|  Author | Topic: Apo-Gabapentin as a pain medication (Read 7,291 times) |
Raindog
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|  | Apo-Gabapentin as a pain medication
« Thread Started on Aug 21, 2003, 12:04pm » | ![[Quote]](http://images.proboards.com/buttons/quote.gif "[Quote]") |
Apo-Gabapentin is primarily used to help control seizure disorders, and is also prescribed to treat pain due to abnormal nerve stimulation (neuropathic pain).
What members have had the opportunity to use this pain medication? What side effects did you experience and was that medication helpful?
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Neil Garvin
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| | Re: Apo-Gabapentin as a pain medication
« Reply #1 on Aug 22, 2003, 12:17am » | |
I have used gabapentin. It did a wonderful job of stopping the burning sensation around the dead trapezius muscle.
Unfortunately when the doctor increased the dosage to see if it would help with some of my other pain I had a bad reaction to it. My lower legs and feet swelled up and remained swollwn for some time after stopping the medication.
I was switched to toprimate which I had a bad reaction to as well. I staggered into the doctor's office like a sailor on a three day binge.
Neil G
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Sometimes in the depth of my despare, I wonder what I did to deserve this life.
Neil G |
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jjp
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| | Re: Apo-Gabapentin as a pain medication
« Reply #2 on Aug 29, 2003, 10:49am » | |
hi there,raindog,i was on gabapentine did not help me tried for a few months did nothing i wished it did,then tried the gabapentine in a cream form,nope,also taking paxil,what should i do had claims for back pain in 90,91,92,still today nobody nos the problem,for my back,,all i no is that i got to keep moving it doesnt hurt as much,the only way i fell some confort,is to be moving around,,and on pain meds since injury in 90,what im trying to say is that sometimes meds do not help a certain pain,may numb it but thats it,when i was working from day one they made me work so dam hard that other outfits in the same trade would call us dam robots,this robot has burned out ,the job was so demanding!i figure that if someone is over worked there body will break down ,and i believe that there is no way to get better,,one thing i canoot figure out is that in 1990 a doctor sent a letter to wcb and asked them to retrain me for a diff job ,,never was i asked this all i got was a letter saying to go back to work,i had to eat and with all the pain meds i have taken numbed the pain enough to make it threw the day,even today now i have cts repetive injuries to my hands,wore down also...if the wcb would have taken the doctors letter and did as he asked i wouldnt be in this situation,,,funny thing been on this claim for awhile now,and no one has said anything about my back!!!!!thank you
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Raindog
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| | Re: Apo-Gabapentin as a pain medication
« Reply #3 on Aug 29, 2003, 12:41pm » | |
http://www.medscape.com/druginfo/Use?id=....ralStatement =N
Medscape DrugInfo
GABAPENTIN ORAL
Uses & Dosage
Uses from AHFS DI™
Seizure Disorders
Gabapentin is used in combination with other anticonvulsant agents in the management of partial seizures with or without secondary generalization in adults and children 12 years of age and older and in the management of partial seizures in children 3–12 years of age. Although the comparative efficacy of therapeutically effective dosages of gabapentin versus other anticonvulsants remains to be established, the anticonvulsant potential of gabapentin has been established in studies in which gabapentin or placebo was administered as adjunctive therapy in adults and children older than 3 years of age with refractory partial seizures.In several placebo-controlled clinical studies, gabapentin was effective in reducing seizure frequency, including that of secondarily generalized tonic-clonic seizures, in 17–26% of patients with partial seizures refractory to therapy with conventional anticonvulsant drugs (e.g., phenytoin, carbamazepine, phenobarbital, valproic acid). Patients in these studies had a history of at least 4 partial seizures (with or without secondary tonic-clonic generalization) per month despite optimum therapy with one or more anticonvulsants and were eligible for study entry if they continued to have at least 2–4 seizures per month during a 12-week baseline period while receiving their established anticonvulsant regimen. Efficacy of gabapentin in these studies was evaluated principally in terms of the percentage of patients with a reduction in seizure frequency of 50% or greater compared with baseline values (i.e., responder rate) and the change in seizure frequency associated with the addition of gabapentin or placebo to existing anticonvulsant treatment (i.e., response ratio, calculated as treatment seizure frequency minus baseline seizure frequency divided by the sum of the treatment and baseline seizure frequencies). Combined analysis of these response parameters in patients receiving various dosages of gabapentin (600, 900, 1200, or 1800 mg in 3 divided doses daily) or placebo indicated a dose-related reduction in the frequency of partial seizures with gabapentin, although a dose-response relationship was not consistently found in the individual studies. The efficacy of adjunctive therapy with gabapentin for the management of partial seizures does not appear to be affected by patient gender or age, although the influence of these characteristics on efficacy has not been studied systematically.Gabapentin also is used in combination with other anticonvulsant agents in the management of partial seizures in children 3–12 years of age. Efficacy of gabapentin as adjunctive therapy in children 3–12 years of age with partial seizures was established in a multicenter randomized controlled trial. Response ratios were substantially better in patients receiving gabapentin 25–35 mg/kg daily experienced a better response ratio compared with patients receiving placebo; for the same population, the responder rate for the drug (21%) was not substantially different from placebo (18%). Another study in children 1 month to 3 years of age reported no substantial difference in either the response ratio or responder rate for those receiving gabapentin compared with those receiving placebo.Because addition of gabapentin to an existing anticonvulsant regimen does not appreciably alter steady-state plasma concentrations of concomitantly administered anticonvulsants, additional monitoring of plasma concentrations of anticonvulsant agents for adjustment of gabapentin and/or other anticonvulsant dosage generally is not necessary during such concomitant therapy; the value of monitoring plasma concentrations of gabapentin has not been established. Although clinical trials indicate that routine monitoring of laboratory parameters is not necessary for the safe use of gabapentin, clinicians should exercise clinical judgment regarding such monitoring during therapy with the drug.
