I am on my second week of taking this drug neurotin, and although it might help some of the nerve pain I am having, it seems to make me really dizzy. I started it off slowly only taking one pill at night but this week I doubled the dose and I am so dizzy, also I feel very sad. I cry at the drop of a hat..yesterday I couldn't get my spaghetti jar opened, and as I had already put meatballs in my crock pot getting the sauce open was a must. I must of tried on and off for a half hour only to result in holding the sauce in my hands and sitting on the floor crying. My poor husband, I called him hysterically at his work crying about this sauce..he was so good, said "honey, we don't need the sauce", of course that wasn't an option for me. I just think it has to be the medicine since my coping skills have been compromised. Has anyone had these kind of side effects from this, and if so does it get better? I figured maybe just my body needs to adjust to it. I'm not sure if it keeps up if this is a good trade off for some pain relief..thinking I would rather be in pain then weepy.
Jojo, Sorry to hear that you are having a difficult time. I am a therapist and I used to work with a Nurse Practitioner who prescribed Neurontin for a number of my client's with nerve or chronic pain. While I would say your dizziness is a 'normal' side effect that may decrease over time as your brain chemistry adjusts, I am more concerned about the effects that it is having on your mood. This medication does not agree with everyone and it can trigger/exacerbate depression in folks - especially who might be vulnerable due to chronic pain. I would be as transparent as possible with your husband about your mood and check-in a few times a day about where you are emotionally and/or keep an emotions journal/tracking sheet where you rate your sadness on a scale of 1-10 3x a day. 1 - 3 not sad to kind of sad ... 4-6 sadness brings me down but is tolerable and does not affect my functioning ... 7-10 sadness impairs my ability to function, makes me cry and feel hopeless. If your mood continues to dip like you described in your post over the next week (lots of 7-10 periods), may I suggest that you call your doctor and explore other options. If you have any suicidal thoughts, get with a friend or family member immediately and call your prescribing physician immediately. Neurontin can be a very harsh medication for some people and have little ill - effects on others. You may want to ask your doctor to try Lyrica which affects the same neurotransmitter with a different mechanism of action. O.K., be gentle with yourself.
I was also on Neurotin. I found the side effects to be awful. I had horrible nightmares, and it definitely added to my depression. My neurologist switched me to Zonogram about 3 or 4 months ago, and I have had no side effects at all. My mom also takes it for problems with her back, and she has not experienced any negative side effects from the Zonogram. I’d certainly bring it up to your neurologist, and maybe he/she will consider switching you to Zonogram. My understanding is that they are both used to treat nerve pain.
Hope that helps!
- Belle
Thank you all for responding. I think I am going to ask my NL to switch me, I do not like how I feel on this. I am generally a very happy, bubbly person and this medication just seems to take all my spunk out of me, and makes me feel blah. Thank you for all the info on this. Have a great weekend my fellow chiarians :-)
Jojo,
Neurotin made me feel hopeless and tired all the time but it took me many months to feel the same way you feel right now.I cried at the drop of a hat and towards the end I had suicidal thoughts. I would definitely switch. I had to taper off because I had been taking it for months and I slowly felt my personality and sense of humor come back as I got off of it.
Wendy
Jojo said:
Thank you all for responding. I think I am going to ask my NL to switch me, I do not like how I feel on this. I am generally a very happy, bubbly person and this medication just seems to take all my spunk out of me, and makes me feel blah. Thank you for all the info on this. Have a great weekend my fellow chiarians :-)