I to have been diagnosed with MP, and today is a bad day for me.

About 6 years ago, I had an 'itchy' spot on the outside of my lower right thigh, that just wouldn't go away. This progressed to an odd numbness that was hyper sensitive to touch. The only way I could describe the numbness is that it was numb inside my leg quite itchy on the outside. This went on for about 5.5 years gradually getting worse, till my whole right thigh was bothered by it. The only relief I could find was taking lots of Advil and 'dealing' with it.

This past spring I finally went to the Dr. about it. At 1st she thought it was a deep varicose vein, so I went to a vascular surgeon, who did an ultrasound. Nope - that wasn't it, but he thought it could be my back - so he scheduled a MRI. That showed a slight problem in l5-s1. So off to the Neurosurgeons I went. The 1st one said I needed a fusion surgery, but wanted me to loose some weight, and go to PT first. So I started PT, South Beach diet, and went for Cortisone shots - which did nothing for me.

My second opinion thought it could be MP, so he sent me to see a Neurologist, who did the nerve conduction study. I was diagnosed with MP in August of this year. Then, I had a third opinion with a Neurosurgeon, who confirmed MP.

Now, I know what's wrong with me, and I've been put on several medications. I started out on 300mg, of Gabapentin twice a day, that increased to 3 times a day, then that increased again to 600mg three times a day. This was too much for me, because I was constantly dizzy. I have since been brought down to 300mg of Gabapentin in the morning, along with 30mg of Cymbalta (for pain as well), 300mg of Gabapentin in the evening, and 600mg of the Gabapentin before bed.

My question to all of you is, if you have a bad day, do you play with your meds? Or just 'tough it out'? I'm never pain free, but I do have good and bad days. I just don't know if I should play with my evening or night doses or leave them alone. If I talk to my Dr. they have told me I can up the does if I need it, but I don't know if I can do this on a day to day basis, or if it will have no effect. I know what the Dr. is telling me is "based on clinical research", but I want to know from someone who has taken the meds themselves.

Thanks in advance.

Iammare

I take Ralefin for my arthrtis / back problems (I think it helps pain from my MP too), Gabapentin 300 mg 3X's a day 5 mgs of Lexpro at night and wear a Lidoderm patch for hyper sensitivity to touch on my thigh. I can take 4 300mgs of Gabapentin- one more at night. I am able to to keep my dosages down. In the beginning I was up to 800 mgs and came down to current dosage. I think the patch helps a great deal. If the thigh is not being rubbed by clothing it does not have near the pain/sorness. I am careful to wear the patch for less hrs during the day hoping I will not become immune to the patch. So whenever I am home I make every effort to not have clothing rubbing against my thigh to keep the pain down and go without a patch. At night I work at keeping the blankets from rubbing my thigh by different positions of my body or the sheets.
In the beginning I had stronger pain meds to combat the pain. I have been able to avoid the higher dosage meds for over a year now. In order to do this it means resting more often and not keeping a full schedule. I also do water pt which helps me.
I hope this helped you. I do not like to increase gabapentin I understand it is important to keep the level even in your body.
Take care
Looking
I want to answer the question you asked about how we handle bad days and if we switch meds around. In the beginning years of having this MP and back problems I was dealing with a lot of pain and spine flare up. So yes I took more pain medicine based on my doctor's instructions. The doctor and I worked with the dosage of the gabapentin to ease the nerve pain. I could take another pill when the pain was intense. So in the beginning I was able to take stronger pain med if needed. I have been able to reduce my dosages and do not have to take the stronger meds. now. The doctor told me I could take one more Gabapentin at night. I can sleep better in the last 6 mos so I haven't had to use an extra Gabepentin. My pain at night is usually better than before. I do have bad days that I rest more. Sometimes push myself to do more physical activity, ect. I do say it is not the level of pain I had in the beginning. I also think I can tolerate more because if I want to be active with my family I have to push. I know how long I can walk or sit comfortably and I keep that in mind before I commit to do activities. Hope this anwsers your question.