I've decided that I'm gonna talk to my Dr. this week, I'm thinking that I have some form of depression, from the meds.

I'm starting to get anxiety attacks & I can't for the life of me force myself to go to work.

It's a vicious cycle, I don't sleep then as I'm laying in bed I have this internal argument. You're going to work even if you don't sleep. No I can't, yes you can etc. etc.
I do this for a few hours, then I get up & call in sick.
Then I beat myself up about it for the night. It all starts over again the next day.

I've been thinking about this for awhile, but anxiety, anxiousness, depression & mood changes are all side effects of Gabapentin.

What are your thoughts on this??

Any time there is a concern about medications causing depression or other negative side effects you need to get off that medication.

Many medications are tapered...you start out at a low dose and increase slowly. You also need to taper off of those meds as the safest approach.

Yes, contact your doctor but it sounds like you need to start getting off of the medications now, you can start doing that.

jiggered, I am very med sensitive. I have had medication induced depression with suicidal thoughts several times.

I stop the medication "cold turkey" then I notify my prescribing doctor. Going "cold turkey" is not a safe or accepted way to come off medication but, for me, it literally becomes the difference between life and death.

Took both medications at one time. I was up to 2700 mg of gabapentin a day. It did not make me sleepy after the first few days, and it did help some with the burning pain I was experiencing, but I was increasing my dose every six months. I was also experiencing some selling in my ankles, and gained about 15 pounds. I did not want to increase the dose again so under my doctor's supervision I tapered off of it. In retrospection, I probably tapered off of it to quickly I had been on gabapentin for over two years. The taper was pretty horrible -- constant nausea and dizziness (took me about 3 weeks). It then took about one more month after I was completely off of it to feel better. I definitely would not stop it cold turkey.

I was taking 60 mg of baclofen when I tapered off of it. It never really help my spasticity. this taper was much easier. I also tried tiznatidine for my spasticity. and it was helping a bit at a rather low dose, but It caused me to have extreme nausea.

I just want to add that I tapered off the Gabapentin too. Every four days, I eliminated one pill. I had been taking two pills four times a day = 8 pills/day.

It bothered me to miss a pill and suffer any withdrawal. That was one of my motivations for stopping.

Does the gabapentin cause you to have anxiety, anxiousness, depression & mood changes? Perhaps. Easing out of this drug can answer that question.

Consulting with your doctor or the local pharmacist (pharmacists are a great underused consultant and it is really their field of knowledge plus NO COST) is the best way to approach dealing with what is happening to you.

I think you are very smart to talk to your neuro about the depression and together try to decide if the depression is part of your medicines or if it is part of your MS situation.

Then you decide. This forum is a wealth of information but ultimately, I can only give you what I think and what I have "learned." And I am constantly relearning when I read through the various threads here.

Speaking of "nasty stuff", Erin's words for Lyrica, I am in my second week ramping up on Intron-A. I guess many MS people take Intron-B. I have no idea what the difference is.
This stuff is supposed to cut back on the platelets I make too many of, with my disease
Polycythemia Vera. I HAVE to take this or something worse. No choice. I have been a person who for all the time I've "had" MS has tried to avoid drugs as much as possible. But now no choice. Side effects are not so good but I"m told they will get less.

Erin, try the magnesium, everyone try magnesium. Even if you have to take drugs too.
Helps spasm!

I'm going to ask my regular doctor about it. I'm going to call him about getting some physical therapy after that last flare that had me drunk walking. Probably ask about the magnesium at the same time.

Calling my neuro this week to see if he wants to see me earlier than March, since I just had that flare and the handy-dandy prednisone taper. May ask him about the magnesium. See what he says about it. (probably will just up my dose of the baclofen tho)

http://www.overcomingmultiplescleros...eople+with+MS/


There are new doubts about whether its the right thing to prescribe Neurontin, and other such drugs for MS pain.