I have a friend who recently had back surgery , The Doc’s put him on Neurotin…Now my friend has always been a bit of a goof, but lately I have seen some major changes since he started this drug….. decided to do some surfing and stumbled apon this site ……Well !!!!!!! My friend now sleeps for 12-14 hours a day, 5 weeks after surgery …has started the stare with mouth wide open ….cannot complete a full sentence …mumbles like I never heard him before…and he can’t remember anything . He seems very short tempered .After reading some of the letters here I am worried for him, taking this drug !!! To many simular statements and not really sure if is going to help his back pain all that much …. but this is the drug the Doctors want to keep him on permanently rather that “real ” pain killers because he might get hooked !!!!!

Your comments appreciated!

Mitch

I have multiple mental illness diagnosses and have been on medication and in therapy since my first suicide attempt at 8 yrs old. I recognize that there are various factors that contribute to things like that hapening such as environmental stability and support, genetic predispositon, and biological contributers (medication reactions, hormonal inbalances). The only way anyone can know how those things are affecting one another is if they are closely monitored by a community of people trained to work together to make sure that a heathy and stable balance is found.

I’ll explain why I brought this up. There are so many people on this site who are talking about the dosage of medication they are taking and their side affects or the fact that they just began taking the medication and they’re frightened because their side effects are so severe. These people should have the ability to contact their prescribing physician and discuss dosage adjustment and in the case of new users they shoud have been informed that the first week taking the medication and any increases thereafter is going to bring perticularly pronounced side effects. If your physician does not take time to follow you closely and listen to how the medication is effecting YOU then you need a new physician.

I am saying all of this from experience. I was prescribed Neurontin a couple of years ago and I had several severe suicide attempts that followed. I was on multiple medications at the time and so monitoring side effects was difficult. Since discontinuing the use of Neurontin I have not had another attempt. I also have a therapist who works closely with my psychiatrist to monitor my behavior and mood when adjustments are made to my medications. This is only because I made it clear that I recognized that medication therapy is going to be necissary for the rest of my life and new medication will become available that may work better with less severe side effects and I don’t want to be affraid to see how new meds effect me. So I have found a doctor who will fully prepare me for the side effects a medication will have and a therapist that will take the first few minuts of every session to find out if there has been any med changes or if I feel any neg effects I think might be med related.

Working all this out took time and finding the right people to be a part of my treatment team meant going through several doctors and therapists. I did it and I want all of you to know I don’t have a fancy private insurance carrier that payed for it all. I have medicaid provided by the state. So don’t let anyone tell you you have to stick with any particular doctor because who is prescribing your medications, whatever the reasons may be, will determine how successful medication therapy is for you.

You should never feel frightened by the idea of taking a medication. If you do, my advice is if it is not an immediately life saving medication, don’t take it. Find out more about it. It may turn out to be the right med for you after all. And, don’t just count on internet info, speak to real people. If your doctor want’s to give it to you than most likely the people waiting in the waiting room you’re in will have some knowledge of the medication. So you could say “Hey have you ever heard of whatever med?” If they have some input find out how long they’ve been taking it. Everyone is different and has a different experience but it will give you some stuff to ask your doctor about other than the tachnical stuff you can find on the net.

Hopefully this will be helpfull.

Take Care

What bothers me more is the cost of Neurantin. Anywhere from starting out at $80 a month to a current $155 a month and they don’t even do the job! I find that annoying and sometimes in frustration I feel like taking the doctor by the throat and saying, you chop your leg off and tell me how it feels. If I genuinely suffer the violent pain I do, shouldn’t I in this day and age have a right to a medicine that works without going through the mess I do with drugs like Neurantin with its costs? I can’t help it if someone else abuses narcotics. That’s not my fault. My pain is real.