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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Cass on July 18, 2001, at 15:38:45
I'm pretty puzzled because I am on Neurontin for neuropathic pain only. My doctor didn't say that it was psychopharmaceutical drug. Yet I've been reading threads here about Neurontin being a mood stabilizer and anti-anxiety medication. Are we talking about the same drug?
Posted by AKC on July 18, 2001, at 16:00:45
In reply to The uses of Neurontin, posted by Cass on July 18, 2001, at 15:38:45
> I'm pretty puzzled because I am on Neurontin for neuropathic pain only. My doctor didn't say that it was psychopharmaceutical drug. Yet I've been reading threads here about Neurontin being a mood stabilizer and anti-anxiety medication. Are we talking about the same drug?
I'll sound sarcastic, but I really don't mean to be. Yes, we are talking about the same drug. Wonderful thing about these "brain" drugs. Many of these drugs start out beind discovered for one use, which the researchers don't know why it works - then, the researchers notice a particular side effect - it is calming, or helps depression, or something of that effect. So it spreads to some psych uses, totally off-label (i.e. non-FDA approved use). Note - this is in the good ole USA. And of course, why these drugs work, no one knows, which explains why it can be such a crap shoot. I took neurontin for anxiety - at pretty high doses - if my anxiety was on the low side, it helped. But if I was in a highly agitated state, it wouldn't touch it. Others have great success. If you are lucky, you find the cocktail that works; if not, you keep trying. It looks like I am finally one of the lucky ones.
Posted by Janelle on July 18, 2001, at 16:10:54
In reply to The uses of Neurontin, posted by Cass on July 18, 2001, at 15:38:45
I have heard and read the EXACT same things that were so well expressed just above by AKC.
Neurontin, like many other "non-psychiatric" meds in the OFFICIAL (FDA-approved) sense have turned out to work on psychiatric conditions. Classic examples that have come out of the wood work are the anti-seizure meds such as Lamictal and Depakote. I think Neurontin may also be "officially" recognized (by FDA) as an anti-seizure med.
-Janelle.
Posted by PaulB on July 18, 2001, at 16:56:39
In reply to The uses of Neurontin, posted by Cass on July 18, 2001, at 15:38:45
> I'm pretty puzzled because I am on Neurontin for neuropathic pain only. My doctor didn't say that it was psychopharmaceutical drug. Yet I've been reading threads here about Neurontin being a mood stabilizer and anti-anxiety medication. Are we talking about the same drug?
Neurotonin is used as a mood stabiliser and an anti-anxiety medication. It has been referred to as the 'Swiss Army Knife' of neurological drugs.
It isnt FDA approved for either of these reasons. The drug company that manufactures it did consider pursuing its use for anxiety disorders but now Pregabalin, a very similar drug in terms of its mode of action but with some advanteages over its predecessor, may be more promising for anxiety disorders.
Posted by sillygrrl on July 18, 2001, at 17:23:12
In reply to The uses of Neurontin, posted by Cass on July 18, 2001, at 15:38:45
Hello,
Neurontin was approved by the FDA for seizure disorders and epilepsy. It is also given to people with severe bipolar disorder or problems controlling anger (to the point where they attack people or destroy things). And yes, it's also used to deal with neuropathic pain.
Weird drug, this is...
here's a web site:
http://neuroland.com/pain/neurontin.htmbest,
silly
> I'm pretty puzzled because I am on Neurontin for neuropathic pain only. My doctor didn't say that it was psychopharmaceutical drug. Yet I've been reading threads here about Neurontin being a mood stabilizer and anti-anxiety medication. Are we talking about the same drug?
Posted by Cass on July 18, 2001, at 20:43:08
In reply to Re: The uses of Neurontin, posted by sillygrrl on July 18, 2001, at 17:23:12
> Hello,
>
> Neurontin was approved by the FDA for seizure disorders and epilepsy. It is also given to people with severe bipolar disorder or problems controlling anger (to the point where they attack people or destroy things). And yes, it's also used to deal with neuropathic pain.
>
> Weird drug, this is...
