Gabapentin

Hello Ladies,

My Consultant faxed a letter to my GP for me to be prescribed Gabapentin.I have been to the Doctors today to pick up a prescription. I was taking Nortriptyline but had a reaction tried Venlafaxine but did not tolerate it at all. The Lady Doctor seemed reluctant for me to go on the Gabapentin and suggested I try Nortriptyline again as she was concerned with the side affects of the Gabapentin, she suggested taking clarityn with the Nortriptyline.

When on the Nortriptyline 75mg it did help but never went away. I have been looking on the web at some clinical trials
using Gabapentin, see below. I have both prescriptions, any feedback?

Many Thanks. Ria

RESULTS:

A total of 152 patients were included in the study. Ninety-eight (64%) patients treated with gabapentin had resolution of at least 80% of their symptoms during the study period. Forty-nine (32%) did not have adequate resolution. There was a high percentage of comorbidities in patients with generalized vulvodynia. Sleep disturbance was the only comorbidity that negatively affected the efficacy of gabapentin. In addition, there appeared to be a trend toward a less favorable response in patients with a longer period of untreated illness (p value not less than 0.05). Side effects of gabapentin were few. Forty (26%) reported some side effects. Fatigue was the most common complaint. Seventeen patients (11%) discontinued the medication secondary to side effects.
CONCLUSION:

Gabapentin appears to be very effective in the treatment of generalized vulvodynia, unprovoked. It has a very low side effect profile. Certain patients may be less likely to benefit from gabapentin, including those with the comorbidity of sleep disturbance. Patients with symptoms of longer-standing generalized vulvodynia, unprovoked, may also be less likely to benefit from this treatment.

Hey Ria,

Thanks for this post.

Over here its called Neurontin...and I have read its pretty effective with V. I wish you the best!

I'm on Pregabalin which is also an anti-convulsant (but alot more expensive than Gaba) and it helps. You can only really figure out if they will help you by trying them. Good luck.

I too am on gaba, well I was. I stopped after 10 weeks because it hadn't made a difference, no side effects other than dry mouth and felt a bit groggy for the first 2 weeks. I seem to tolorate meds well though.

Hi All,

Sitting here at the computer with my Gabapentin just picked it up from the pharmacy, drugs they scare me. I have taken nothing for 10days but I know I may need them if the V kicks in. I was told to take all medication for 6 months to allow the nerves to heal, but the nortriptyline gave me a reaction so I stopped taking it.

I can feel mild discomfort but its ok, does anyone have no pain on meds, forums always say they still have a level of background vulva pain. My Vulva Specialists said take them everyday even if you think its gone away. Anyone put weight on with Gabapentin, some forums say they have piled it on.....................

Well Gapapentin in one hand and a bottle of red wine.................I have not had a drink for ages tonite I am having some wine and I will think about the Medication tomorrow. I just want my life back No alcohol when on Medication. Please anyone on medication totally free of any discomfort/pain?


Thank you girls its good to talk cheers Ria

What I find with meds is they work well on burning pain but not on soreness/rawness type pain. The combination of Ami and Lyrica has almost got rid of all my burning but had little effect on the rawness I feel in the vestibule which is a real pity because if they worked on both types of pain I'd be feeling pretty good now. I've gained half a stone but can honestly say it's because the tablets cause an increased appetite, initially I thought I was eating the same as always but gaining weight so I started to keep tabs on every morsel that went in my mouth and soon realised I was actually eating quite a bit more so I'm now keeping an eye on that but do find I'm hungry alot of the time. They can also cause water retention which no doubt adds to the weight gain. So I can't tell you I'm painfree on meds no but they do help some and even though I know I shouldn't I do drink alcohol while taking the above and don't find it any different to before I was on meds!