? about Gabapentin (Neurontin)

[travel bug]

Hey all, I have some questions about Gabapentin (Neurontin) for my dad. He has been given Gabapentin for pain. I know this is an epilepsy forum, but I know many of of you have dealt with this med, and I'd really like some first-hand experience rather than just the list of possible side-effects and drug interactions, etc.

My dad is in home hospice because of advanced bone cancer, among other things. Fortunately, his pain isn't as bad as it could be, but his need for pain meds has increased steadily recently. He had a new doctor visit him last week and she suggested Gabapentin because it's assumed that the pain is caused by tumors pressing on nerves.

Well, the good news is it seems to be working; he hasn't mentioned pain in the last couple of days. But, instead of making him sleepy as the label indicates is possible, it seems to have the opposite effect. Plus, he just seems a bit more "down".

What have your experiences been with Gabapentin? Do the side-effects get better or worse over time? I know everyone is different, and since my dad is using it for pain rather than seizures he takes a smaller dose, but I just wanted to get an idea what it's like. I don't know if I should press him to continue even though he doesn't like it. (The taste -he can't swallow pills well - and the insomnia) Or should I let him give up on it even though it means he will have to go back to taking more morphine which really worries me. I'm not asking you to tell me what to do , just asking for input so I can better discuss the pros and cons with my dad. It's best if I can make things as clear cut as possible.

Thanks in advance for any insight.

 

[skipp8]

I had early stage breast cancer and many of my fellow breast cancer patients take gabapentin for neuropathy pain caused by chemo. It usually makes them sleepy but later that effect wears off.

I take gabapentin to help me sleep, it has a short half life 5-7 hours. It may also reduce the need for analgesics. Could you ask the doctor if his symptoms are caused by cutting back the morphine?
I am sorry that I do not any definitive answers for you but I applaud you for taking the time and effort to resolve your dads medication issues.

 

[Belinda5000]

I took neurontin years ago.
Hears what I remembera bout it I gained 40-45 pounds while I was on it,
It depressed me really bad it made me suicidal.

 

[travel bug]

@Skipp8 - First of all, I hope since it was early stage, your breast cancer is now a thing of the past. From what I understand about it, if it's caught early, it can be cured. I certainly hope that's true for you!

Second, thank you so much for your response! It makes perfect sense that decreasing the morphine so dramatically and quickly would have side-effects. I actually read your post this morning and it seemed so obvious that that was at least some of the problem, I immediately gave my dad some of his morphine. I'll give him his normal amount for a bit, then decrease the frequency and amount gradually. He really didn't take that much, but I had just been alarmed by how quickly his need increased after months of needing only a very small amount now and then.

I don't think the hospice doctors and nurses are used to dealing with patients like my dad who are relatively stable. They see people who are in tremendous pain and only have a few months at most to live. My dad is declining enough to meet hospice criteria, but is otherwise pretty stable, so i don't want to give him more medicine than necessary so he is able to stay alert and engaged.

Thanks again! :rose:

 

[travel bug]

@ Belinda - Oh, no! I hope you've found something that works better for you without those awful side-effects.

As for my dad, the weight gain may be helpful for him. I do worry about depression though; it's a danger anyway because of his condition. I'll have to keep a close eye on him.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Belinda5000]

@ Belinda - Oh, no! I hope you've found something that works better for you without those awful side-effects.

As for my dad, the weight gain may be helpful for him. I do worry about depression though; it's a danger anyway because of his condition. I'll have to keep a close eye on him.

Thanks for the input.

travelbug,

I took Neurontin years ago , and I have definitely found something that works better for me thanks. watch for depression with him I'm prone to depression but not all drugs do this to me the latest one I'm on has depression as a side effect and I've just increased the MG I take on it.

 

[Bidwell]

Travel Bug -- I took gabapentin for neuropathy but the depression that came with it was the kind that made life tasteless, so to speak, so I withdrew from the gabapentin. It must be such an individual thing. I applaud your efforts.

 

[werwolf49]

I was on neurontin for a while for pain a few years ago due to numerous back n nerve problems. I absolutely hated it it made me feel like i was having an out of body experience is the only way i van describe it it was like being behind yourself watching. What you were doing and it made my nerve pain not necessarily worse but very different. Hope u find something that works better. Lyrica does the same too btw.

Sent from my LGL86C using Tapatalk

 

[MAB]

I took gabapentin for nerve pain. I thought it was the drug from hell. My sister took it for nerve pain and loved it.

It made me mean, depressed, suicidal (anything that makes me suicidal also makes me homicidal).

 

[travel bug]

Thanks, everyone, for the input. This stuff sounds scary! I'll definitely keep an extra eye on my dad. He does seem to be doing better though since I started giving him more of the morphine. But I give him less than he had been taking. I'm also giving him a smaller dose of the Gabapentin than prescribed. It's liquid so it's easier to adjust the dosage.

I really hope this works for him because it seems to help the pain, but because of his situation, he is at risk for depression anyway. But I know everyone is different. I'm on Keppra and I don't have *too* many problems with it.

Thanks again!

 

[werwolf49]

I agree very much so especially about the homocidal part.

