Gabapentin dosage for trigeminal neuralgia?

carbamazepine lowered my sodium too much. switched to duloxetine 60mg and sodium ok

After 25 -30 years treating TN with All meds they stopped working, Had cyberknife procedure and it worked -- only for a few months!.
Dr. suggested pain clinic---No WAY.
After several months of personal research I found a few clinics offering a number of other procedures. I found the following to be helpful: Mayo (Rochchester), UT Southwestern(Dallas), Cleveland and Johns Hopkins (Baltimore). Chose Johns Hopkins, and, after consultation, Dr. recommended very simple procedure of injection of sterile gycerol thru cheek. Half day out patient procedure. About 1 year I have no TN pain or side affects.
note: I am 86 years old and in excellent physical condition, no compromising health conditions (except age!)

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Thanks so much for providing this helpful info. My TN pain is not a sustainable way to live.

carbamazepine caused low sodium levels. In hospital several times.
After trying unsuccessfully other meds and cyberknife procedure I finally had a shot of glycerole to the TN nerve thru my cheek and 60 mg Duoxetine pill twice daily, Shot was in Feb, and I have not had any TN pain since. Procedure done at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore

Thank you for giving me hope. I had low sodium too. I was on restricted liquids. Are you no longer taking meds? Ggabapentin was prescribed for me and Mayo says it doesn’t cause low sodium.

I'm on 2400 mg gabapentin a day for idiopathic TN (over three doses) and I am not pain free. I also have a background level of 2 with flares of up to 7 or 8 out of a pain scale of 10. On top of that, I live with the side effects: for me, gabapentin kills my short-term memory (anything that isn't pinned down in my phone or computer, or on a piece of paper, is gone), makes me light-headed and affects my balance, making me more likely to fall over; it also causes problems with my digestion and flattens my emotions whilst sometimes causing an increase in anxiety (usually when I am late with a dose; missing a dose entirely leads to jitters). However, compared to getting necrotic skin conditions (carbamazepine) or being left unable to sleep (oxcarbazepine), my neurologist considers the side effects "livable". My neurologist insists I can go up to 3600 mg a day, but possible and desirable are not the same thing. I usually hold off increasing until the next bad attack and then my resolve weakens and I do increase. The aim was originally to get to a dose where I am pain free but this doesn't seem to be happening. However, gabapentin allows me to continue to work - I really couldn't without it. My neurologist suggested combining gabapentin with baclofen but did admit that it would make the short-term memory problem worse (!), so I'm not doing that one. I'm afraid I can't offer any solutions or any advice other than keep going as best you can, don't let it become the whole of your life. And settle on a dose that suits you best.

around march 27 began taking 900 mg of gabapentin....I was very reluctant to take and tried for months just to get threw the awful shocks,,I have trigeminal neuralgia,Of course started very slowly till i got to the 900mg... I have been pain free until this morning May 5...Just out of no where the shocks came back...Hoping they dont continue.

how often do you get the shot

I take 2400mg gabapentin daily. I have been pain free for one year. I have been having very mild zings just recently. My pills are 300mg each, so when my zings get started, I add another pill. I started out on a low dose. I had to up my dose a lot, to finally kill the pain. The side effects are horrendous, but I will take them over the debilitating pain any day. Good luck to you!

I am supposed to 300 3x a day but i only do 1.If i don't do the one my neuropathy in right foot will swell up and hurt all day