Muscle pain crippling this morning
 

Great, why couldnt this happen before my doctor appointment? I told her the gaba was causing deep muscle pain, she seemed surprised but didnt say anything, almost felt she didn't believe gaba was doing it. I told her it felt like someone punched me in the thigh and that micardis had done this to me.

This morning it is worse. I can barely walk, the muscles in my thigh hurt so bad especially since I slept on that side. The pain subsides a little as I move around but it is pretty bad, just like micardis did to me and I had to quit.

Why is this happening to me? Why does medication do this to me. It has only been about 8 days since starting the gaba at 4 pills a day and muscle pain. Now I have to call and tell her this, and her only suggestion after gaba was lyrica and cymbalta, which lyrica is like gaba and I hate the idea of cymbalta.

On top of that I found this, for those on this medication, it is about addiction to this drug, but has some very interesting information about it:

http://www.theroadback.org/neurontin-withdrawal.aspx

I am going to try and skip my day time dose of gaba today. I have no idea what my next move should be. When micardis did this to me, the doctor didnt believe it, since it was such a rare side effect. This is exactly the same feeling.

Any advice or prayers will be appreciated. On top of that my husband has to leave town for a week on Monday and I will be all alone.

Why would you think that it's the Gaba and not your condition causing the pain? I currently take 2400mg of Gapa daily. I also get the deep nasty pain in my legs, both day and night. Without the Gabapentin, I would probably jump off a bridge.

Could be a blood clot? I think you should call your regular doctor and see what he/she thinks:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/e...cle/000156.htm

You have been very sedentary with your feet issues, and this can predispose to leg clots.

I am still using my chi machine which moves lymph system and circulation. I am up and down all day. I do not believe it is blood clot. It is the gabe, I do not doubt it. It is exactly what happened with the micardis. Sometimes you simply just NO your body, and I know this pain, exactly what micardis did to me.

Time will tell, as I have a feeling I will have to come off it. I will not take my day time dose today and see what happens though the pain is more at night after the double dose and sleeping makes it worse. Just like with micardis, it gets better as I move about, but eventually that wont work if I keep taking it.

I am going to use my infra red dome over my thighs this morning, that will help detox.

I do not know where this leaves me, cymbalta I guess but I dunno.

It sounds a bit odd that it's just one leg (correct me if I'm wrong). If a medication was causing muscle pain, one would think (logically) that it would be more then just one muscle, on one leg. Was it the same leg involved with the Micardis? Have you ever had muscle pain in the leg at any other time?

It can take time for the body to adjust to new medications. I wonder if it will resolve on it's own in time.

I have NEVER heard of Neurontin addiction before. The drug, however, does require to be carefully tapered when stopping because of withdrawal syndrome...but that doesn't mean it's "addictive". Your body may become dependent (why it needs a taper), but that is not the same as addictive. MANY drugs have to be carefully (and slowly) tapered to avoid withdrawal syndrome (Neurontin, Lyrica, Cymbalta, ALL steroids, and many cardiac meds, etc, etc)...and this is just a very small portion.

Which brings me to my next point. If you find that you cannot continue the Neurontin due to this muscle pain, you MUST NOT just stop this medication. You will need to call her for specific instructions on an appropriate taper for you. So be careful, with the sudden stopping of daytime (or other) doses as well.

Hopefully your muscle ache will subside soon. Have you tried a cold pack or even heat for a short time to see if either help alleviate the pain. I'd be careful with the heat with your nerve issues, but a short trial just on your thigh should be ok.

I second what En Bloc says about suddenly stopping taking neurontin without a taper. Neurontin is an anti seizure medication and stopping it too quickly without a taper can induce seizures.

It is not just one muscle or one leg, it moves around, though it is most often in one more than the other. It includes joint pain also, like my elbows and it too moves around. Same with micardis, though it was muscle pain only, not joint.

I used the infra red on my thighs and the heat did help and felt good, though temporary.

It is the gaba, but time will tell. It all went away when I stopped micardis as I am sure it will with this also. It also did not hurt when I was on lower dose, only this new higher dose.

Yes, I do know to taper the dose and not just quit, although I have only been on this dose a little over a week, so skipping one dose a day seems easy.

If you google gaba and addiction I found lots of stuff on it, before I ever got on it, though what choice do we have. I only mentioned it again here since I will clearly have to be careful as I come down on it, though I have only been on it a month.

My bigger concern is what is to come next. I can't keep going through the medications this fast or I will soon run out and be left with nothing.

thanks for the opinions

Have you tried the Salonpas Deep Relieving Gel? I have muscle pain, mostly in the thigh, from autoimmune SFN and get that same feeling, like the muscle was slammed with a big sledge hammer (however, it has never lasted more than an hour at a time for me). When I put the gel on the area, it causes an icy kind of burning deep in the muscle that is pretty unpleasant and lasts for a while, but overrides the aching pain. My original pain is gone when the gel effect wears off, although maybe it would have anyway, since my pain normally doesn't last too long. It might be worth a try for temporary relief.

Never underestimate drugs... I've had two drug induced lupus reactions in my life... one during my pregnancy with hydralazine (both knees swelled up for months)... and the latest round with
lisinopril.

Here is an article about it:
http://link.springer.com/article/10....4:3:229#page-1

Gabapentin is rather unique though, since it is not much metabolized in the body at all...so active metabolites don't occur in any major amount. It is excreted whole, by the kidneys.

Drug induced lupus does not show up in ANA panel testing as a rule. So often it is not recognized by doctors. You can search Google further for it... many of the lists are incomplete as reports do come in from MedLine on a regular basis as anecdotes.

I have pn and was on neurontin for over a year until it was obvious that it wasnt working for me. While taking it and after, I suffer a LOT of pain in my calves and thighs from wearing only
Flip flops. In fact the pain is often worse that the pn. I now use a big massage vibrator on my legs when I get home from work.

Are you wearing good shoes? Im not. But its all I can stand to wear.