Comments | fibromyalgia: Neurontin causing panic / anxiety?

subgirl in fibromyalgia

Neurontin causing panic / anxiety?

May 14, 2010 16:35

Okay folks, got a med question for you. I am up to 2-300mg tablets thrice daily (so, 600mg 3x per day or 1800mg per day) and while it's helping with the muscular pain (woo!) the emotional roller coaster? Not liking this so much.

I'm having horrific panic attacks. Like, complete emotional fail. Just... shit ain't happening ( Read more... )

anxiety, neurontin

Comments 30

elialshadowpine May 14 2010, 23:37:49 UTC

I haven't had that side effect myself, but I do know other people who have had it. Neurontin is actually used unofficially to treat anxiety, and most any med that treats it has the chance of making it worse instead for some people.

subgirl May 15 2010, 01:46:32 UTC

Didn't know that about the anxiety. Makes sense though, as it kind of mutes things... I can see how it would mute anxiety. If it didn't make it crazy like it is for me.

Assuming that's what it is.

Ugh. The trials of side effects.

patchworkcherry May 14 2010, 23:41:54 UTC

Neurontin often has terrible side effects. A lady from my fibromyalgia support group said she tried to run over her sister while on it.

intrepid_smstrs May 15 2010, 01:22:05 UTC

I shouldn't laugh, but this made me giggle (I have a wicked sense of humor). All I could think of was "How bad is her sister?". Sorry.

subgirl May 15 2010, 01:45:12 UTC

Hee, yeah... I had an antidepressant in high school that made me rage out really badly, and I finally actually hit my sister (for the first time, and let me say she deserved it way before then!) which, while as a side effect of a medication, sucks, but now that I'm older, it was totally hilarious.

And for the record, I don't think I'd have to be medicated to want to run over my sister.

(Glad we're 1600 miles apart. Heh.)

patchworkcherry May 15 2010, 02:06:12 UTC

Haha...when she said that, I said, "Well..um...did she deserve it?" Hahaha.

Thread 5

firehauke May 15 2010, 00:00:34 UTC

I want to say that my Endocrinologist said one can go up to 1800 mg daily without problems, but I don't really remember. I'm up at 1200mg daily, and haven't noticed a problem emotionally. for specifics, I'm on gabapentin.

sitapixie May 15 2010, 00:51:20 UTC

My doc said 1800mg a day with gabapentin is usually tolerated without problems. I'm not up on that high of a dosage but he wrote the script for me to find what would work.

However he did say that if I couldn't tolerate gabapentin at higher dosages to go back down to the one that the most helpful for pain and tolerable for side effects for gabapentin.

subgirl May 15 2010, 01:39:22 UTC

Yeah, mine said this too. She indicated that she'd like me at that (higher) dose but if I had problems to go to a lower one. She gave me the prescription for the high dose, with the intention that I'd figure out what worked.

Apparently 1800mg doesn't. :|

sitapixie May 16 2010, 07:34:26 UTC

Yeah I can only handle about 900mg a day...so far. I'm a bit nervous to go up higher but I should try since my pain levels are not under much control right now.

chaosdancer May 15 2010, 00:20:14 UTC

I had problems while on it, not specifically those problems but others, and then when I had to go off it suddenly (because I got pregnant) I had seizures. I don't care for Neurontin at all. I can't say for sure if it could be causing the panic attacks but it wouldn't surprise me.

subgirl May 15 2010, 01:41:43 UTC

Ooooh... no. Seizures are bad. Yeah. I wouldn't like it if it did that to me.

The initial emotional ups and downs weren't so bad, but this is debilitating, but nothing like a seizure!

elialshadowpine May 15 2010, 03:18:42 UTC

The seizures are a known side effect if you have to go cold turkey. If your doctor didn't warn you when they told you to go off them, boo on them. :(

subgirl May 15 2010, 03:21:55 UTC

Oh, the withdrawal seizures, yeah, that's a little different. I was aware of that, I mean, half the meds I take have that sort of issue. I thought you meant seizures *while* taking it.

I'm by no means saying that seizures are OK from this medicine, just that I was aware of that part of things.

sitapixie May 15 2010, 00:52:15 UTC

If this is new and your concerned about it (sounds like it), I'd definitely call the prescribing doc and let them know your side effects.

Maybe you can go back down to the dose that you were able to tolerate?

subgirl May 15 2010, 01:39:59 UTC

That's the plan. I just wanted to make sure that it's the meds and not just... my anxiety getting worse of it's own accord.

elialshadowpine May 15 2010, 03:19:21 UTC

Only way to know is to drop the dose and see if that helps anyway. If you're still having bad anxiety after, mm, a month of dropping the dose, then it probably isn't the neurontin.

subgirl May 15 2010, 03:23:48 UTC

Yeah, I'll cut back a few tablets at a time (the way I increased the dosage) and see if things get less terrible.

I *know* all these things, but in the middle of being desperate to know why you're not operating at normal capacity it's hard to think on the other side of it, yaknow?