Posted by Snowie on November 1, 2000, at 18:56:35
In reply to Re: Neurontin comments , posted by dove on November 1, 2000, at 11:34:10
Thanks, Dove and Scott, for your responses. I have copied and responded to Scott's post, as well as to Dove's to simplify my responses. I hope you don't mind that I've lumped them both together.
Snowie
> No, I am not taking Neurontin at the moment. What I meant by time-dependant is that the onset of the "weird" feeling, occurred at a dosage as low as 600mg once I had been taking it for five or six days. The previous times I had taken Neurontin, I worked up quickly to 1800mg, so I figured that the cognitive disturbances were a function of the high dosage. So, for me, it seems as if it doesn't matter what dosage I am taking. The weird feeling appears after a certain amount of time passes. I don't think I have ever heard of this happening with anyone else.
>
> I just want to stress again that I would experience a mild improvement every time the dosage of Neurontin was increased. However, it would fade within a few days. Do you think your variable mood is linked to dosage changes?
>
> I hope this has helped. I don't think you want to use my case as a typical example, though. The anti-anxiety properties of Neurontin can occur immediately. If you are bipolar, it may take a few weeks before it consistently stabilizes things.
>
> - SLSScott,
No, I'm not bipolar. I have general anxiety disorder and social anxiety and have been taking Xanax for about 6 years, although I quit taking it for almost a year during that six-year period and was miserable most of the time. I took a 100 mg. capsule of Neurontin one evening a few months ago, and was amazed that my need for Xanax went away that evening, and over time I have been able to reduce my original Xanax intake by half. Unfortunately, Neurontin doesn't always work as well as Xanax, and sometimes Neurontin works better. Like I said before, it's not really predictable for me. Sometimes it helps my anxiety and sometimes I can't tell that it's doing much of anything. But that was at the 100 mg. dose (100 mg. x 3).
My pdoc increased my dose to 600 mg. per day (200 mg. x 3) and even now (I took the 2nd 200 mg. around 4:30 p.m. and it's almost 8:00 p.m. now) I have a terrible headache, double vision, brain fuzz, and difficulty concentrating. However, I don't feel terribly anxious ... I don't feel much of anything (sort of zombie-like). I don't know if this feeling will go away or not, but I can't continue taking it if the side effects don't dissipate soon.
Snowie
> To Scott:
Same experience here with dose increase and initial improvement, only to find the effects waning within 2-3 weeks (if I'm lucky...). It really angers me. I like how I feel initially, I think I'm in for some wonderful changes, I start working and dealing with "stuff", only to find myself right back where I started.
>
> As I was writing this something occurred to me, I think my cycling may actually be getting longer. I had an entire 48 hours on an upswing within the last 7 days, so... Could it be helping?!
>
> To Snowie:
> I don't know if I believe it's the Neurontin that's not working or unpredictable, or if it's me :-) I feel that there are days that feel much more stable than others, especially when I've just had a dose increase, and there are the other days spent drowning in the deep well....
>
> And in regard to hormonal cycles dethroning everything else, be it depression or Neurontin, yes, a very definite yes. I'm finding the whole female "cycle" a little to determined for its own good! I actually asked my doc's for Lupron, hoping for some sort of solution, but they all said "No!". Let me know if you discover anything on that front.
>
> I've just started some intense panic and anxiety therapy which I will detail further with a new post down near the bottom of the board. Thanks for your time one and all!
>
> doveDove,
I certainly understand about the intense panic and anxiety. Good luck with your therapy.
I seem to be having the opposite result ... I'm having problems after increasing my dose (see my response to Scott above). I recently went on birth control pills to regulate my hormones and have noticed that I don't have the severe PMS that I used to have, although I still have some mood swings during that time.
Snowie
poster:Snowie
thread:47055
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001022/msgs/47954.html