Need Advice . . . (Sorry its long)
 

In the beginning of December I had a strep infection. Took my 5 day Z-pak and started to feel better. Then came the hug! Nerve pain, muscle spasms, etc. all in my rib cage. By the end of December/beginning of January I upped my gabapentin (Neuronting) dose by 1 300 mg pill in the morning. It worked and the pain started easing up.

Then I started feel really crummy again and felt sick along with MORE numbness and tingling and rib pain. I went to my PCP who felt it was definitely neurological and also recommended a massage to take care of the muscles that were in spasms.

The next night, I took my usual dose of gaba at 7:30 as usual. Nothing out of the ordinary. By around 10:30 ish, I was not feeling well at all and had severe tremors - intention and postural. I went to the ER as I had no idea what the heck this was or even how to stop them. I spend 4 hours in the waiting room with these tremors and they finally calmed down enough that they weren't too obvious. Of course, they ran tests - heart, chest x-rays, urine, and I don't what else. I have blood in my urine (but then again I just spend several hours with severe tremors equivalent to running a marathon so I wouldn't be too surprised.:D). That was the only abnormal result - kidneys are fine, not passing a stone, etc.

The ER dr. gave me some meds as, according to her, I was still have severe tremors. She should have seen me at home and in the waiting room. Anyhow, it helped and calmed them down somewhat.

I still have them and still feel weak and such. I started thinking about what had changed in the past few weeks to make me get like that. So I called the pharmacist and she said that tremors is a side effect of gaba and that probably was the reason for increased tremors as well as constipation. (Although I go every morning, it's just been a little more difficult and slower.:o) I dropped back down to my normal dosage (1 300mg in the a.m. and 2 300 mg in the p.m.). In a sense, I feel better. However, I still have weakness and slight/moderate tremors.

What could be causing this? Does gaba deplete your B12 vitamins? DBF and I were talking about this this morning and so he suggested I get your suggestions and/advice. I had him pick up some Ensure for me to try as well as some foods high in potassium, magnesium, calcium, as well as B's. In other words, I had him pick up sweet potatoes and cereal. haha

BTW - Yes, I have been under stress due to my dad passing away but that is getting much easier and I have been working with a wonderful counselor. Long story short, I did end up having to call 911 that night and asked the paramedics if this was some sort of bizarre anxiety attack where you don't even feel anxious and the normal symptoms of anxiety. They laughed at me and said no, I was definitely not having an anxiety attack and one of the paramedics sister has MS and he's seen this happen to her before. Phew! lol I definitely know that an anxiety attack feels like and this was nothing like it.

I completely welcome any advice or suggestions. I do go to the neuro tomorrow. Thanks.

Forgot to mention, I am taking lorazepam and it definitely helps with all those intercostal/rib muscle spasms. I don't feel any rolling and twitching going on.;)

It sounds like you are between a rock and a hard place. Gaba is helping with one symptom but causing another.:confused: I would stop the Gaba, but that's me and I don't suffer from chronic pain and spasms.

I hope your Doc can find something that will help you without hurting you.:hug:

I have absolutely no advice, but hoping and praying that you'll have an solution to this soon. I'd certainly have had an anxiety attack DURING all that!!

Tricia, I was up to 2700 mg of neurontin and never experienced anything like what you are describing. I really do not have any advice. I hope that the neuro is able to help you. I am interested to hear that the lorazepam is helping you deal with the hug. I occasionally take .25 mg of clonazepam at night when my spasticity is really hurting, but it does not seem to have any effect on the pain I experience in my rib cage.

Did you get a massage?

trish,

i wish i had advice but i can't come up with anything.
i was on gaba and switched to lyrica which helped a lot.

have you seen the neuro yet or is that monday?

please let us know.

[quote=tkrik;737801I have blood in my urine
[/quote]

TK,

Did the ER mention a UTI? Blood in the urine can be one of the signs. A UTI could cause you to feel weak, have tremors, ect. You were also on a Z-pak, antibiotics can cause yeast infections. A yeast infection can also cause you to have weakness, tremors, ect.

Thanks you guys.

Barb - I didn't get the massage. I had just gotten home from the ER and the lady said my body had been through too much and it would not be a good time to do the massage. She also said that with her MS patients she only does 1/2 hour of a very gentle massage. We rescheduled for this coming week. And yes, the lorazepam helps relax those muscles. I take 0.5 mg.

Judy - My appt. with the neuro is tomorrow morning. I too hope I get some sort of answer/resolution to all of this. May be switching to lyrica would help. I'll ask her tomorrow.

Snoopy - No UTI or anything with the kidneys. They did a through check after they found the blood in my urine. I'm not passing stones either. However, a yeast infection is something I didn't think of and will talk to my PCP about it when I see her this week.

I'll keep you all posted and let you know what they say tomorrow. Again, thanks so much for the advice and suggestions. I really appreciate it.:hug:

Had to cancel my appt. this morning as a woke up with a lower stomach thing.

But, I thought I would report back on what happened yesterday. I ate the sweet potato and drank the Ensure muscle and started to do better. After I napped, I drank a Powerade with B3, 6, and 12 added. I felt much better by late afternoon/evening. No weakness or tremors. This morning I have very little tremors. Keep in mind, I ate my normal meals as well. But these things seem to give me a boost. I'm trying it again today to see what happens (keeping my foods rather bland though;)). I'll let you know if I get the same results over the next few days.

BTW - I changed my appt with my PCP to sooner as I am a little uncomfortable with the blood in my urine. All tests in the ER were negative for anything and since my dad recently died from bladder cancer I would rather be safe than sorry.

I do not trust gabapentin. The only thing that stands out is "how" you take it. It is a drug that I thought has to be ramped up and ramped down so taking a larger dose in the evening is not good. It is a drug that is increased slowly, not a big amount in the evening to help with a sx.

But I am not sure. I eased out of gaba quite a while ago.

I can ask my pharmacist friend about it if you like. Calling your local pharmacist is always good. he/she gives drug reactions/dosage information for free. In fact, I bet pharmacists are glad to be asked!:)

Just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents for what it's worth. I've been on Gabapentin for quite a few years. For the past few years I'm on 300mg 4 to 5 times a day. I've never experienced tremors from this med or from MS up to this point. I've never heard of tremors causing blood in the urine though. So, even though you don't have a UTI or signs or symptoms of kidney stones/infection, I'm glad you're getting the fact that you have blood in your urine checked out further. Hope the tremors are getting better for you and everything turns/ed out OK with your visit to your PCP. :hug::hug:

Thanks everyone! I couldn't change my PCP appt. so I go on Monday.

Since I dropped down to my usual dose of gaba - 300 mg in the a.m. and 600 mg in p.m. I have started to feel so much better. I've continued drinking the Ensure and making sure I am getting all the nutrients I need as well as extra B vitamins. This has been helping quite a bit as well.

Desinie - I've been on this dose for 5 years and original started on 300 mg in the a.m. and 300 mg in the p.m. in 2003. Like you, I have never had a problem with gaba. So, I'm kind of at a loss on what to do other than the things I have been trying. It never hurts to pay closer attention to your diet.;)