Gabapentin side effects?

As individual humans we all have different reactions to medications. Ironically, I take Cymbalta/duloxetine - went on it for severe depression during a years long severe pain situation. Went off it when I got that problem resolved and THEN realized it was really helping more than I realized with my neck and back pain. This was around the same time it became approved for musculoskeletal pain.

Stephen wsh66: Are you a neurologist? Peggy

Thank you, Ms. Young, for changing the title.

My neurologist explained to me that: My nervous system's job is to radiate pain when my body is being damaged, to alert me so that I can take actions to stop the damage. My nervous system performed well for 60 + years but now, it's old, it's dying and it's not working so well any more. It dies at the small tip ends first, then death works its way up the larger trunk lines. So ... when my feet feel like they're being burned up in a bonfire but there's no fire anywhere around, my nervous system is sputtering, misfiring, and sending false messages. Lyrica/Gabapentin calms the nervous system so it settles down and stops sending out false messages. Lyrica/Gaba aren't pain killers, they won't kill any pain anywhere like pain killers do, nor do they cure neuropathy (there's no cure for dying). As it dies further up and I feel pain (it may be false messages but the pain is real), and it gets higher and more intense, I need more Lyrica/Gaba, and some day these won't be enough, but if I take more than is recommended, the medicine will stop my heart. Then we go to narcotics just to kill the pain. Researchers are looking for alternatives to narcotics but at this time, there is nothing adequate.

I asked my neurologist about amputating the toes ... she said that my nervous system would start dying in my feet and ankles and moving upward. I planned to ask her about the possibility of a 'nervous system transplant' at my next appointment, but, I looked at my Human Anatomy text book from college - the nervous system looks similar to the vascular system, it runs all over the body. If surgeons tried to replace the misfiring nerves with good ones, every inch of my body would have incisions and stitches internally and externally - I would probably die from that. I asked my pain doctor if suicide rates are very high among people who have neuropathy ... he said "yes, very high".

So, I got my affairs in order and moved to the beach. Life is so much easier! Now I understand what is meant by "don't sweat the small stuff". I gave up having 'axes to grind', I gave up trying to save the world. I'm enjoying simple pleasures like running on the beach, playing cribbage with my husband; having girlfriends over for bumper-pool and indoor croquet, and sending out for pizza.

I do get concerned about getting the medicine because it's harder and harder since politicians put it on the 'controlled substance' list because they think it has 'the potential for abuse'. Peggy

Finally found a pharmacist who confided in me how Lyrica and Gabapentin are being misused. Apparently when mixed with Heroin they can intensify the high and make it last longer. Think about this hey, if you're a doctor and you have a patient who's a heroin addict you're just don't give him Neurontin or Lyrica. Fortunately in the over 60 set there aren't many heroin addicts left at that point in life. But that won't stop them from making you show your license in many states when you pick up your Lyrica. Don't amputate your toes. Please don't do that, love and blessings

No, not a neurologist. I am a visual artist and a musician. I am also a long time pain patient going back 30 years. I'm also a very curious guy and I like to know all I can about the medicines I take and the sciences that affect life, especially genetics. I have worked with people with developmental disabilities and I have a son with Down's Syndrome. People with developmental disabilities often times have an axis 2 diagnosis involving mental health. For everyone. before Genesight testing, many people spent years looking for the right psychotropic med to help them. They would start a new one and the doctor would tell them, "it'll take six weeks to four months before you know if this is going to work." When it didn't work they were told it would take a certain amount of time to get off that drug. Then they would have to go through the whole process again and realistically, it was simply a crapshoot. I went through this with my 34 year old son back when he was 12 and it became obvious he would need psychotropic meds. I went through it myself when I was visited with severe depression. You couldn't blame the doctors because what medication to take was really just a guess. They would base the decision on what had worked for others.

It's not that some of these drugs work and some don't. They all work when you are able to metabolize them. However, everyone is different in what they can metabolize or digest. I can eat beans with very little problem. My son eats the same beans and could clear a good-sized stadium with bad gas.

Some doctors still have the God complex and they don't want a cheek swab and someone outside their practice telling them what drugs they should give to their patients. These were the doctors who thought they had some insight about what drugs worked based on their experience. The truth is you can't know what drugs will work unless you know what a person can metabolize.

Genesight testing has made a world of difference for my son as well as for myself. Many doctors are too busy to take that 15 minutes to register with Genesight. My heart goes out to them. Our medical professionals have been working like rented mules even before covid-19. My own doctor wasn't registered for Genesight testing so I plugged my ZIP code in to the Genesight website I got the names of doctors close by who were registered with Genesight and found someone who was perfectly happy to test both my son and I and explain our results to us. I then took the report to my doctor and it made part of my permanent medical record.

This is doubly important for pain patients. Many people hate to admit that they're depressed and when they are told they might be depressed when they complain of pain they can be very resistant if they feel that their doctor is trying to put them off or not medicate them because they're blaming depression. It's very common for comorbidity between pain and depression meaning that they occur at the same time in the same person. We know that depression increases the intensity of our experience of pain so it is essential that we receive proper treatment when we need it. In addition not just any pain med will work the same way for everybody. I knew that morphine didn't work well for me. That was confirmed by my Genesight test results. Analgesics and psychotropics are 2 of the 3 classes of drugs that Genesight testing is good for. One day I think there will be gene testing for all classes of meds, especially chemo drugs.

Just out of curiosity, what made you ask if I was a neurologist?

Having depression issues along with ain is a bummer

As someone noted, it so goes hand in hand. When I was having severe jaw problems, I wasn’t sure what would cause my demise faster, pain or depression. 😢

Depression is a very treatable condition.

@wsh66 Stephen, You are so bright and educated, and lend such excellent information, that I wondered if you are a doctor as well. Thank you for your fabulous posts, as I learn from them. You have really had such a time with pain. It is heartbreaking. But you seem to know exactly what to do, and persevere. My best to you, Lori R.