Hi, arachne! I'm glad you made it! We move pretty slowly around here, but not as slowly as that yahoo group. Discussion is more lively on the Trigeminal Neuralgia board if you want more folks to talk to. They have many of the same experiences as we do- especially with medications.

I read your introductory post, so I will share my stats, too. I'm a 24 year old woman, also married, but no kids. I'm currently unemployed, but I'm educated as a medical physicist and am looking for a job. I also like to knit, but I confess I'm not very good at it and have never made up my own pattern. (I go by this name on Ravelry, too. If you're on there, you should look up the neuralgia group.) More than knitting, I enjoy baking! (And, of course, chocolate. )

This month marks my 10 year anniversary for having GN, though I went undiagnosed for the first five years. No one, it seems, expects neuralgia in a teenager. I was in remission all through December, but three days ago it came back with a vengeance, so now I'm back on the meds. I'm just so glad to have them at all, and it's reasonably well under control for the moment.

I hope that you're having a good day. Welcome to the boards!

so sorry to hear you have the pain back Semcsquared, let's hope it will only be a short time before you have another break. do your meds take the pain away completely? I am on 1800mg neurontin a day and have had dull pain all the time i have been on them - better that the stabbing pain though. Seems to be getting a bit worse lately.

I have two questions for anyone who has had any experience with neurontin... firstly is it worth trying higher doses? I have read that 1800mg is probably the optimum amount and that not much improvement is likely by taking more, but it always better to hear from the experts!

Secondly, does anyone know if alcolhol can reduce the effectiveness of the medication? I have read that you need to be a bit careful 'operating machinery' but i havent read whether it has other impacts on the efficacy of the drug. I am just trying to work out if i can do anything to get more out of what i am taking in terms of pain relief.

Otherwise happy new year to you all - hope it going to be a good one!