Good Afternoon @brayimee, I am so sorry that your chosen clinicians have appeared to be inattentive. The brain MRI is a necessity as well as the many skin, tissue, and blood tests. Before an Rx can be written there has to be verifying test information. My neurologist explained what might be called a process of elimination. Gabapentin was the first for me.....and I notice you are wondering if Gabapentin would help you and that it could be increased if necessary.

Yes, Gabapentin was my first Rx for dosages morning and evening. I could not handle the morning dose so just kept the nighttime dose and added in a anti-depressent....a godsend for sleep issues. However, it had very bad digestive side effects and was considered an older medication so I did a retreat that lasted 3 months. The medication substituted is duloxetine because my brain was way too fuzzy from anxiety and increased pain. Please notice that these changes were all made because the neurologist was on it....asking the right questions, and listening with attention.

My next change was the introduction of medical cannabis with the knowledge and support of the other clinicians on what I now call my team. I wanted to avoid opioids. That journey has had many turns and ups and downs. Remember that our bodies begin to tolerate medications more the longer we take them. So a 1/2 dropper of medical cannabis was no longer working and it was time to figure out what might work better......another dropper or a stronger dosage ratio. And then when you kind of fix that issue, along comes the neuropathic itch. I am currently going through numerous tests again to see how the itch might be controlled.

Unlike @rwinney, I did not have Connect contacts. I was on Connect but only for my life partner who has gone through some dicey prostate cancer issues. One day while waiting at Mayo for his next treatment, I found a card in the waiting area that mentioned Mayo Connect. I gingerly tapped the keys and was off and running.

So how did things change? I learned about topicals and found that cannabis topicals are much better than the compounded ones from specialty pharmacies. I found out I really didn't need four 300 mg gabapentin and dropped one to be replaced by a full dropper of an appropriate medical cannabis.

So, there is no perfect menu A, B, C, or D that will be helpful. Each person is unique. Your presenting issues are different than anyone elses, at least until today. The more you interact with Connect, the more trails you will find that might be great for you.

Please remember that medical issues are resolved better when the decision making is shared.....your clinicians with their own specialized experience and knowledge, your family and friends who have observed your behavior and you who have been living it essentially by yourself.

May you have peace and ease.
Chris

Jump to this post