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

[SpamChaudFroid]

After nearly 3 months of sciatic pain, (it's bad, I need a stick to be able to walk, well shuffle really) and many different drugs, (codiene, amitriptyline, diazepam) my GP has prescribed gabapentin. I am seeing a physio who has made an appointment for a second opinion as to whether it needs further invstigation, (eg. steroid injections or material removed).

Has this worked for anyone? please someone tell me it works

Hello everyone who has joined the thread!

Interestingly I’m a half marathon runner too, and last year whilst training I had a few days of manageable sciatic pain that I just ran through. Nothing like now, I can’t imagine running at the moment.

Can I jump on to ask - did anyone get oedema from And if you did how long did it take to go when you stopped taking it?

I took it for bulging discs in my neck, it definitely helped. But then I got random swelling in my arms and legs. My neck has improved with physio so I agreed to try coming off it but I’m still swollen three weeks later and not convinced it’s that!

Pre-gabaline was a game changer for dh's sciatic pain....

@hettie and anyone else on pregabalin, could you tell me the dosage he was on? I’m only taking 75mg twice a day and I think it’s very low and I’m still in considerable pain most days

Hello and welcome to new fellow pain people 😊 This thread has been an eye opener to how much women, (I hope I'm not misgendering anyone 😉) are told to just miraculously manage the pain themselves. I wonder exactly how much misogyny is behind that?

Eggbert, my physio gave me some wonderful advice: GPs used to have time to give you a follow up phone call to check if pain meds were working sufficiently. They no longer do that, so let them know if your pain meds aren't enough.

I've been on the phone weekly to my gp ( she does phone consultations) to get my meds to the right level.

Something else interesting my physio told me was after the mri, the results go to a boarding and they decide the next step. If you're on a low dose of pain meds, they may make the decision that you're coping better than you are and decide not to offer any further treatment. So another reason to be on the right dose.

*BOARD not boarding.

Thanks spam I’m going to call tomorrow for a phone consultation then. I have asked previously but my issue is the breastfeeding- they were reluctant to increase as not much research is available as to how much pregabalin goes into breastmilk.

@SpamChaudFroid

The back brace I bought is shown in the picture. Pretty much just a big stretchy belt with stiffeners at the back. I don’t know what Spanx are! But this one is fully adjustable.

I find it very comforting to wear, especially when trying to keep active I.e walking around.

Oops

Thanks Belle 🙂 (my bloody phone autocorrects your name to Bellend .)

Would it be an option for you to formula feed your baby Eggbert ? If that's what's stopping you from having the meds you need? I realise BFing is an emotive and personal choice, so I'll completely understand if you tell me to keep my opinions to myself. Pain must surely interfere with the bonding process, (diadic dance for example)?

Belle, Spanx are like a sausage skin for women to squish themselves into to appear a dress size smaller.

spam I’ve definitely considered it and I even did it for one weekend so I could take codeine all weekend. But the difference it made wasn’t big enough to continue formula feeding.

For me the fact I can’t do much at the moment (round the house, with the kids), I feel like breastfeeding is the one useful thing I’m doing! Especially as it’s going much better than it did with my DS1.

I hope they will let me increase the pregabalin and keep an eye on any symptoms in the baby.

My Spanx type pants have been quite helpful to hold everything together

Bloody, your spanx support your back? Now there's a better use for them! I've ordered a back support like Belle's. I'm glad you posted a pic because the ones I first looked at had a belt with bricks attached and looked really restrictive.

I'm glad the BFing is going well Eggbert, and that it's a positive in your life. I know gabapentin has practically no brain toxicity, (ie difficult to OD on), so pregablin could be similar?

I'm feeling a tiny bit queasy due to the meds increase, (and a violent attack of bum gravy last night 😥). I usually feel the benefit after a week or so and I hold high hopes for this dose. The pain is becoming more manageable, I can walk further and less time for the pain to subside. I get a really odd, (but quite nice) feeling rather like an endorphin rush after exercise right after the first jag of pain now, whereas before all my nerves would be screaming in sympathy.

May I wish everyone a pain free day.

BRACES not bricks. That sounds horrible and punitive!

@SpamChaudFroid I’ve got a lot of glute pain so they sort of hold everything together!

Thanks spam Could you possibly post a link to the back support you bought? I think my crappy posture is definitely feeding the pain!!!

I am feeling ok today but got a pretty bad attack of nerve pain when parking my car earlier. It was holding it tense on the pedals that set it off. So I’ve moved my seat back so my legs are fully extended when I put my foot on the pedals. It’s so much better but because I’m short I can’t see over the bonnet as well as I could

I’m just waiting for the GP to call so I can discuss increasing my pregabalin. I think you’re right about the level of toxicity spam so I’m more comfortable taking it over codeine which is not safe.

Your bum gravy sounds rubbish spam but a small (very tiny) part of me is a little jealous as I have had the worst constipation of my life. This is TMI but I feel we’re all friends now - if I need a poo I know it’s a 15 minute job and it’s like labour all over again I’m starting on syrup of fig today so hopefully that will resolve. I think it’s all the meds.

spam hope you start to feel less queasy soon and wishing everyone a good day. I have to say this thread has really helped me when feeling really rubbish so thank you all

Eggbert are you sure you should be driving? I don’t think I trust myself to do it at the moment. Tricky though if you have to.

Having a definite woe is me Day today . The nerve pain is actually quite exhausting and even though I’m only taking ibuprofen my brain feels quite foggy.

Surgeon is calling me back tomorrow to discuss whether I want to go for the operation, I think my answer is going to be yes. I’ve never had any sort of operation so it’s quite scary.

Hey @Bloodybackpain. Sorry you're having a crap day. But so good you've been diagnosed so quickly and have the offer of surgery. From PP it seems like that's the only instant relief. Don't be scared, I'm sure it's a really routine procedure and just think of being pain free! I'd love that!

Eggbert that sucks about the sudden pain in the car! So frustrating that it can just hit at any time! Can you get some lactulose? That's the only thing that saved me after birth! And bran flakes!

Spam I'm sorry about the side effects to the meds but I'm so pleased that they seem to be working at you can walk a bit further!

I've taken a couple of days off work, prompted by my boss, and I'm glad I don't have that stress. I've just concentrated on me the past 2 days, resting watching telly, ice, hot baths, not lifting my toddler and my new meds (Amitriptyline and Meloxicam) and I do feel a bit better. I wish I had taken your physio's advice Bloody and not just kept going because maybe I wouldn't have endured 12 weeks of it!!

@avocuddl ah thank you. Have had a sleep and it feels a bit better. Everyone I speak to about the surgery says it’s totally worth it.
I think it sounds sensible to have a quiet few days, the physio said to me normal advice for back pain is to be active but where the nerves are severely irritated it’s best to do as little as possible to allow everything to settle.

My friend had a similar operation a few years ago and her top tip was to get the prune juice in for the few days after!

Sorry to hear you’ve had a tough day @Bloodybackpain - I hope you’re feeling better this evening. It must be pretty bad if they are talking about surgery already. If you go for surgery will it be private? Hope so - then you won’t be beholden to NHS waiting lists!

The thing with driving is after the first couple of weeks which were horrendous, I found I was able to drive comfortably. But my pain keeps changing and the comfortable positions are also changing. So now driving is not comfortable However moving my seat back made a huge difference. I am only driving short distances (mainly to drop off / collect DS1 from nursery).

GP has slightly increased my pregabalin dosage so hopefully that will start to make a difference.

Feeling annoyed as I walked to the end of my road to the shop and I'm back in pain 😒

How are you all today?