I've been to my doctor this morning and told him about my pain getting worse, he's decided to try me on Gabapentin for nerve pain, I'm currently taking....
180mg dihydracodiene
1200mg Ibuprofen
50mg Amitriptyline
30mg Lansoprazole
I've got to take 100mg 3 times a day, he said that he'll start me on a low dose and if it doesnt work he can push the dose up to as high as 800mg a day.
My question is.... Does anyone else take this medication and does it help with the pain, also has anyone had any bad reactions to it?
He still insists there's no pain management clinics lol and I'm having yet more blood tests next monday.
He already knows my inflammation levels are high, its why they are high I want to know and now saying my inflammation level wasn't that high and only just above normal??
So why did he put me on a large dose's of prednisolone a few months ago and tell me "its very high" and he thinks I have polymyalgia? he confuses me all the time!!
I took a list of everything I wanted to ask him this morning, I managed to tell him 2 things, firstly about the pain in my thigh and about losing a stone in a month because I've lost my appitite.
He wasn't interested about the other stuff on the list, he just cut me off as always and gave me another lecture on making myself go for walks and exercise, thats easier said than done when your legs don't work and in agony with burning hot pains lol
I'm so frustrated and feel like a right idiot!!! everytime I go I come out feeling worse than when I went in I feel like I'm going round in circles!
If only it was as simple as he makes it sound, he seems to think he can cure me if I go for a walk!! lol
Thanks
Irene x
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nuttytartuk2003
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Too be honest i would change your doc hun, He sounds like he doesnt know much.
I have been taking gabapentin for quite a while now and it is the best thing i have tried, also i started on 900mg a day and have just been put up to 1800mg a day, so he hasnt gave you the right info on that too.
It does take a while to get in your system properly to feel the benefit, and i know everybody is different but it works wonders with me.
Did your gp tell you to start with just one tablet aday and work the dosage up over afew days?
He told me to take it 3 times a day, each tablet is 100mg and he'll up the dose if I need it.
I'm changing my doctor as soon as I move to a different area in July, can't wait, i'm fed up of being fobbed off! but on the plus side at least I've been given proper fibro medication this time hopefully it'll stop them electric shocks in my legs and arms.
I take 800 3 times a day, ask yr doc to increase yr dose.. they help me
Same here Irene,
Change your GP. He doesn't sound very nice Try another one and ask for a referral to a rheumatologist.
I saw my doctor yesterday and said can you give me anything to relax my muscles as they're soo tight and he said you're on Gabapentin, they should do that. I only take 900mgs at bedtime so he said try taking them during the day. I haven't cos they made me so tired when I first started on them but might have to take them during the day on my bad days I think. I put off doing it and suffer.
hi Irene i agree u should be referred to a rheumatologist who can help with ur diagnosis & treatment. I am also waiting to start gabapetin in a wk or so. I will be blogging on how its going xx take care sending gentle (((hugs))) xx amanda
Hello Irene, I think you have part of your answer.New GP is what you need.
I started with 100mg x 3 a day, then gradually went up to 900 x 3 a day. They certainly work now. Hate to put you off but they give you an appitite. I have put on 2 st. So we can't have everything. I also take morphine (MST) slow release twice a day. It's the usual, some days good, some days bad.
Hope you can get this sorted out. Fibro Hugs ((((O)))) x
Aww I feel sorry for you Julie, I used to be on morphine , I suffer with fybro and I am prescribed 600mg a day, but it makes me so sleepy. but so did the morphine except when I tried to stop taking the morphine after almost a year I suffered terrible side effects. because of it's addictive nature. Lots of people tell me gabapentin and lyrica are also very addictive but I haven't tried to stop taking it. I'm in too much pain and it really helps me. my wife doesn't want me to take gabapentin on a long term basis, she thinks it is dangerous. my mum suffers with fybro too but when she got a prescription for gabapentin she refused to take it because she said it has far too many side effects, I haven't noticed any bad side effects with it, but I pray that you are free from the morphine and pain free too. x
I totally agree with you there Jules about the duty of care and the Rheumy I saw in 2010 was lousy aswell, she more or less said it was in my head and I felt very offended, my partner was fuming as he see's the pain I suffer every day.
