not already.
take care.

[Jennifer in New Hampsire]

Oh boy I am really nervous now. I have just been started on Neurontin for chronic pain. I do have migraines and when I was younger I had seizures. I am so nervous now with what might happen. Will my seizures come back if I try to stop this medication? I already have anxiety issues so what will happen? I have a 12 year old very active boy who has seen me in so much pain since my injuries last year I was hoping that this Medication would be a god send not a curse. Can anyone help me understand what I should be feeling and what I need to have my loved ones looking out for?

[Mark H]

taper off asap, do no wait for any specific reaction. If you do no notice anything, your dose will be raised, then the side effects could be prominent or masked. there are many other medications that have been studied for decades and can be used for seizures and migraines. tell your doctor you cannot/will not take this medication. stop while you're ahead.

[kay]

i have been off and on neurontin for several years now for post shingle pain.It really does help with the pain but the side effects are bad,i fell very hyper,my eyes look very red and i look drunk, the next day ifeel weak and tired and my eyes are blood red.Is anyone out there having eye problems.Iam on 300mg 3times aday, but i only do twice aday

[Maria34]

I find some information about Neurontin (Gabapentin) at http://gabapentin.org There is description of side effects, dosage, using of this medicine. Hope it will be useful.

[terryj3555]

My sister had the same problems as did the OPs spouse.
She lost the ability to speak and 2 months later still can not speak well. Her ability to reason and problem solving were lost as well.

[kay]

HI Ionly take it when my pain is so bad, it is a great pain relief but you feel so dumb founding its hard to get your words out in a conversation.And also you seem to feel like you have no control of your body. I only take 300mg aday.I have post shingle pain,and scatic back.