Hate the SideEffects
 

:( Been on Nerontin for 2 weeks now. Burning in my feet are better at night but I feel fatigued and have stomach aches. Will it go away? Its great that I have relief at night from the burning sensation and Im able to get some much needed sleep. But Im am dragging my booty all day. I seem to perk up around 6-7pm. But that only leaves me a few hours to get some stuff done and then Im taking my meds at 10pm and getting ready to wind down for bed. I dont know, Im confussed. :confused:

I hate it when a post gets no reply, so here I am making a reply. I can't offer much, I am not on that medication but I hope it gets better for you!!

I couldn't tolerate Neurontin. In my case it caused depression so bad that I was near suicidal.I have been on Amitriptyline for several years now and it helps with both my neuropathy symptoms and sleep.

Hi fiestlady
 

I tried that medication to. Had more than a sluggish reaction. I got very depressed. If your symptoms don't get better in the next few days, give the doctor a call. You don't want anything making your stomach sick either. Hope this works out for you. ginnie

Gabapentin
 

Neurotin (Gabapentin) has been a blessing for me. I don't have any side affects but have a terrible time sleeping. My PN is so bad I walk with crutches or use a wheelchair for any distances. I take 300 Mg 3X/day. The Gaba really reduces most of the pain.

Hi. Isn't it odd how many different side effects people experience while on Neurontin. My husband has had PN for over 20 years. The only thing that worked (as far as pain relief) was the Fentanyl pain patch. That was AMAZING as far as getting rid of the pain. A fentanyl pain patch is SUPPOSED to be used for 3 days and then changed. His usage was prescribed as "change every two days". I will never forget when he brought the prescription to our local pharmacist (who we knew at the time) looked at us and said"this is wrong, it's supposed to be changed every 3 days". I said "I know, but Alan has neuropathy and that's what the doctor wrote". he said "It's still wrong, I'm calling the doctor'. I watched as he got through to the doctor and his eyes were all "REALLY??? EVERY TWO DAYS??"

Alan got the prescription. Over the year he was still able to go to work, drive, etc. His PN was painful but he could still feel his feet at the time. At the end of his using Fentanyl he was on the 100 patch. At the time, (at least that's what his doctor said ) you could not take a higher dosage.

So they had to tritate him down and he got down to 25 but had to go into rehab to get off of the remaining dosage of 25. He was approved for rehab. He went in wearing the 25 Fentanyl patch. He did ONE DAY. They then kicked him out saying "you are not on drugs, no drugs registered in your body when we took your urine". Alan said "I came IN WEARING A FENTANYL pain patch" The lady doing the intake said "What's Fentanyl". He explained, it did not change anything. I will never forget when he came home after spending one night at the hospital rehab place and he said "I have to go to bed, don't talk to me". He spent one week in bed detoxing from this. (Oh by the way, BIG side effect is constipation).

So he had flu like symptoms for one week. He says "I will NEVER go through that again". he tried Neurontin and Lyrica (two times). They both made him violently sick, vomiting and did nothing for the pain. He took elavil which took away the pain but left him with severe itching.

So he takes nothing now, he just rubs menthol on his feet, he uses Lidocaine ointment, he uses rubs.

So obviously we are all different in how we react to these treatments.

I do hope you get your relief.

Take care,

Melody

I don't do well on neurontin (Gabapentin) either. Many do better on Lyrica, if that's something you can discuss with your doctor.

I got relief for PN with just R-Lipoic acid -- stopped the burning within days. The rest is tolerable.

Doc

Sorry to kind of go off course on this. I'm on Nortriptyline and if I go above 40mg a day, I get quite anxious and tremors. I also feel like dead meat in the AM above 40mg, too. I still have the tremors, but not nearly so bad. Lost a few pounds, too. What's your dosage and what kind of side effects do you experience? I know everyone is different, but I am thinking of asking to switch to Amitriptyline, hoping to be able to up my dosage a bit without the anxiety.

I worked my way up to 40 mg. I started at 10 mg and initially experienced some dizziness, but that quickly passed. I've been on 40 mg for about 2 years. If I'm having a hard time falling asleep I will sometimes take an additional 10mg. Other than the initial dizziness, I haven't really experienced any side effects. If your are experiencing AM fatigue, you might want to try taking it earlier in the evening.

I had a hard time falling asleep at under 40mg. I already take it 3 hours before bedtime, but I could still pry myself from the pillow in the AM. The most bothersome is the jitteriness (anxiety) at 50mg and the shakiness (tremors). It's really embarrassing to have a sales clerk help me dig the change out of my hand. I wonder if they think I was on a bender the night before. LOL. Being in public makes me worry that I WILL have the shakes, too. The shakiness is worse in my non-dominant left hand, but the shakes still can be bothersome even at home (try holding a glass of water). When I see my Neuro next month I'll probably ask to give the Amitriptyline a try.

Did I mention that when it's hot & humid the sweat also pours out from under my baseball cap? That's still something I can deal with, though. I had lesser tremors before I quit smoking 6 years ago (Chantix). The PN came just over 2 years ago.

Thank you all for your responses. I am feeling a little lathargic during the day. I have been trying to take the nerotin earlier in the evening. Amatriptilyn makes my legs more restless and more pain. I wont ever try that stuff again.