she offered me no treatment except a psychiatrist for the stresses in my life (I had no stress in my life at 16yrs old when I started with this pain after a car accident) then discharged me back to my G.P after telling me I had Fibro and M.E
Maybe its just Manchester but I can't find anyone to help me, I'm holding on to the hope that when I move house to a new area, the new doc will be able to help, I've been told he's very good, so fingers crossed and toes eyes and ears!
do not listen to any doc saying its in your head . we all know its not , its now classed as a disability and ALL docs have been updated ring your reumatology department and ask to speack to someone who is knowledgeable on this . hope this gets you sorted if not love get in touch with the fibro group xxx good luck xx
Thanks for your replies, its much appreciated, does anyone know if I'm entitled to a second opinion from another rheumy? the first one wasnt very nice am I within my rights to ask to see another?
You are in your rights hun, but you mention you have me and i got sent to an immunologist to be tested for that as my gp had dx fibro. He was the best doctor i have seen and he gave me dx of fibro, cfs/me and hypermobility on the spot and took more blood from me and looked into everything and i am very low on vitamin d and calcium, so gp has me on meds for that now and he found two other auto immune diseases too which are being looked into.
It took me 10 years and several different GP's before I was taken seriously. After actually being granted all available tests I got a diagnosis of fibromyalgia.
However, several years ago I had re accuring bouts of shingles and all my body pain and weakness was attributed to post herpetic neuralgia (the nerve pain you get after shingles). I was given gabapentin which didn't help much and made me very puffy looking and bloated.
The next thing to try was pregabalin, which initially I found helpful, but soon gave me violent spasms and it was as exhausting as being in pain all the time, so I weaned myself off it.
I was able to lose most of the weight and start exercising regularly again until I collapsed again 2 years ago...THIS TIME I had a decent GP and I thank my lucky stars everyday!
My life now seems to be a fraction of the existence I formerly had, but I have been supported fully by my GP and the pain clinic I've been referred to (not in my local area, but worth all the travel).
My Rheumatologist was great at my initial consultation and diagnosis, but has since been rude about my subsequent weight gain (again! apparently it's nothing to do with my medication, I just eat too much and don't exercise enough-helpful, isn't he?) and overly critical about my progress. I won't be going back to him!
But with my meds, support from GP and pain clinic, and of course my loving husband and family, I am able to cope most of the time with balancing life and symptoms, and work part time in my job which I love.
I now take duloxetine 180mg, MST (morphine tablets) 40mg, for my fibromyalgia, and oramorph if I need a top up. I take fexafenadine which is an antihistamine, to help reduce the swelling, and I take other meds for other conditions too.
Since the infusion at the pain clinic though, I haven't needed the oramorph and I've reduced the MST by 5mg so far. YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!
PS: You should be intitled to a second opinion so yes, ask if you can be referred to another rheumatologist when you've got a new GP.
Good luck!!
Im on baclofen 20mg 3 times a day co codemol 8/500 2 4 times daily gabapentin 1800mg daily they dont work I again had a rough night couldnt sleep because of the pain
Hello All... I think Doctors are taking pot luck with medication as everyone is different, you need to swap and change until you find one that suits you and works but in the mean time cope the best you can, it's a long process. Hugs
There are the things I would like you to understand before you judge me...
Please know that being sick doesn't mean I'm not human. I may spend most of my day flat on my back and I might not seem like great company, but I'm still me stuck inside this body. I worry about school, work, family and friends and I'd still like to hear about yours.
Please understand the difference between "happy" and "healthy". When you've got the flu you probably feel miserable but it will pass. I've been sick for for so long that I can't afford to be miserable all the time, in fact I work hard at not being miserable. So if I sound happy, it means that I'm happy, it does not mean that I am well. I may be in pain and sicker than ever.
