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

I know someone who has it for sciatica. Just asked her I relation to your thread. She said it takes a while to kick in (2-3 weeks?), then the GP will usually increase the dose gradually if it isn't working, again taking a few weeks to see if the increase makes a difference, then dose increased again if not

I took it for about a year. It worked really well and took about 24hrs to start working. It does make you feel a bit funny. You know when you have taken it at first, but I got used to it. I started on a low dose and went up gradually.

I’ve realised that my teenage daughter was prescribed ever larger doses of Gabapentin by the hospital for her migraines. She didn’t feel it helped but it made her so drowsy and dull - which didn’t help at school- that she asked not to take it. Hmm.

I’m on 3 100mg a day but they’re not really helping now so need to increase the dose.

I want to be really honest with you about this, as I found out I'm not the only person this has happened to. I note that I'm allergic to gabapentin & pregablin, as my experience was so bad.

I took it for 4 days, multiple complex issues. I felt tired, fuzzy but I couldn't sleep, it felt like my head was full of cotton wool. I stopped it, it was strange being 'hyped up' but also 'drowsy' and really did not like it.

Talking to a random woman, don't know how the subject came about, she said they titrated her dose, then she was getting bad side effects the main annoying one for most is lots of weight gain. Although what I went through wasn't pleasant.

When it came to the point of this woman coming off it, she went through absolute hell for 2 weeks. I was on a MS drug which is similar, I had a very similar withdrawal where I didn't want to live. (This was nearly a decade ago)

I feel it's a cheap drug, maybe it's better than opiates, considering so many people report the same side effects, the same withdrawal. Plus the fact I watched something where they said it's even a problem in prisons, as you get this high, which weirdly some people like.

Anyway I can help let me know.

I have muscle spasms and other issues, when I was coming off the MS drug my DH has to take me as an emergency to the Dr's where I was sent home and the crisis team saw me in 60 minutes. I was put on diazepam as they could see physically the spasms and pain was awful, for a short time it helped for me coming off this drug too.

Now I take it purely for the spasms etc, I was in hospital, I remember being offered the diazepam, I said I'm ok at the moment. This girl chirped up she had it for MH issues once and would never turn in down. The Matron said your body responds differently if it's for physical reasons than mental health.

Honestly I can take or leave it, I pretty much use what I'm prescribed daily, but I take it when the spasms etc are really bad, over taking it prophylactically.

Really hope this helps.

If I can save anyone from the hell of it then I'm happy. Although I know we're all individual and react differently, I've read that lots have had bad reactions.

I actually made an account to write this...

Yes, it works. I had such bad sciatica I literally couldn't walk last year - this was what started me off on the road to recovery.

Fair warning though - a lot of the rest of that road was (sometimes painful) physio.

Just a word of caution: it made my poor mum hallucinate and lose touch with reality at times. She had to come of it despite it really helping her pain.

Yesqueen, how awful.
I’ve only been on amitriptyline for a week. Maybe I need to give it longer. Am about to order a tens machine.

Didn't work for me. I was on paracetamol, naproxen, dihydrocodiene, diazepam and morphine
I had to have emergency surgery and now just take one codeine and one naproxen at night, my leg pain is gone but I have back pain still as they said the surgery isn't for the back pain, it was to stop me being paralysed hence the emergency bit

Gabapentin worked for the pain for a while but made me suicidal,so I had to come off it. I'm currently on 60mg of duloxetine which is working well.

I have had a recent flare up of sciatica was taking morphine, naproxen, and paracetamol which didn't touch it. An A&E doctor advised take amitriptyline for at least two weeks (it needs to build up) and you won't need any other drugs. She was right after nearly a month pain is gone (just numbness & tingling left). Osteo helped enormously and I am considering IDD Therapy - has anyone tried this?

Gabapentin works on the nerve pain but it’s not a painkiller I think it can block the signal (don’t quote me but I think that is what it does)
So for me I am asthmatic and lots of NSAID’s are not a good idea, also painkillers didn’t work either and you could possibly come off them as much
But it has its own side effects and takes some getting used to

I’m on Naproxen, Cocodamol and Amitritiline now but was on Diazepam and Tramadol earlier. Is Gabapentine worth asking for? I’m desperate. This has been going on for five months. I start hydrotherapy with the NHS next week. I’ve seen an osteopath twice but am not convinced it’s helping.

I was given crutches by an NHS physio. They measured them on me and made them the right height with the arm handle part? I think this is important

They said I was causing more damage to my back with the hunched walking and lying down wasn’t going to keep me mobile and limber enough - need to keep moving

I honestly think I had some PTSD from the level of pain that it inflicted on me, I was very depressed and isolated for months, I could think of nothing else but pain. I even thought about necking a load of pills during the worst hours and hours awake. I slept half sitting up on the sofa for about 3 months

Have you tried a chiropractor? It's worked for me.

Those of you with crutches or sticks , did you get your own or were you given them? I am in such pain with sciatica and have been off work all week and signed off for more. But I will have to get back to work. I’ve got a long commute on public transport which brings me to tears even on a good day. I was thinking a stick might stop people bumping into me etc- I travel by tube and bus. And will maybe help with my slow shuffling.

I was angry that I had to endure so much pain and my doctor knew I was on the edge and it took some rude A and E doctor to help me. I literally owe him my life

I was in chronic pain for 4 months and in the end I was sent to my work to A and E. This was after 5 tearful trips to the doctors, 3 physio appointments and my work changing my work station, such as desk /chair /keyboard.

I loved exercising and cycling everywhere and it used to help until it didn't.
Nothing helped, lying down, sitting, standing or moving.

The final straw was when I realised that this could go on forever and I broke down and was promptly sent to hospital.

The medication changed my life and I have had no side effects but to be honest, I don't care if it turned me into a werewolf.

Physical therapy cured my sciatica

Sorry was posting from the loo!
When mine went I had a lot of stiffness creeping up on me but was manageable. I went away for a weekend and realised I couldn’t really stand still, I either had to sit or walk around.

I can’t remember exactly what happened but suddenly I was unable to stand up straight. The pain was mostly coming from my buttock and my whole leg and foot pulsed, twitched (toes moving around wildly), I couldn’t lie down or sit down or stand up so I was all hunched and limping. Saw a GP who got me on gabapentin and diazepam, referred me to a physio who took one look at my posture and said this is a disc so all they did was accupunture and gentle movement exercises. They gave me crutches so that my hunched walk would improve as it was the only way I could stand up straight. I got referred to a pain clinic after about 6 weeks of no sleep (I had started to go a bit mad with that) and I finally got an MRI after 10 weeks and then at 14 weeks got the injection. The moment I had the injection it took all my pain away instantly. I haven’t had to take any painkillers or have anything else since!
It will go again one day though as this is the 2nd time

Pregabalin stopped me sleeping, which made my pain worse. Same with Duloxatine only that also robbed me of my appetite, irritated my bladder and made me feel hyper and exhausted, it left me bedridden. Gabapentine only makes occasionally constipated.

And I felt like I was very very drunk on gabapentin I think I ended up on 4000mg