Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Neurontin for Nerve Pain

New Try for Old Med

Saw my PCP today and agreed to try taking neurontin again for The Legs.  This will be my third try with neurontin, the first two were flops.  Instead of titrating up, he wants me to start at 300 mg or 600 mg at bedtime.  The second time I tried neurontin it made me excessively sleepy, but not so tonight.  I had a few moments of sleepiness, but other than feeling tired (which I should - I've had about three hours sleep in as many days) I am not too sleepy.

I could not take Lyrica (for me a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type of drug) but neurontin (gabapentin) is the precursor for Lyrica and can be used for nerve pain.  I took 300 mg at 7:30 and waited until 9:00 to take the second 300 mg.  I am very very very nauseous.  I will take some phenergan soon if I can keep it down.

Neurontin so far has taken away most of the burning pain in The Legs and almost all of the pain from touch.  The pelvic pain is still bad, but about an hour after the second dose I quit having the leg jitters from pain.  I was actually able to get up and push a swiffer mop around the kitchen without a lot of pain, which is the best it has been in months and months.

I am noticing my left eye is turning in - which it does when The Headache is bad.  The first 300 mg did rile up The Headache but I turned up the amps on my occipital stimulator and have been able to buzz it down a notch or two.   The Headache is not really happy, and I want to always keep The Headache happy and asleep!

I did not expect neurontin to effect my digestion, but it seems to have increased my intestinal motility - which is not a good thing for me, as I process food too quickly anyway.  The first 300 mg took a tiny bit of edge off the pain but I still was having severe pain in my legs and pelvic region.  The second 300 mg really worked better for the pain, but that is when the nausea started. Now three and a half hours from the first dose and two hours from the second dose my eyes are acting really funky like they can't stay looking at something very long.  I keep having to blink and redirect the eyes.  Hoping this is just temporary and will wear off.  The pelvic pain is still there, a little less than it was which is a blessing.  I don't feel very coordinated and feel a little short of breath.  Hoping this is temporary also.  I really need a pain solution that does not include narcotics.  The Headache and The Belly absolutely refuse to cooperate with narcotics.

I saw my immunologist Dr. Calm today.  I am off the cyclosporin.  Yeah!! He told me that my hives may not be connected to the mammalian meat allergy.  Bummer.  I asked him if anaphylaxis from the mammalian meat allergy could cause pancreatitis.  The first acute pancreatitis attack I had was about six hours after I ate two or three Slim Jims for lunch because I was running errands on my lunch hour.

I have a definite appointment with Dr. Kildare on Wednesday Jan 5th at 1:00.   My PCP said Dr. Kildare did call and talk with him about pain treatment options, which is the "why" for the neurontin.  At this point, I don't care what I take, as long as it works.

I feel right now like my lips are swelling and my nose is swelling and having a bit of trouble with wheezing.  Good heavens, I surely can't be allergic to neurontin.  My eyelids are itching, and my ears feel hot.  Better sign off, and take some antihistamines.  Maybe I ate something or took something OTHER than the neurontin to do this?? I did have some real butter with my low fat meal this evening. Arrrrrgh. And now The Headache is starting to spike forward through my brain from the back and come out above my left ear.

Can you run away from your body???  Wish I could!!!  Gonna antihistamine up and hope it helps!!

8 comments:

  1. So we're putting our hopes and dreams on Neurontin...a very happy clown thing to do!
    Gotta think it will work or it won't! That's my medicine motto you can borrow as needed!

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  2. Is it just me or do we seem to have many choices to make which are never ideal.

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  3. Kristin: I'm thinking happy clown thoughts. After all the weird stuff last night, and a recurrance of the pain at about 2 in the morning, my overall pain on waking is less - I am able to stand up without leg shaking pain and have clothes touching me with out pain and able to go to the bathroom without excruciating pain. A true victory!!! First time in a year and a half....even with narcotics....I can put up with whacky eyes....

    WooHoo!!! Praying to the hive gods that the hives were from something else.....

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  4. Migrainista - I agree - I have not been able to just say - here is the medication for this problem and this will fix it and then it is gone.

    Just a patch job - that is all that is really being offered, but sometimes the patches don't quite fix the leak!

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  5. Dear one it seems that you cannot win. You try a drug and then get these awful side affects. Do you have one place in your home dedicated just for all the drugs you have and have tried? What do you do with the drugs that do not work? You throw them away I suppose? Winny do you yourself keep a log of all the medicines you tried and if they have helped you any? Just curious and concerned. Blessings.

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  6. JBR: I have a box of old medications that I have to dispose of and get rid of them 1x a year. Most of the time I just don't renew the prescription, but sometimes I unfortunately get an allergic reaction and can only take a few doses. Sometimes I wish there was a way to send these meds somewhere where they could help someone else, but at least in the US I think that's illegal.

    I DO keep a list, and I keep a medic alert list of what I'm allergic to, and wear a medic alert bracelet.

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  7. Winny, thank you for sharing your answer to my curiosity. Blessings and happy new year!

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  8. Blessings to you JBR! I have a feeling this will be an exciting year for everyone!

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