Shown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Terry on June 26, 1998, at 22:44:42
Has anyone used low doses of Neruontin for anxiety?
Terry
Posted by firegal on August 15, 2000, at 21:59:35
In reply to Neurontin for GAD, posted by Terry on June 26, 1998, at 22:44:42
yes! I started it about a month ago when my shrink discontinued my Buspar and put me on 100mg x 3 daily. after 2 weeks, I doubled the dose and have an appointment with him in 2 days for rx follow up. it seems to be working ok for me. is it working for you? any weight gain??
> Has anyone used low doses of Neruontin for anxiety?> Terry
Posted by Snowie on August 15, 2000, at 22:16:31
In reply to Re: Neurontin for GAD, posted by firegal on August 15, 2000, at 21:59:35
Same here. When I briefly tried Neurontin, I was able to decrease my Xanax intake (3 mg./day) almost in half, and very quickly. It's possible that I could eventually wean off Xanax with Neurontin. However, if I take too much at one time (300 mg.), I become very zombie-like. 100 mg. 3 x day is probably the best dose for me. Now if I can just find a pdoc who'll prescribe it for me!
Snowie
Posted by dove on August 16, 2000, at 9:50:41
In reply to Re: Neurontin for GAD » firegal, posted by Snowie on August 15, 2000, at 22:16:31
I'm on 600mgs of Neurontin, taken all at once, and have been struggling to wake up in the morning. The drowsiness kicks in about four hours after I take it (I take Amitriptyline, Serzone, and Neurontin at the same time right before bed). I've been prescribed Neurontin for managing my migraines, anxiety, panic attacks, and bipolar tendencies.
How did splitting the dosage work for you? Does it help during the day? I don't know if it's helping at all during the day, which, of course, is when I need it most. The only effects I've noticed during the daylight hours are drowsiness, massive forgetfulness, and numb brain. My p-doc prescribed 300mgs capsules, is there any method for splitting the dosage without nullifying the medicine? I really need this med to work. I've also read that Neurontin has a short half-life, is this correct? I am a very fast metabolizer, so wouldn't that affect the duration/length of Neurontin?
Thank you for your time...
dove
Posted by Snowie on August 16, 2000, at 20:10:51
In reply to Re: Neurontin for GAD, Panic, Mood stabilizer..., posted by dove on August 16, 2000, at 9:50:41
Dove,
300 mgs. of Neurontin was just too much for me to take at once. I had weird symptoms, such as inability to focus, headache, double-vision, brain fog, and inability to concentrate. That numb brain thing you mentioned was a symptom also. At the lower levels, i.e., 100 mg. x 3/day, it works wonderfully for me on GAD and even social anxiety, and I have no side effects at all. I'm not a doctor, but 600 mgs. taken all at once seems like a heck of a lot of Neurontin, but I guess you and your pdoc need to determine what dose is right for you. It's possible that there may be some drug interactions between the Serzone and Neurontin since Serzone increases the potency of many drugs.
Here's a link to some super info about Neurontin written by a pdoc from another Board, which should answer many of your questions about Neurontin.
http://www.algy.com/pdi/FAQ//neu-drug.html
Good luck, and I hope it works for you!
Snowie
> I'm on 600mgs of Neurontin, taken all at once, and have been struggling to wake up in the morning. The drowsiness kicks in about four hours after I take it (I take Amitriptyline, Serzone, and Neurontin at the same time right before bed). I've been prescribed Neurontin for managing my migraines, anxiety, panic attacks, and bipolar tendencies.
>
> How did splitting the dosage work for you? Does it help during the day? I don't know if it's helping at all during the day, which, of course, is when I need it most. The only effects I've noticed during the daylight hours are drowsiness, massive forgetfulness, and numb brain. My p-doc prescribed 300mgs capsules, is there any method for splitting the dosage without nullifying the medicine? I really need this med to work. I've also read that Neurontin has a short half-life, is this correct? I am a very fast metabolizer, so wouldn't that affect the duration/length of Neurontin?
>
> Thank you for your time...
>
> dove
Posted by Snowie on August 16, 2000, at 20:37:06
In reply to Re: Neurontin for GAD, Panic, Mood stabilizer... » dove, posted by Snowie on August 16, 2000, at 20:10:51
Dove,
One more thing ... as time goes on and my body adjusts to the Neurontin, I may need to increase the level of my single dose to 200 mgs., taken either twice or three times a day. Also, I didn't see any Serzone drug interaction mentioned in the article regarding Neurontin.
Snowie
Posted by Snowie on August 16, 2000, at 20:39:55
In reply to ....One more thing » Snowie, posted by Snowie on August 16, 2000, at 20:37:06
Sorry ... this post was meant for you, not me....LOL
> Dove,
>
> One more thing ... as time goes on and my body adjusts to the Neurontin, I may need to increase the level of my single dose to 200 mgs., taken either twice or three times a day. Also, I didn't see any Serzone drug interaction mentioned in the article regarding Neurontin.