Sent from my LGL86C using Tapatalk

 

[MAB]

Thanks, everyone, for the input. This stuff sounds scary! I'll definitely keep an extra eye on my dad. He does seem to be doing better though since I started giving him more of the morphine. But I give him less than he had been taking. I'm also giving him a smaller dose of the Gabapentin than prescribed. It's liquid so it's easier to adjust the dosage.

I really hope this works for him because it seems to help the pain, but because of his situation, he is at risk for depression anyway. But I know everyone is different. I'm on Keppra and I don't have *too* many problems with it.

Thanks again!

Gabapentin was so bad for me that I never could graduate past the initial dose, never could increase it. I would drive to the doctor and then when I came out I couldn't remember if I drove or if my husband drove me. I would look for him and if I couldn't find him I would assume I drove and would drive home.

 

[MAB]

I agree very much so especially about the homocidal part.

Sent from my LGL86C using Tapatalk

I am convinced that any drug that can cause suicidal tendencies can also cause homicidal tendencies. Drug manufacturers and doctors never mention this possibility. Ambeon (spelling?) caused the same problem for me. I knew what I was thinking was wrong and told husband he needed to remove our guns, This was many years ago and I still don't know what he did with them.

 

[Bidwell]

Yes. I could not agree with you more. I thought about that quite a lot a few months ago when the young German pilot on antidepressants [?] crashed his plane with all those 300+ people into the Alps.

 

[Zolt]

Hey Travel Bug,

Different strokes for different folks i guess. But for me Gabapentin is the one drug that gives me some control over my seizures. Since the half life is 5-6 hrs, by the morning when i wake i don't take Gabapentin for 1 hr after i wake, by doing that, my seizures have happened in the mornings within that hr, about 90% of the time. You can read more on my profile page about it.

As for side effects, this is the one drug i have zero side effects from. At least none that I know of yet and i've been on it for 2+ yrs . I fall asleep with it without any problems. Suicideal thoughts, that's not my thing, i'm a happy go lucky type of guy, few things get me down.

There is one issue and that is different manufactures make different types of gabapentin pills. That is what i think happened to the others on here that didn't like it.


Zolt

iano: op:

 

[travel bug]

@ Werewolf, MAB, and Bidwell - wow! I'm so sorry you had such horrible experiences with Gabapentin. That definitely sounds scary and is very worrying. But, knock on wood, so far my dad hasn't shown any signs of depression. He seemed very down at first, but I think now that was withdrawal from the morphine which I have reintroduced at a lower dose. He's back to pointing out dogs in tv ads (he loves dogs ), commenting on the techniques of the pitchers while watching baseball, and generally being pretty chatty. So for now, he seems to be doing well on Gabapentin.

I will definitely watch out for signs, and will ween him off if he seems to be depressed. I don't have to worry so much about him harming himself or others, though, because he is extremely weak and completely bed - bound, and dependent on me for most everything. He couldn't really hurt himself even if he wanted to. But I would never want him to be anywhere close to feeling that bad, so I will monitor his mood carefully.

@Zolt - I'm so glad you have good luck with Gabapentin. It is strange how the same drug can affect different people. I'm on Keppra and don't have too much trouble with it. I won't say no trouble, but I don't have as many issues with it as some do.

What you say about the half-life of Gabapentin is interesting and puzzling, though. The hospice doctors have my dad on one dose of 4 ml/ day. At first he was given pills, but he doesn't like swallowing them, so now it's liquid form. But even pills were to be taken once a day. I'll have to ask them about that.

Thanks again everyone!

 

[Bidwell]

Your dad has a wonderful daughter. My fulminations certainly seem out of line given the context. Take good care of yourself, too.

 

[travel bug]

*sigh* Things hit the fan pretty quick with my dad. On Friday the 11th he was sleeping a lot. I thought it was because I had gotten up earlier than usual to run errands while my mom stayed with him. They're divorced but get along well, but for some reason one of my dogs goes a bit bonkers when she's here so it's kind of stressful. Anyway, he kept falling asleep that evening and was strangely upset about it. Last night, the 12th, he refused to take the Gabapentin but wouldn't say why exactly . I was concerned about his attitude the night before so I was only going to give him half a dose, but I was afraid to stop giving it completely without tapering at least a little. But he was so upset and determined not to take it that I gave up. I hope he hasn't been on enough of it long enough for the abrupt stop will hurt anything.

I wish he would let me help him taper off, but I think part of his problem was feeling like he didn't have any say in his treatment. I hope quitting Gabapentin makes him feel better emotionally. We'll deal with the pain somehow. Fortunately, it's not *too* bad. Not good, but not too bad either. :/

Thanks for the heads up, everyone. I might have been even more confused by his change in mood if I hadn't read your experiences.

 

[Bidwell]

Travel Bug, Yeah, I can see that all the input from the forum could prepare you so you would not be blown away by surprises. And for you, relax as best you can when you can and as often as you can. Take good care of yourself.

 

[MAB]

I didn't realize I was having seizures when I use using gapentin for pain. I know the bottle said to tapper but I hated the stuff so much I just decided I needed off "now". I don't remember any bad effects but I never could build up to a full dose. I never got past the original evening dose.

I'm not a doctor but I think your dad will be ok without tapering.