Please, don't say, "Oh, you're sounding better!".
I am not sounding better, I am sounding happy. If you want to comment on that, you're welcome.
Please understand that being able to stand up for five minutes, doesn't mean that I can stand ten minutes, or an hour. It's likely that five minutes has exhausted my resources and I'll need to recover - imagine an athlete after a race. They couldn't repeat that feat right away either. With a lot of diseases you're either paralyzed or you can move, but with Fibromyalgia it gets more confusing.
Please repeat the above paragraph substituting, "sitting up", "walking", "thinking", "being sociable" and so on ... it applies to everything. That's what a fatigue-based illness does to you.
Please understand that chronic illnesses are variable. It's quite possible (for me, it's common) that one day I am able to walk to the park and back, and the next I'll struggle to reach the kitchen.
Please don't attack me when I'm ill by saying, "But you did it before!".
If you want me to do something, ask if I can and I'll tell you. In a similar vein, I may need to cancel an invitation at the last minute, if this happens please don't take it personally.
Please understand that "getting out and doing things" does not make me feel better, and can often make me worse. Fibromyalgia may cause secondary depression (wouldn't you get depressed if you were no longer able to participate in life?) but it is not caused by depression. Telling me that I need exercise is not appreciated or correct - if I could do it, I would.
Please understand that if I say I have to sit down/lie down/take these pills now, that I do have to do it right now - it can't be put off or forgotten just because I'm doing something. Fibromyalgia does not forgive.
Please understand that I can't spend all of my energy trying to get well. With a short-term illness like the flu, you can afford to put life on hold for a week or two while you get well. But part of having a chronic illness is coming to the realization that you have to spend some energy on having a life now. This doesn't mean I'm not trying to get better. It doesn't mean I've given up. It's just how life is when you're dealing with a chronic illness.
If you want to suggest a cure, please don't. It's not because I don't appreciate the thought, and it's not because I don't want to get well. It's because every one of my friends has already suggested every theory known to man. I tried them all, but quickly realized I was using up so much energy trying new treatments I was making myself sicker, not better. If there was something that cured Fibromyalgia, all of us would know about it by now.
If you read this and still want to suggest a cure, submit it in writing but don't expect me to rush out and try it. If it is something new, with merit, I'll discuss it with my doctor.
Please understand that getting better can be a slow process. Fibromyalgia entails numerous symptoms and it can take a long time to sort them all out.
I depend on you - people who are not sick for many things but most importantly, I need you to understand me.
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Thanks so much for posting that Mags. It's made me feel so much better knowing that someone else feels the same as me. I feel so angree sometimes at everyone for not understanding and their unhelpful advice and pull yourself together comments.
I totally agree 100% I have a very annoying uncle who says I am putting it on and i'm not ill, He says i'm just lazy but I am registered disabled and in lots of pain with sciatica and I have fybromyalgia and most of the time I can't do much at all. I was on Pethidine for a long time and then I was given gagbapentin.
Hi, im on 900mg Gabapentin 3 times aday and its the best meds ive had since getting ill. I was on morphine for 7 yrs and didnt find it helped at all after awhile so beg the drs to change me over to something else which they didnt for number of yrs.
I went to see Dr at the hospital who wrote a letter to my GPS and within weeks i was going cold turkey and going on to Gabapentin at the same time.
I havent looked back since, im not pain free as such but i have alot more good days then i have ever had. xx
yes I take 4oomg of Gabetin 9 times a day in 3 doses.Also 8 tramadol,8 paracetamol,I wear 250 microg of fenatyl morphine patches,that I change every 3 days,and I take 150 mgs of oral morphine a month, this goes in the week that I get my monthly meds.Dont be aghast.I suffer many other painful things.I dont think pain control is the answer,because i still suffer all the effects of fibro Being knocked asleep is the answer do you ?
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I feel like I'm going round in circles! 
Thoughts on Gabapentin?
GABAPENTIN FOR FIBRO???
Good morning all my fibro friends :)
Gabapentin 
