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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by ace on June 9, 2003, at 20:49:49
Hi, just wondering about using this drug.
How did it work....any w/drawal
Good for anxiety / ocd?
Cheers!'
Ace.
Posted by Viridis on June 9, 2003, at 23:23:36
In reply to All Neurontin (Gabapentin) experiences!, posted by ace on June 9, 2003, at 20:49:49
The first few times I took Neurontin, I had a very mild, "floaty", relaxed sort of high. Since then, it's had no effect that I can detect, good or bad. My pdoc suggests I continue with it, since he feels that it may provide subtle "background stability". He wants me on a mood stabilizer -- even though he hasn't labeled me as BP, he suspects that I have hypomanic tendencies, which I do (he initially recommended low-dose Depakote, but I refused). He considers Neurontin the mildest of mood stabilizers, and it's very safe. Frankly, I don't think it does anything for me at 1200 mg/day, but it doesn't have any side effects either.
I also take Klonopin and Adderall, which really do help tremendously with my anxiety and depression, plus Xanax occasionally. Klonopin and Xanax also seem to reduce my obsessive worrying -- I thought I'd mention that, since I know you have OCD. My sister was diagnosed with OCD, and finds that Xanax helps her too.
Some people here find Neurontin very helpful, and I really liked it at first. The effects just didn't last for me, but they might for others. It's worth a try, especially since it's pretty benign and mixes well with other meds.
Posted by ace on June 10, 2003, at 2:48:48
In reply to Re: All Neurontin (Gabapentin) experiences! » ace, posted by Viridis on June 9, 2003, at 23:23:36
> The first few times I took Neurontin, I had a very mild, "floaty", relaxed sort of high. Since then, it's had no effect that I can detect, good or bad. My pdoc suggests I continue with it, since he feels that it may provide subtle "background stability". He wants me on a mood stabilizer -- even though he hasn't labeled me as BP, he suspects that I have hypomanic tendencies, which I do (he initially recommended low-dose Depakote, but I refused). He considers Neurontin the mildest of mood stabilizers, and it's very safe. Frankly, I don't think it does anything for me at 1200 mg/day, but it doesn't have any side effects either.
>
> I also take Klonopin and Adderall, which really do help tremendously with my anxiety and depression, plus Xanax occasionally. Klonopin and Xanax also seem to reduce my obsessive worrying -- I thought I'd mention that, since I know you have OCD. My sister was diagnosed with OCD, and finds that Xanax helps her too.
>
> Some people here find Neurontin very helpful, and I really liked it at first. The effects just didn't last for me, but they might for others. It's worth a try, especially since it's pretty benign and mixes well with other meds.Thanks for the reply! Xanax actually can make my OCD worse! So i try to stay clear of it. It sounds that Neurontin is not doing much...maybe ask your doc to replace it with something else?
Thankyou again for your help,
Ace.
Posted by maxime on June 10, 2003, at 11:10:52
In reply to Re: All Neurontin (Gabapentin) experiences! » Viridis, posted by ace on June 10, 2003, at 2:48:48
Neurontin also made me feel floaty. I didn't feel irritable because I didn't care - lol! It did impair my cognitive ability though. The reason I am no longer on it is because it caused pitting edema in my legs - apparently it can do this to women.
I am BP type 2 and I was using it as a mood stabiliser. i'm thinking it would be helpful for OCD because it relaxes you so much. Certainly worth a try. Expect to be on what seems high doses.
Maxime
Posted by Emme on June 12, 2003, at 19:43:32
In reply to All Neurontin (Gabapentin) experiences!, posted by ace on June 9, 2003, at 20:49:49
I liked it. It provided subtle help with anxiety. It was especially good at helping with raw, edgy, hypersensitive nerves, like when I couldn't even tolerate hearing the phone ring. I believe it provided additional mood control because when I stopped it, I lost some mood control.
I had to stop it because my white blood cell count dropped slightly and stayed a bit low. The doctor didn't want to risk it progressing into a more serious problem.
Emme
Posted by Viridis on June 13, 2003, at 4:01:33
In reply to Re: All Neurontin (Gabapentin) experiences!, posted by Emme on June 12, 2003, at 19:43:32
Maybe Neurontin does something for me...I'm not sure. If so, it's subtle, or else the effects wore off quickly. I certainly don't notice anything if I miss a dose, or take a double dose by mistake. Again, there are no side effects for me -- I'm just not sure if there's any effect at all. So, I may drop it, except that my pdoc really wants me on a mood stabilizer, and this one seems very benign. I won't take any of the others, especially since Klonopin, Adderall, plus Xanax now and then seem to work quite nicely.
Of course, Pregabalin (the "new and improved" Neurontin) is just around the corner re:approval, so I may switch to that when it comes out.
Posted by Mariah on June 13, 2003, at 8:50:17
In reply to Re: All Neurontin (Gabapentin) experiences!, posted by Viridis on June 13, 2003, at 4:01:33
My experience: for possible BP2 [mostly depression w/ rare lowgrade hypomania (or is that how normal folks feel??)]:
Neurontin 900 mg
Effexor 187.5 mg
Clonazepam 0.75
Any mood stabilizer that I've tried (lithium, depakote, topomax) has taken a month or so to adjust to as the dosage was increased to an "effective" level. Neurontin's initial SEs also disappeared except for increased need for sleep. ~10 hrs./nite is preferable but 7-8 hrs. is more realistic, so I often feel sleep-deprived in the eve. My pdoc claims that Neurontin and Clonazepam work together to stabilize mood. I've been on the Neurontin combo for ~18 mo; on Effexor + Clonazepam + Topomax for the previous 18 mo. - stopped Topomax because of close relatives w/ glaucoma.Things are going along well so far.
Posted by avid abulia on June 14, 2003, at 18:21:26
In reply to Re: All Neurontin (Gabapentin) experiences!, posted by Viridis on June 13, 2003, at 4:01:33
> Maybe Neurontin does something for me...I'm not sure. If so, it's subtle, or else the effects wore off quickly. I certainly don't notice anything if I miss a dose, or take a double dose by mistake. Again, there are no side effects for me -- I'm just not sure if there's any effect at all. So, I may drop it, except that my pdoc really wants me on a mood stabilizer, and this one seems very benign. I won't take any of the others, especially since Klonopin, Adderall, plus Xanax now and then seem to work quite nicely.
>
> Of course, Pregabalin (the "new and improved" Neurontin) is just around the corner re:approval, so I may switch to that when it comes out.
as regards efficacy of neurontin, i am sure that pfizer found a way to patent the placebo... it did zilch for me as regarded any symptom improvement for anything or as regarded any kind of effect at all.
This is the end of the thread.
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