To ask about gabapentin and nerve pain/sciatica success stories?

No, not a choropodist, a podiatrist. They look at your gait, stance and how your foot falls. They supply prescription orthotics and advice on how to stand and walk and move in order to take pressure off the area that is causing the pain. It's a completely different discipline and very specialised. Without my visit to this man I would still be in bed and going to the loo on a zimmer frame and I'm only 56. Two years of agony feeling like a T Rex is clamped to my left buttock and thigh all in the rear view mirror now thankfully.

Oh and I've had a few MRI scans mine speeded up treatment as the pressure on my spinal cord was quite bad, consultant wondered how I was still walking and still in control of my functions

I've had a slipped disc removed was pain free for a couple of years then I started getting pains down my legs again, discovered I had another slipped disc. I didn't want surgery again so had steriod injections. Very very painful when receiving them but was pain free for 6 months after the first one. Had a second lot done and it lasted a lot longer. Nearly 4 years later and still pain free

I found it helpful to read up on how the spine works. I thought I had a broad understanding but didn't realise the significance of rest and activity. When you lie flat the discs rehydrate - so you are taller in the morning and it can take a while to get moving as the spine is "full up". In natural activity throughout the day the discs lose hydration. The best thing for your back is a balance of natural movement and rest. Too much of either causes problems.

Yes, the physio sent me for an MRI, she wouldn't touch me after 4 sessions as she felt there was something very wrong. The MRI showed a massive herniation to my disc at L5/S1 and I was sent to the neurosurgeons and referred for surgery
About 36hrs before my surgery date I developed cauda equina and they operated immediately, I had a 5hr op to resolve it

I’ve had gabapentin for sciatica in the past but it didn’t help me. But turned out I actually have ankylosing spondylitis. I put on 3 stone on the short time I was on it. Horrible drug.

I actually take pregabalin now for nerve root compression in my neck. So much better. No weight gain or side effects at all really. Much bette drug. So if you don’t get on with it do ask to try. Although the same type of drug they are night and day I think.

Good luck.

The dry mouth with amitriptyline does improve to answer your earlier question. I took gabapentin for about a year and a half. It did help initially, bit after a while it began to be less effective. I couldn't bear the effect it had on my memory, and I couldn't remember words in mid sentence which was embarrassing at work. Plus there is a possible link with pancreatic cancer in animals. It only appears to be in men, and isn't proven but as my dad died of it, I really didn't want to carry on.

Now take high dose vitamin B12 which really helps and magnesium. Hope you manage to get some relief.

Yes, pain has shifted and changed over time. I couldn’t possibly bend over and touch my toes. I can’t bend forward at all. I can bend backwards. I can’t sit down now, but I can walk-shuffle a bit. Told to avoid any twisting. Lying flat helps the most. Can be vertical for about half an hour, before needing to lie down. Getting in a lying down position hurts like hell. Got my tens machine. I think it’s helping.

I won't tell you my backstory as it's huge but my advice is to go and see a podiatrist.

I have been in agony with my lower back/pelvis and radiating pain for almost two years and it has severely affected my mental health. A colleague at work gave me the number of a private podiatrist and after four months of gradually getting better I am back at work and there is a tiny improvement every day. I have gone a week with no pain relief now too.

Have you tried an osteopath OP? I've tried two physios for different things and tbh found them useless but a really good osteo (and make sure you're recommended) has been wonderful and got me to the state with my sciatica that I could start doing Pilates and yoga.

Drugs of any kind would be the absolute last resort for me, although I understand people have to resort to them.

It works but it’s also addictive

My partner has had sciatica due to herniated discs for the past 4 years. Pregablin didn't touch it.
He's had 2 operations including a test procedure to shock him into not receiving pain. Both failed.
He's now on morphine daily and can't walk without crutches due to the pain.
Got everything crossed it works for you because poor dp has no quality of life being in severe pain constantly.

I had the most excruciating sciatica after herniating a disc. I couldn’t move an inch without screaming and shaking. Couldn’t even get to the loo. I have never known pain like it and no pain killer touched it. I thought my life was over.

Eventually they decided to operate and I woke up pain free. My back was still very weak and I had to do a lot of physio to get properly mobile but i view that op as a miracle. I can now go on hikes, do yoga, barre, Pilates, play with my kids. The only thing I can’t do is high impact exercise.

Sorry. Autocorrect keeps changing "gabapentin" to "gabapentinoids", so parts of my previous message won't have made sense.

