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Gabapentin question

Our GP decided to have Amy try Gabapentin. She has just got up to a full dose of 100mg three capsules a day. so far it does not seem to be doing too much, and co-incidentally her tummy pains have been worse since Monday:ybatty: to the point where she is missing school, which usually she tries to go no matter what is going on.
So my question is, are there any other people out there who have used this? and was or is it successful? anything in the way of side effects? Just not sure if this is coincidence and how long to give it. Does it take time to work or should you see some decrease in pain straightaway?
 
Poppets - this is a new drug for me. I tried to do some research on it and there isn't a lot on the web for treatment of Crohn's for it. What is the GP hoping the Gabapentin will do for her? This seems to only block pain from what I have read very briefly.
 

Honey

Moderator
Staff member
Hi there,
I was prescribed Gabapentin, at increasing amounts ,for pain in my foot, post surgery. It eventually got rid of my pain, but left me spaced out!!!!
I had to come off it for that reason and went on to use a Tens machine, successfully, for the pain.
So, it is not really for Crohns. I hope you get treatment that makes you feel better soon.
 
Gabapentin does take a while before kicking in, unfortunately. When I was prescribed it last year, my doc told me that it could be six weeks before I noticed any improvement on my pain. Ultimately, it didn't help me out very much, but I know that lots of people have success with it. Good luck to both of you, and I hope things get better.
 
Poppets - what was she prescribed the gaba for? I take gabapentin as a migraine preventative. I am not sure if it causes increased crohn's pain or not, as I truly am in pain every day and have been for a long time (and have been on gaba for a long time). It helps a lot with preventing my headaches and migraines - and helps a little with my body pain as well. I had to stop it cold turkey once due to a blockage and couldn't take anything by mouth (there's no IV version) and had severe withdrawal side effects (but I was on a much higher dose than your daughter - 2400 mg at that time) so just keep that in mind.
 
Thanks for the replies. Apparantely it is supposed to help with IBS type pain. Supposed to help neuropathic pain. I guess we will have to see what happens in the next few days.
 
Hope it helps soon. My daughter had it for a little while, but it never did much. My mom tried it too and ended up feeling quite confused and irritable on it.
 
You can check here for side effects:
http://www.drugs.com/sfx/gabapentin-side-effects.html

In the CRPS/RSD community gabapentin (Neurontin) is known as "Morontin" because it makes you sound like a moran. It messes with your brain. I had one friend that was on a high dose to control pain that she could no longer drive due to the cognitive side effects from gabapentin.

You can safely start Cymbalta while comming off of the gabapentin. You can reduce the dose of gabapentin faster than you can increase it.

Cymbalta worked better for my issues, but it isn't without side effects either. At least I was no longer a moran. LOL!:lol2:
 
My son is on it for chronic pain, it is an anti seizure medication that works for various types of pain. It takes a while to start working. It can cause constipation or diarrhea, I believe. He is getting better but he is on other meds too. He started with one pill for one week, 2 the second week and 3 the third week.
 

my little penguin

Moderator
Staff member
The pain clinic wanted to put DS on it prior to remicade starting to work.
The clinic thought the pain was Ibs related .

We decided to wait for remicade and use a tens unit instead .
Turns out it was crohn's related .
 

PsychoJane

Moderator
I took it during a few months in order to prevent seizure. I would feel spaced out. I remember laying down and feeling like my body was floating but not like it does with pain killer. It's hard to even word the feeling. I never saw a difference with my GI tract though.
 
Ooh it doesn't sound good at all. Think I will have to chat with doctor. Just saw GI who doesn't seem to think it is very effective either.
 
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