Does Cynbalta or Neurontin actually work?
 

Doc put me on Neurontin, and I have been on it for 6 months using 1800 mg a day but at 4 in the afternoon I get terrible flare ups at work, until I get home and take off my shoes. Sometimes it doesnt even work at all I am getting some side effects in that I am forgetting things.

I was thinking of calling him and asking his method of going off it but am afraid the pain might come back worse. I ACTUALLY DONT REMEMBER THE PAIN TO BE THIS BAD BEFORE I STARTED THE MEDICATION,

Also I have been on this board before I still drink every night and have tried to stop , well I have 14 days that I have quit.

I am so confused I dont know what to do now
I would be great full for any comments to help

My experience with Neurontin is that is sort of reduces pain and is best for helping to sleep. Clinical studies point to about 30% effectiveness for neuropathy pain sufferers. It can make pain worse as well, although that is not common. It doesn't eliminate pain for anyone at all, if you are lucky you will get a reduction.

Cymbalta is a pretty scary drug and has a ton of side effects. I don't know of a ton of people who have had great success with it. I personally wanted to kill myself when i was on it and my stomach felt like someone threw gasoline and a match on it when i took it.

For me, certain supplements in high doses have had a better effect. They take a few months to really kick in and start working. Everyone is different based upon their circumstances and cause of the pain.

You have to look at diet as well. Sugars, wheat, impure, processed foods, artificial flavorings and colors...and yes alcohol will only exacerbate a condition like this. In many ways neuropathic pain is the body warning you to make changes.

Keep Trying
 

I didn't think Gabapentin(Nurontin) worked either until I quit it. Then it semmed as if it was helping after all. I know it is hard as hell but you need to go get help with the Alcohol. If you can do 14 days you can do 14 yrs. Find support that will help you channel your anger despair, whatever emotion that drives people back to drink. You should have beaten the physical withdrawal by 14 days, right? Fighting Neuropathy while drinking is like trying to climb up a very slick wet steep hill. Good Luck, Ken in Texas.

Thank you very much for your help everything you said makes good sense especially"In many ways neuropathic pain is the body warning you to make changes.[/QUOTE]

shoes & socks are evil, I agree 100%

My best description for Neurontin / gabepetin is unlike pain killer where you feel the relief, you notice what they do when it wear off. I take Gralise which is time release Gabepetin, on good days I only take it before bed, bad days I supplement a 400mg Gabepetin when I get home from work.

I've Cymbalta but did not like the side effects at all.

I've tried Lyrica and would be interested in trying it again. I'm not sure if I want to go through the aggravation of getting the insurance company to approve it. (it was a whole new process to get the dosage increased and I just didn't have the time or patience to go through with it.

Good luck with the pain and the stop drinking.

I dont know about gabapentin but lyrica helps me and ive had no unpleasent side effects as of yet.

My Neurologist told me that Lyrica has greater efficacy but the side effects are generally worse. From what I have read everyone reacts differently, case in point your experience Chris has been a positive one. Personally I have not tried Lyrica and have been trying to get to 1800 mg of the Gabapentin daily, so far I have been going up very slowly. It puts a dent in the pain but not much more than that, however if I didn't take it I presume I would be hurting a lot more.

Here's a question; how does one switch from one drug to the other without putting themselves into a world of hurt? IE; lets say you start to ween off Gabapentin to try Lyrica...once you get close to zero wouldn't one be in a lot of pain? Does the doctor put a patient on both at a given point or do they give you a third tier drug temporarily like Oxycodone or Tramadol to bridge the pain gap on the way to zero?

Cliffman :)

I take 60 mg of Cymbalta (Duloxetine) and 3600 mg of Neurontin (Gabapentin) daily and have almost no pain from either PN or SFN.

Regards, ElaineD

My friend with 15 yrs of neuropathy from statins is off gabapentin and doing pretty darn good since on grape seed ex about 5 yrs. While she took the gaba she talked about vertigo and nasty nausea. I saw her last week at bridge and she looked great. She even helped walk me down a slanted driveway as I fear a fall due to the hip job I deal with.

Love yourself and let that alcohol goooooooooooo.

Hey Cliffman !
 

Cymbalta & Neurontin
 

I take 60 mg of Cymbalta with no side effects and am on Neurontin as well. Was on 3600 mg of Neurontin daily, but have been able to go down to 300 with a combination of metabolic balance diet and homeopathic treatment. I found the combination to be very effective during the worst of my sfn.

That's great that you were able to reduce the Gabapentin by that much....if you don't mind sharing can you let us know what is involved with your "homeopathic Treatment" that has helped so much?

Thank you,
Cliffman :)

I am only on 300mg of Neurontin (gabapentin) a day and I only take it at night because my cortisol levels are so low that my supplements can't do enough to fight the pain. That said, i want to get off of it because the side effects are not fun (crossed eye feeling, hangover feeling). I have had much better relief from supplements than I have from gabapentin which merely makes me sleepy.

Cymbalta? i was the one they talk about the in disclaimer that gets "suicidal thoughts". Seriously, very scary. GLad i had family to get me through that scary time.

I was on 3600 mgs of gabapentin for about a year. I had been avoiding cymbalta and lyrica due to side effects I had read about.
After a more painful than normal stretch, I asked my dr to change things up. Im now taking 75 mg of lyrica and no gabapentin.

I never felt gabapentin did anything but make me lazy and tired. I have noticed improvement with the lyrica tho. It didnt change my life, but I seem to be leveled off in terms of pain. I guess that's better than nothing.

Reading these posts may have answered the question of why I've felt kind of nauseous lately.

:( We had to pull my dh off the Gabapentin.....he was having the side effects of sucide...yikes! :( We are now starting on Lyrica 75 mg 2x a day as of yesterday....and we are going thru some very expensive treatments thru a holistic/alternative chiro who does the treatment of PN. Of course, after extensive Cyrex lab testing, we have found out around 10 different things that my dh is battling...we are just starting...and it's a long road ahead. :/