Neuropathy: Anyone have any experience with gabapentin?

Go to Amazon.com and put in cold laser device therapy and you will see them I have 2 different ones, one was $329. and the other was $129. (prime free shipping) I put my feet on it for 10 minutes at high power. It also work for a number of things like arthritis etc. One man was going to a chiropractor and spending $50 3 times a week for the same treatment, he bought one and thanked me for telling him about how to get his own, it is red light therapy by laser. Good luck, Mary

@maryv449 Thanks I,ll check it out as my pain is all day with little relief from what Im doing

@ilovedoodie I wish I had a dollar for every time a message I'd spent a lot of time on just disappear, and I have no idea where to find it. So frustrating!

I don't think I've ever tried Tramadol. I'll look it up. I have a prescription for Clonazepam 1mg at bedtime and a second one as needed. It helps me to lie still in bed and I think it is limiting the nocturnal panic attacks. Those attacks are no fun at all.

I limit my coffee intake to a couple of mugs before noon.

Jim

You only need 2 Tramadol per day? If so, Your doctors still have lots of options as your disease progresses. For me, larger amounts are need in addition to an anti-seizure medication to greatly dull the pain.

@maryv449 I looked it up on Amazon and realized I bought this years ago but it was just called Light Relief. and has 2 separate pieces the pad and then the light relief part itself. I forgot about it so have it on now.

@dckuke @jimhd I only take 1-2 tramadol in the middle of the day as needed, but I also take Diclofenac, Lamictal, Clonazepam, Cymbalta, Welbutrin, etc., etc. I use ice and heat and stretching and sometimes all of that together doesn't completely help, but most of the time my pain and neuropathy are bearable with steroid injections from my wonderful pain doc in my occipital lobe, lumbar spine and knees. I also receive pinpoint injections (not sure if that is the right term) in my upper back because it is always a wad of tension. These have been lifesavers! Lamictal is also an anti-seizure med, but I take it for Bipolar Disorder. Gabapentin never helped me and as I stated somewhere else I would fall when getting out of bed, legs would just double under me. I think I would do much better if I could get my diet and sleep hygiene under control, but given my current situation, those are tough. My problem is that I have so many things going on and sometimes fixing one does not help because of the others.

@jimhd I love coffee 😭, and since you admitted your compulsive shoe habit, I will confess that I had a compulsive, very expensive Teavana habit until Starbucks ruined Teavana. I don't know if you have looked Tramadol up, and of course, with all the new special interest groups and political pressure they will make it sound worse, but I find it helps for some pain and not for others. It is not an opioid but is considered as the evil precursor to opioids and therefore addiction to other drugs. I have always been able to use it sparingly and never had any problem with addiction issues. It does not cause euphoria for me given all my other health issues. It is, however, still a controlled substance like the Clonazepam, and often they will limit the amount you are able to get at first until one of the gods of your insurance company or the government decides you are not an addiction risk. I will get off my soapbox now, but I have plenty more to say about this subject. Take care! Still trying to find out about those supposedly awesome shoes. 🤗

I will sometimes take 1/2 of 1 tramadol - it dulls the pain and doesn't make me sleepy. I too, have had trouble getting it - one pharmacist started to hand it to me then snatched it back and said she had to investigate me (I had been getting all my prescriptions there for years, she knew that I only filled the Tramadol rx 2 or 3 times a year) because the Pharmacy Board said they would revoke her license if she sold medicine to a drug addict. At the DMV, a clerk said she couldn't give me a driver's license if I was taking Tramadol -- questions on the application ask you to list every medicine that you take and like an idiot, I wrote the truth. I asked to see her supervisor; she suggested that I fill out the form again and leave off the Tramadol. Next time, should I just lie in the first place? Peggy

Following my surgeries I have needed narcotic pain reliever for a couple days--but once three weeks. I got off these asap, because I had issues with alcohol when I was young--I hated having to take them because i could recognize addictive power and like you, no enjoyment. Over years of taking tramadol, the only interest I have in it is for certain types of pain. As you mentioned, when your pain is real, there is no eurphoria. I still have not taken doctors advice to use medical marijuana. I tried it twice in my twenties and found that I liked it too much--and never used it again. Now, I have good days or weeks followed by bad, but not ready for anything stronger.

It is tough. Life before Lyrica was unbearable and Tramadol helps with other types of pain. I have found that good CBD ointments are the only thing that relieves the burning and needle pain from toes to thighs and hands. One lesson I learned is that warm water on my feet dulls the pain and soaking them helps for hours.I cannot even count how often I stretch my legs in a day, which helps too. Good days and bad