I was as surprised as anyone, hopefully this tip (whoever it may apply to) helps someone out there.

I'll recap my condition:
1. Being feeling tingling/numbness in right hands, especially bad after working on the computer - thought carpal tunnel.
2. Saw neurologist who did all the normal tests, said to get MRI.
3. MRI showed nothing in brain, lumbar/thoracic spine, but did find cervial spondylosis and a protruding disc. Started me on 300mg alpha liproic acid at night.
4. Spine specialist said not unusual, shouldn't be causing tingling. Started B-12 5000mcg suppliments daily.
5. Primary care started me on 100mg gabapentin at night. Started weekly physical therapy.
6. Symptoms worsening, loss of appetite, dizziness, tingling/aching in legs, burning sensations.
7. Got EMG done on right arm/leg, found cervial nerve damage at C5. Told to increase gaba to 300mg and eventually ramp up to 300x3 times a day.
8. On 300mg, no real improvement, some days/hours better than others, said takes 10 days to get into your system. Referred to rheumatologist to try and explain non right arm/hand symptoms.

-----at this point I stop and think, how crazy/unlikely would it be for me to develop two unrelated conditions at the same time---------

I go back to my daily journal (strongly recommend keeping one) and think my 100mg at night is when I started noticing but not consistently. I even had appetite loss and fatigure a weekend before starting as I recall.

Anyway, I proceed to wean down to 100mg at night again, not much change and finally decided to cut out everything and get back to my original cause to try and separate out side effects from actual symptoms.

1.5 days later, ALL symptoms entirely gone, not even my initial right hand tingling.

If anyone has a similar experience, might be worth a try if you are not seeing any improvement.

I think it's probably more likely that stopping the Gabapentin let you see that your condition had resolved. It may have been a compression issue or something at the cervical C-5 that resolved on it's own. The Gabapentin wasn't started until AFTER you had symptoms, so it's not like it caused the problem. So, once you stopped it, you could see that everything was all better (with the pain, tingling, and numbness). The appetite and fatigue are probably from the Gabapentin itself...very common side-effect and certainly would have stopped after you discontinued the medication.

The bottom line is that you feel better all the way around and that is the best news!

It's difficult to tell from your posting over what time frame the symptoms, treatment and remission took place because no dates were included. Also did you have any blood tests prior to starting supplements to establish if there was B12 deficiency? If B12 deficiency was causing the symptoms it would take some time to restore adequate levels. The gabapentin could mask the recovery and cause additional symptoms.

The original symptoms you describe sound like they may have been caused by a nerve compression or some other musculoskeletal issue. The physical therapy may have resolved this but again the gabapentin could distract from the real problem.

Managing to wean yourself successfully off the gabapentin without additional side effects was a good outcome. Too often patients are put on gabapentin (and other strong medications) without a definitive diagnosis being ascertained. The problem is neatly resolved (ie: "covered up") from the doctor's point of view but the patient still has the condition.

Acydgod - I'm pleased that you're cured and hope you don't have any further unpleasant symptoms. This experience will help you next time to question and research before undertaking any new medication or treatment.

All the best.

en bloc,
Yes I think it's possible but my point was the number of symptoms grew quite a bit beyond my initial which confused both my primary care and neurologist. Both wanted me to increase my dosage based upon these new symptoms (burning, leg aches, dizziness, feeling 'down', etc). It's a shame they never considered the gaba was causing it. I don't believe the original symptom was caused by gaba of course, just these extra ones.

Thanks for your response bluesfan,
In terms of dates, the whole ordeal took about 2 months start to finish. From first symptom of right hand tingling/numb to feeling out of it was about a week. Then symptoms would change daily (often hourly) the week after that with no real improvement. I started taking 100mg gaba about after the first week and was on it for probably 3 weeks before increasing to 300mg (another 2 weeks) then to 2x/day at the end.

I failed to mention all my blood tests came back fine from the first week (had them done 2 times) including my B-12. I took it since I wasn't seeing anything else help and figured it couldn't hurt (same my Dr said).

I do believe the original symptom was caused by the compression of C5 yes and also the gaba created new symptoms that, after my neuro couldn't explain, suggested taking more gaba to help with.

"Too often patients are put on gabapentin (and other strong medications) without a definitive diagnosis being ascertained." This was exactly my conclusion and I told my neuro the same. Why complicate the treatment when you don't have a complete diagnosis? His point was C5 explained my right hand but not the rest but I don't see how he could go with that line of thinking. To think a totally different condition was effecting my other areas but not the right hand seemed ludicrous and seemed much more prudent to hold off doing anything until that was determined.

BTW, I found the PT pretty useless myself but I did find the neck/posture exercises I found on youtube good. My posture was never poor but I do work on a computer all the time. I worked to strengthen my neck and keep ear/shoulder alignment to relieve the pressure. Whether or not it worked, it's surely better long term to take tension off my neck.

Thanks!

For this happening over such a short time period, it is certainly plausible that the compression itself caused all the pain/burning, even the increased symptoms as it is common with compression for symptoms to increase rapidly over a short period like that. You likely would have had the same even without the Gabapentin. The dizziness, fatigue, etc are all top side-effects that most people experience with this medication. You really weren't on a very high dose of it...as for why the symptoms kept increasing (it wasn't enough to stop the symptoms). 900 mg over the course of a day is a small dose in regards to neuropathy. Many here take up to 3200-3600 mg per day, or more. 900 mg is a starting dose.

At least it's over with and hopefully won't return.

Yes, that same logic went through my head several times. How could such low a dose have any real side effects?
I would agree with you except that the change in my symptoms was so immediate after I ceased the gaba, I can't really explain it any other way. It was 2 months of pretty consistent symptoms, wean/stop over a 2 day period, then zero symptoms.

I will never know but figured if someone was suffering and not finding any improvement, it might be something to try (of course wean). If I am right, and listened to my neuro, I might have been a lifelong sufferer thinking the gaba was keeping me from getting worse when the sole cause all along .

Hello All, it seem I am in the same scenario as acydgod, but I haven't stop taking Gaba.

Here is a current update, I am now taking 600mg a day (300mg in am and 300mg at night), the tingling, numbness, and pins/needles in my right index finger still occurs, and I think it has actually increased a bit, initially the Gaba did help. I may go to 3x a day (900mg), and will wait till after my NCV/EMG test tomorrow (Tue 3/1/16) and talk with the Neuro.

Over the past week the sensation feelings increase around 9 PM, and a couple of time I took Tramadol to help me get to sleep. Also, I am now experiencing a tingling sensation around my right wrist (like cold water being poured over wrist), and tingling on the forearm. This doesn't happen all the time, but it does seem to be increasing in frequency.

Summary: I am concerned that the original feelings in my index finger may progress into a more current feeling in wrist/arm, and potentially even more, so my anxiety level is up a little. I may increase to 900mg Gaba, discuss with Neuro, get results of NCV/EMG test being done tomorrow. I see 900 mg of Gaba is not a lot, and before I go higher if the Neuro recommends it, I will stop taking Gaba (gradually) just to see what happens.

Appreciate feedback, and glad that this site is available to vent, do research, and get support.

Best Regards,

Bob