How are you doing in general? I've been thinking about you.
Are you still in that "bad place"?

I am afraid so Mrs D. I just go from day to day - however, moaning is not my style but I fear anger is. Sixteen years of what should have been an enjoyable retirement and all the dotors can offer is an occasional oxycodone. My GP thinks my PN is now showing autonomic symptoms - I won't go into details.

You will no doubt gather from my rare posting how I feel about Neurontin but this was not so much an expression of anger as a desire to warn others. I can visualise all these highly paid doctors handing out scripts for Neurontin after receiving handsome gifts from Pfizer or Park Davis. I feel passionately about this and the boston.com article really confirmed my beliefs and pushed me into posting. Sorry if it was too long. I felt like going on forever after 16 years. I can just drive - with care of course - otherwise I would be housebound.

Our national health service is a disgrace and our hospitals have so many infections that only the young and strong get out alive. And there I think I will give my spleen at least a rest.

I do hope you are in one of your good phases and if so you continue to remain there. Thank you so much for asking after me and I apologise for the vent.
Tony

vent away! we all have to let it out in someway at times.....sometimes often. I can only speak for myself but i feel angry still about the whole thing . Its not always at the forefront but its still always there waiting. I understand about the retirement and what should be a rewarding time in our lives and not what we planned for at all. Most of us grieve for our former selves at some level.

I dont know much about neurontin but the whole pharmaceutical industry and the way it operates and the doctors on their payrolls or who are funded for research and how they do the trials for their own drugs is unethical at best and in my opinion many times criminal. Another example is the american academy of pediatrics pushing for more and more mandatory innoculations for children with the state legislatures. Of course they have a vested financial interest in mandatory innoculations but their recomendations are weighted by lawmakers as coming from an objective medical organization with only the interests of children as their agenda. In some states the parents are being threatened with jail or losing their children if they object to the mandatory innoculations on other than religious grounds.

TONY!!
So good to hear from you. I've thought about you, but I'm not one to PM much. I'm so sorry that you haven't been able to get the meds to work properly for you.
Having a reduced pain level is what I wisjh for all of us, here on these boards.
(I also wish these docs could go thru what we do, as an example, for just one day!)
Why do you think that w/d from Neurontin shouldn't be done, in your case?
I'm sure you've tried methadone, over the years - but it could help titrate you down (& off).
In any case, I'm glad to hear from you.
Your posts have been missed around here.

Tony I am sorry about all your struggles. I can really relate to your anger. I have went to where I vented to now just anger almost. So lost. Anyhow on the med issue like Neurontin and those similar drugs now I am not an expert like many here but from observation and of course there are exceptions but it seems these meds alone don't cut it for most of us. I am not saying to or not to take these meds cause I have no clue. Just a thoughts I guess. Many thoughts

I wanted to thank you for your post. While Gabapentin does work (a little) for me at the moment (I am willing to accept the risks of becoming immune, as I am desperate for something to help the pain, even a little) I can understand the frustration of it not working any longer. (I became immune to Tramadol, or my pain got worse, and that was very difficult as it was one of the few things that used to help)

While I probably can't understand going 16 years with no real DX or help I can understand a portion of it. I went for 1.5 years with no real help and no DX until a Dr who saw me before (and said there was no problem) agreed to see me again (at the insistence of my Neuro) and actually listened this time and thought my history and some symptoms added up into Auto-Immune Disease (my Endo is also in on this thinking that my having some high blood sugar might be a part of the problem as well). The only problem is they are not sure if the damage done to my nerves is permanent or not and the medicine they are giving me are not for the pain, they are just to stop further damage. (But this does not help me with my current pain, and none of my other Dr.'s seem to want to do anything, they all send me to the pain clinic who wants to inject steroids.) So I do understand the frustration of it seeming like the Dr doesn't want to help or do something that might help.

I do hope that you and all of us here get some relief from somewhere or someone.