Apparently it’s massively popular as a recreational drug. I’m afraid I’ve never seen it that way.

If you were taking morphine to treat pain you wouldn't see that as a recreational drug, either. It is "recreational" to people who abuse it. Gabapentinoids (gabapentinoids and pregabalin) are widely abused, just like opioids are, so their supply has to be controlled. Furthermore, gabapentinoid-related deaths in England & Wales increased from 1 in 2009 to 137 in 2015, alongside a 150% increase in gabapentin prescriptions and a 350% increase in pregabalin prescriptions. It is important that medical use of the drugs is monitored and that supplies are restricted to reduce nonmedical use.

Of course these drugs are essential to people who experience severe pain that doesn't respond to other drugs or physiotherapy, but that is also true of opioids. The massive overprescribing of excessive doses of opioids is killing thousands and thousands of people worldwide every year and gabapentinoids are following a similar pattern, although from a much lower baseline.

I have a chronic pain condition called Ehlers Danlos or hEDS and while I have not tried gabapentin , I did spend 18 months on Lyrica or pregablin.

I had THE worst experience of any drug I have even taken with that. It sort of helps with nerve pain but not acute pain, but the weight gain I experienced was horrendous - 16 kg in in a matter of months, and serious thick headed the next day. It was the most brutal withdrawal , my GP describes it as the worst withdrawal next to oxycodone . I shat myself, I vomited, I fainted , I couldn't get out of bed , couldn't drive , felt suicidal - you name it. I took a good threee months to taper down and every minute was hell. GP apologised for putting me on it, but at the time I didn't have a diagnosis for what was wrong with me and it seemed like the only option.
Since stopping it, the extra kgs have all melted away with no alteration in eating or exercise. 8 months later I have only 2 kg left to show for my Lyrica experience, and when you have a serious joint condition you don't want weight gain at all.

A low dose of Endep nightly is a vastly better alternative for me plus additional meds when I have acute pain episodes.

I am completely anti- Lyrica and to be honest if you do any reading about it - which my pharmacist MIL did they actually don't know how or why it works for pain- it's mainly for preventing seizures in epileptics.

Anti-inflammatories are also not recommended on either of these drugs.

Have any of you come off it completely with no withdrawals? I guess that's my biggest concern for OP.

It was massively successful for me. Still didn’t take away general pain but it stopped the electric shock pains which had me in tears. I changed to lyrica after about 6 weeks as I’d put on stone in weight, lyrica still worked just as well.

I think it's abused as allegedly they found in prisons, the people were saying they had back pain / joint pain, for the last decade or so it's par for the course a GP will prescribe gabapentin as a frontline drug.

It works on gaba a receptors, where the diazepam family are gaba b receptors. So you can see why in some cases it's used maybe for anxiety etc.

I hate the fuzzy feeling, I'm lucky that I can feel the effects of the meds I take in a pain relief way, but without the fuzzy feeling.

You can try it and see how you get on. As I said each person reacts in their own way, so it could be perfect. Although most people do report weight gain, if a person stops it, it's usually because of the weight gain and the impact that has on their health.

Sorry, I should mention that pregablin has recently become a controlled drug which is a pain. Apparently it’s massively popular as a recreational drug. I’m afraid I’ve never seen it that way. It does, though have a very slightly calming effect.

I took gabapentin for a few years and it helped. I also take codeine/tramadol, naproxen and amitriptyline. More recently I switched to pregablin and have fewer side effects.

I took a long time to build up to a therapeutic dose because it made me so drowsy- that did eventually improve. It can stimulate your appetite so beware of that. The most annoying side effect I had, though was losing words and losing my train of thought. Pregablin is, indeed more modern, cleaner and more expensive. If after a few weeks you feel the side effects are troubling you do ask to move to pregablin.

I also have regular massage and do rehab Pilates. I swim (front crawl with a float between my legs), love heat pads, Alexander technique and mindfulness. I’ve had my back and leg pain several years now and I would say that pain control is like a jigsaw puzzle, many small pieces fitting together to achieve the best outcome.

Keeping a active as possible whilst also resting regularly is crucial. I do use a stick, partly for support but also to warn others that I’m vulnerable. I use a walking pole with a spring to reduce the strain.

I recommend keeping going with a small dose of amitriptyline at night- it’s very likely the reason you are getting sleep at night.

Good luck.