gabapentin anyone?
 

i notice there is a lot of conversation about neurontin, i have been taking high doses for years and it doesnt seem to work. my doc thinks that titrating down and switching to gabapentin might be a good idea. i guess i have found that whole dependence thing means the meds become ineffective. anyway does anyone use gabapentin and if so have you found that you have to take more or less than high dose neurontin.
thanks

Gabapentin is the generic of Neurontin. In other words, they're the same thing. Gabapentin is just cheaper. It's my understanding that Lyrica (pregabalin) is a similar (but different) medication. Are you talking about that?

She is right. Gabepentin is the generic of Neurontin. When I was switched from Neurontin as soon as the generic form, gabepentin, hit the market there was NO titrating down & it is cheaper. In fact it was my perscription coverage that changed me from Neurontin to gabepentin cause my Doctor said it was ok. The dose remained the same. The only thing you might notice by titrating down is whether or not Neurontin is working for you. I know it works for me. Good Luck.

DebbyV

They also titered me done from the neurotin and i did not see how much it really was helping me... As soon as i got to the lowest does i told the doc i would like to contiune using it because it was helping me more then i had noticed.... We are pumped with so much medication we fail to see sometimes what is really working for us... I hope you realize the meds are helping you...


Gental hugs and pain free days ahead! :hug: :hug: :hug:

thanks
 

ok i am officially an idiot...just checked the info from my doc she just wants me to work down off of the neurontin and then start up again with the gabapentin (i was on nuerontin samples) :)

Neurontin - Lyrcia
 

Hello,
I'm Lindi. I took Neurontin when I was first dx with CRPS a little over four years ago. I didn't have much luck with it. I'm taking Lyrica which at times take's the edge off the burning and pain. I've had Topamax, but it didn't do anything for me either.
Gentle Hugs, Lindi ;)

This does not make sense to me since they are the same???
joan

sorry for the confusion
 

i think sometimes my meds mess with my brain a little more than the usual:(
what i guess i wanted to know is if anyone who has taken the brand name and the generic noticed a difference. my pain doc wants to wean me off of nuerontin over a few months so that i can get back to a lower dosage, try a couple of other meds, and if those dont work as well she will order the gabapentin (i have only used the brand name because i got monthly samples).
i was really just curious to see if anyone who had used both noticed any type of difference. i know i have to have oxycodone instead of roxicodone, and i know the tablets are more effective for me than the capsules.
thanks

I Never Noticed A Difference When The Generic Was Given To Me.
Joan

Hi Joan,
you wouldn't notice a difference as the generic brand of a medication must have the EXACT same chemical compound as the original. The only difference being the box , the name and often the colour and the shape.
Cheers
Tayla:hug:

well, let me say, that there are sometimes medications that become generic and have the same main compound, but do not have the same secondary ingredients and can cause a different response or even allergic reaction. i have seen that. so always beware .... joan

Joan,

Perhaps we have different restrictions here in Australia:confused: Here it is certainly illegal to be sold as a generic of a drug unless it is exact.
If that is not the case in the USA then you are right, you must beware.
Cheers
Tayla

thanks...now if they could just come up with avinza i would be a happy camper:)

what is avinza?????
generics here sometimes have different ingredients in the coatings and color dyes and things not like that not pertaining to their main ingredients. that even goes for drugs made by different manufacturers. like when you get a med and it is now round and not a triangle and it is a diferent color .... so it is what they consider the insignificant differences that sometimes alter how our bodies accept them. i get one generic and when it is in the triangle shape it works better than the circle one. difference company ... who knows what they do.
joan

Hello,

We don't have Avinza here in OZ but I think it is a Morphine product:confused:
Tayla:hug:

I just looked it is morphine in extended release tablets .... i'm allergic to that one too! oh well, so much for that. Joan

:(


That is a shame Joan. I am lucky that I have very few drug allergies, in fact one only and that is Tramadol.:eek: The one IV dose I had of that nearly finished me off:rolleyes:
Cheers Tayla:hug:

avinza
 

it is a morphine sulfate extended release (30 mg). i use it to replace the mscontin i was taking. it works really well. if you arent allergic to morphine and have a drug plan (350.00) it might be something to look at

yeah unfortuantely i dislocated my shoulder at work and went on wc, about a year and a half later the wc claim was dismissed because i have a "preexisting condition". i had subluxed my shoulder in the past and had some rsd flare problems sso i had to see the doctor for 4 months, but i had no previous dislocation so i am not to sure how it they came to that conclusion. anyway my insurance was through work and when the wc claim was denied and i hadnt been to work since the day after i got hurt my insurance dumped me. i got social security disability but the medicare doesnt kick in until the beginning of next month, so i have to pay for my scripts...thanks mom and dad. its definitly a little depressing to go from living on my own for years to relying on the rents. oh well i guess i am really thank full that they had the ability to help.

gabapentin to pregabalin?
 

I have been on gabapentin for a few months with no improvement in pain. I am almost off of it after tapering down. I'm trying to get on amitriptyline but am having a hard time becuase of side effects.

I am interested in Lyrica but if neurontin was of no help to me is it likely that Lyrica won't work for me either?

-Suzanne

Hey wakegirl and Desi,

After my 1995 spine and back injuries (that also led to my RSD), it was obvious from the start that the 8 to 10 propoxyphene I had been taking for a previous spine injury wasn't going to be strong enough. I talked with my pharmacist about which pain drugs offered the biggest bang for the buck, and she told me that mg for mg, hydrocodone is about 7 times stronger than morphine; that 7.5mg of hydrocodone was about equivalent to 50mg of morphine.

I believed she was telling me the truth, and it didn't hurt that my pcp had already written a scrip for it, so hydro made sense to me. Since then, I have reached the point where hydro isn't enough: The mfg warns not to take more than 50mg a day, and I needed more than that. My neurosurgeon switched me to 40mg of oxycodone and 30mg of hydro daily.

I find that 5mg of oxy gives better relief than 15mg of hydro, and is enough to keep my pain pretty quiet, as long as I don't do anything at all. I learned to stop doing things after I figured out that all of my attempts to fight the pain and keep walking only made me weaker and in more pain. My formal surrender came when I began using a power wheelchair to get to the bathroom; I was falling so often I was risking an even more serious injury.

Anyway, these drugs control my spine/back pain, but don't seem to have much effect on the RSD pain (which we know doesn't respond well to opiates), so the quantity I take is too low to help with your awful pain: But if my pharmacist was right in saying that hydro is 7X stronger than morphine, and if my experience with oxy gave even greater relief, I suggest thinking about one of these two,

Work comp pays for it, but my monthly scrip for 240 oxycodone only costs $45.00, and that sounds like more bang for the buck than morphine (which has been around so long it should be dirt cheap). I hope you will give this some thought...Vic

Gabapentin
 

Hi
My PM prescribed me with Gabapentin and to be quite honest it did nothing for my pain, however everyone is different. My PM took me off it a while ago because he thought the Gabapentin was causing me "Balance Problems":eek: but it wasnt. Write back and tell us how you get on.
Good luck:)
Pain free hugs:hug:
Alison:winky:
-x-