Quote:
Originally Posted by glenntaj
--that one of the more common side effects of gabapentin is trouble with memory, and overall slowing of neural function (which, as an antiepileptic, is why it is often used for neuropathy in the first place; it helps to calm runaway or inappropriate neural signaling out of proportion to actual stimuli).
And that side effect may be hard to distinguish from memory issues that existed before it was taken, and may exacerbate them.
If you do think about weaning off gabapentin, though, go very, VERY slowly. Often, dropping it 100mg/week is cited, to give the body time to adjust the up-regulatory effects that using these medications tend to produce, and to prevent rebound neural pain or even the possibility of seizures (the body tends to try to increase neural signaling in response to the medication's dampening effect, so removing it all at once can lead to runaway signaling).
|
Really? Memory issues is a more common side effect of gabapentin? I heard on a site or two that it was more rare...but it'd explain a bit, honestly. Makes the idea of weaning off of it all the more enticing. Of course, we probably want to wait for her to be absolutely certain before we start weaning off. Just to be safe, at least. Or...maybe we could talk to her doctor eventually, and if we go for weaning off, we'll know if she's ready or not by her 2nd or 3rd week of it, and then we can slowly increase it back up if she isn't. Either way, hearing that memory problems is a more common side effect is kind of relieving. Yet, I know it'd be irresponsible to bet that all of my mom's memory issues are now just linked to this medicine that she's only been on for a little over 3 months. Either way, we'll both know for sure when we can finally get her off of it. Mom has said she has a hard time seeing a future where she's not on gabapentin. Given how well she's been recovering, I doubt that she won't be ready to start weaning off of it by next year at least.
I'm pretty certain her memory problems existed before she started taking it, so it probably wouldn't be farfetched to say that they probably are being exacerbated now. But even with that, she has been recovering well enough for me to notice. So that's kind of good news!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Atticus
Hey SoulfulYin,
Thanks for the update. Thanks for sharing.
In terms of your mum's B vitamin regimen I think Benfotiamine ( B1) with a meal and B12 with water and then a B complex at another time of the day with water would work well.
I chose personally never to take Gabapentin or anything similar so can't comment on its side effects or its efficacy.
Your mum's memory loss is a concern. I wonder if this will help ...
1. Candle
2. Swan
3. Breasts
4. Nose
5. Hook
6.Golf Club
7. Cliff
8. Shapely woman
9. Microphone
10.Laurel and Hardy
You might think I've lost it, and you wouldn't be the first person, but these are memory pegs. We can remember a lot more if use visualization and the idea is that we link anything we need to remember to our memory pegs. So 1 is the shape of a candle, 2 is the shape of a swan. These are easy to recall memory pegs and we can form funny pictures in our mind to recall stuff, even your daily diary. So for example if we want to recall the last 10 Oscar winning films.
1. Nomadland. I can form the image of an old Arabian night in a turban in a desert ( a nomad) sitting on a flying magic carpet, beneath the magic carpet is a giant candle - the memory peg.
2. Parasite. A swan swimming on a lake being attacked by a giant insect
3. Green Book. You can think of your own one for this.
4. The Shape of Water . Think of a nose as a tap or faucet hot water through the right nostril cold through the left.
The point is to be creative and its so easy and fun to do that you can rediscover confidence in your memory pretty much instantly. The key is to think in pictures. This stimulates connectivity between neurons in the brain so is healing too and neuroprotective too.
I use these techniques all the time to recall things and it really helps me. It's worth giving it a try. You can learn and memorize stuff together.
Best wishes,
Atty
|
Thank you so much, Atticus. We'll definitely look into this 'memory peg' thing!