>
> Snowie
Posted by dove on August 17, 2000, at 9:15:07
In reply to Re: ....One more thing ... meant for Dove, posted by Snowie on August 16, 2000, at 20:39:55
> Sorry ... this post was meant for you, not me....LOL
LOL! Thank you for the laughter :~)
I'll go over that info you posted the link to, and see if I can come up with a few things to give my p-doc. Thank you again for your prompt reply :-)
dove
Posted by Robaire on August 26, 2000, at 11:24:08
In reply to Neurontin for GAD, posted by Terry on June 26, 1998, at 22:44:42
I have been through the grinder of medications and diagnosis for various degrees of depression over the past 11 years, with at least a dozen different psychiatrists who have led me to try imprimamine, klonapin, effexor, paxil, lithium, zoloft, pamolar, prozac, serzone, ativan, sonata, ambien, xanax, etc. Some have been effective (prozac, paxil) for brief periods of time but then wore off. Others, ineffective or with intolerable side effects. In addition to dealing with all of the side effects and withdrawl nightmares, insomnia has been my most debilitating problem... I had to take at least 10mg of ambien to get 5 hours of sleep for the past 5 years.
Last year, a psychiatrist (who seemed quite thorough in his evaluation of me--our first session was 8 hours long!!!) said he didn't think I suffered from depression, but I did have generalized anxiety disorder... and he believed valium was the most safe and effective treatment. He said the common dosage for adults with GAD was 20-40mg/per day. I was at about 30 mg and it was quite effective in diminishing some of my anxiety symptoms, but most importantly, I was able to get off of ambien and could get in 6 hours of sleep without it.
OK, one year later, I'm addicted to valium and I moved to a new city... and the valium is no longer nearly as effective--insomnia returns. A psychiatrist down in my new city recommended neurontin, both to strengthen the valium and eventually to replace it. But he left it up to me to determine the dosage, although he did say I might go up to 3600 mg. neurontin/day!!
Right now I'm at about 2000 mg of neurontin/day along with the same amount of valium and some nights I actually sleep for 8 hours for the first time in years. My first days, especially when I increase the dosage are always disorienting--I feel very spacey, dizzy, fatigued--but the next day I am fine. I just have to reiterate that I'm only able to increase the neurontin dosage because the longer I am on it (2 months now) the fewer and less noticeable side effects.
This is a very stressful time in my life (relocation, unemployment, etc) so I really don't want to attempt to ween myself off of valium and deal with withdrawl effects. Incidentally, I called the psychiatrist who first diagnosed me with GAD--he told me that his patients who are on valium for GAD usually take 400/mg of neurontin per day. So now I'm totally confused. Is the psychiatrist who sees me going up to 3600mg of neurontin a complete quack. Basically, he is treating me like a guinea pig, and just tells me to let my body dictate how much valium or neurontin I take. He gives the generic explanation that effects and dosage vary per individual. A little more guidance and structure would help.
If anyone out there has any information on where I can find articles, research, or has personal experience with GAD and neurontin--especially at the mega-dose that's been recommended, I'd be most appreciative.
Thanks for listening.
Posted by Rick on August 26, 2000, at 16:06:54
In reply to Re: Neurontin for GAD, posted by Robaire on August 26, 2000, at 11:24:08
Yes, Neurontin (gabapentin) is often given in doses up to 3,600 mg/day, somtimes higher. E.g. see abstract below testing gabapentin for Social Anxiety -- manufacturer-funded, but with highly-regarded researchers. The dosages there ranged from 900-3600/day.
I once took Neurontin for awhile at 3,600, but quit before giving it a fair trial because my blood sugar unexpectedly started shooting up. (My pdoc had never heard of this effect, but I noted that the latest monographs do list this as one of three anecdotally-reported side effects.)
It does seem odd, though, that such a high-end dosage would be suggested while you're still taking a substantial amount of Valium. Conversely, 400 mg. sounds pretty low; I would expect something more like 800, 1000 or 1200, but I'm not an expert.
Rick
----------
J Clin Psychopharmacol 1999 Aug;19(4):341-8
Treatment of social phobia with gabapentin: a placebo-controlled study.Pande AC, Davidson JR, Jefferson JW, Janney CA, Katzelnick DJ, Weisler RH, Greist JH, Sutherland SM
Parke-Davis Pharmaceutical Research, Division of Warner-Lambert Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105, USA. atul.pande@wl.com
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of gabapentin in relieving the symptoms of social phobia. Sixty-nine patients were randomly assigned to receive double-blind treatment with either gabapentin (dosed flexibly between 900 and 3,600 mg daily in three divided doses) or placebo for 14 weeks. A significant reduction (p < 0.05) in the symptoms of social phobia was observed among patients on gabapentin compared with those on placebo as evaluated by clinician- and patient-rated scales. Results were similar for the intent-to-treat and week-2 completer populations. Adverse events were consistent with the known side effect profile of gabapentin. Dizziness (p = 0.05), dry mouth (p = 0.05), somnolence, nausea, flatulence, and decreased libido occurred at a higher frequency among patients receiving gabapentin than among those receiving placebo. No serious adverse events or deaths were reported. On the basis of these limited data, it seems that gabapentin offers a favorable risk-benefit ratio for the treatment of patients with social phobia. Further studies are required to confirm this effect and to determine whether a dose-response relationship exists.
Publication Types:
Clinical trial
Multicenter study
Randomized controlled trial
PMID: 10440462, UI: 99367074
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