>
> here's a web site:
> http://neuroland.com/pain/neurontin.htm
>
> best,
> silly
>
Thanks for the link, Silly! And thanks for all the other info. from you all. I had no idea Neurontin was so widely prescribed for so many things. FYI, it is very effective for my neuropathic pain. When I first started taking it, I had a sense of well-being and a surge of energy which I attributed to the decreased pain, but I suppose it could have been due to the other qualities that Neurontin has. The energy and sense of well-being peetered quite a bit, but it is still working for the pain. Wish you all well.
Cass
Posted by MM on July 19, 2001, at 0:01:06
In reply to Re: The uses of Neurontin, posted by PaulB on July 18, 2001, at 16:56:39
Can you tell me more about Pregabalin? Will It be approved any time soon? Can it be used as a mood stabilizer?
Posted by Elizabeth on July 19, 2001, at 10:41:03
In reply to The uses of Neurontin, posted by Cass on July 18, 2001, at 15:38:45
> I'm pretty puzzled because I am on Neurontin for neuropathic pain only.
That's a good reason. Another anticonvulsant drug, Tegretol, has a long and glorious history of being used for neuropathic pain, but Neurontin is much safer and more convenient in a lot of ways.
> My doctor didn't say that it was psychopharmaceutical drug. Yet I've been reading threads here about Neurontin being a mood stabilizer and anti-anxiety medication. Are we talking about the same drug?
Yup. It seems to be somewhat helpful to people with some kinds of anxiety such as social phobia and panic disorder, as well as mania or hypomania in bipolar disorder; IMO, it's particularly well suited for patients who have "soft" bipolar-spectrum disorders (BP II, cyclothymia, "borderline personality") with associated anxiety and agitation. It's used to treat a wide variety of other symptoms, diseases, and disorders, including restless legs syndrome, myoclonus, aggression (related to mental retardation, head trauma, and various psych disorders), nystagmus, bruxism, various movement disorders, headache, and spasticity, as well as neuropathic pain of various origins (and some types of non-neuropathic pain) and some types of epilepsy.
The mechanism of action is not entirely clear; it's a GABA analog, but it's not a GABA-A agonist or a benzodiazepine receptor agonist. I think, based on a few stories I've heard, that there's a real possibility that it might help relieve benzodiazepine or alcohol withdrawal symptoms, though. It does activate GABA-B receptors under some conditions, I think. (That doesn't explain its anxiolytic effect, though. FWIW, I tried taking the GABA-B agonist baclofen for muscle spasm and it was utterly useless.) Neurontin may have some effect on voltage-gated calcium channels which may be responsible for observed effects on the N-methyl-D-aspartate system. (NMDA receptors are a subtype of glutamate receptors; like many other receptor subtypes (e.g., the muscarinic and nicotinic subtypes of acetylcholine receptors), they were named for the first selective agonist that was discovered.)
Like many drugs that have central as well as peripheral actions, Neurontin is psychoactive.
-elizabeth
Posted by Cass on July 19, 2001, at 14:25:04
In reply to Re: The uses of Neurontin, posted by Cass on July 18, 2001, at 20:43:08
Thanks Elizabeth, I'm really impressed by your knowledge about this drug. It really helped.
Posted by Elizabeth on July 20, 2001, at 0:28:25
In reply to Re: The uses of Neurontin--Elizabeth, posted by Cass on July 19, 2001, at 14:25:04
You're welcome.
-elizabeth
Posted by PaulB on July 29, 2001, at 12:28:51
In reply to Re: The uses of Neurontin-PaulB, posted by MM on July 19, 2001, at 0:01:06
> Can you tell me more about Pregabalin? Will It be approved any time soon? Can it be used as a mood stabilizer?
Pregabalin is very similar to gabapentin but more potent. Pfizer, the drug company that is developing it has restricted the use of it at this time for certain patients because there was an increased incidence of some type of tumor in mice when given the drug for a life-time. At this stage Im not sure what the significance of this is but it doesnt seem to be a major set-back and Pfizer may still be going ahead to submit Pregabalin for FDA approval this Autumn as originally planned. They hope they can get licence for its use in neuropathic pain, epilepsy first and then a variety of anxiety disorders where it has shown much promise(Generalised Anxiety Disorder,Social Phobia, Panic Disorder)
Its expected to be a big earner for Pfizer.
This is the end of the thread.
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