Neuropathic Pain
Postherpetic Neuralgia
Gabapentin is used in the management of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) in adults. In 2 placebo-controlled clinical studies in patients with postherpetic neuralgia, gabapentin was effective in reliving pain (based on an 11-point numeric rating scale) in patients who continued to experience pain for longer than 3 months after healing of the herpes zoster rash. In these studies, gabapentin dosage was titrated over the first 3 days of therapy to a maximum dosage of 900 mg daily and then was increased further over a period of 3–4 weeks in increments of 600 mg to 1.2 g daily at intervals of 3–7 days to the designated target dosage. In 1 study, 29% of patients receiving a target dosage of 3.6 g daily reported a reduction in pain of at least 50% compared with baseline; in the other study, the same level of pain relief (50% reduction) was achieved in 32 or 34% of patients receiving a target gabapentin dosage of 1.8 or 2.4 g daily, respectively.
Other Neuropathic Uses
Gabapentin is used for the treatment of pain associated with diabetic neuropathy . In an 8-week controlled clinical study in patients with diabetic neuropathy, gabapentin was more effective than placebo in improving pain (based on an 11-point numeric rating scale), sleep, and mood during weeks 2–8 of the study. Most patients in this study (67%) received gabapentin in dosages of 3.6 g daily. In addition, 2 comparative studies reported that gabapentin was at least as effective as amitriptyline in relieving pain associated with diabetic neuropathy.Gabapentin also has been used with some evidence of benefit for the relief of chronic neurogenic pain in a variety of conditions including trigeminal neuralgia†, pain and control of paroxysmal symptoms of multiple sclerosis , complex regional pain syndromes (CRPS), HIV-related peripheral neuropathy , and neuropathic pain associated with cancer . In addition, gabapentin has been used in the treatment of restless legs syndrome (RLS). Additional study and experience are needed to further elucidate the precise role of gabapentin in the management of these conditions
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http://www.medscape.com/druginfo/Druginf....ralSt atement=N
http://www.psycom.net/depression.central.gabapentin.html
http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/gabapent_cp.htm
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Neil Garvin
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23 Year chronic pain sufferer
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Gender: Male
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Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada
| | Re: Apo-Gabapentin as a pain medication
« Reply #4 on Aug 30, 2003, 5:06am » | |
Hey jjp:
Different claim different claim numbers to.
Unless you ask for the old claim to be reopened nothing will be done about your back problems, as far as WCB is concerned that is a dead issue. Since you had multiple claim numbers for this injury, you should find out whether the last two claims were judged by WCB to be a recurrence of the original claim.
If they were that would help if you decided to persue reopening your back injury claim. Also since you have been on meds since your original back injury, I would assume you have been seeing a doctor for this problem on a regular basis since the injury. This to would help in reopening that claim since it shows a history of ongoing problems with your back.
You can also request a Medical Review Panel made up of back specialists to answer specific questions, such as:
1. Are your present back problems related to your original injury?
2. What is the specific problem you are having with your back?
3. Can the doctors recommend any treatment for you back injury at this time?
4. Can you currently work with this back problem?
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Sometimes in the depth of my despare, I wonder what I did to deserve this life.
Neil G |
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jjp
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| | Re: Apo-Gabapentin as a pain medication
« Reply #5 on Aug 30, 2003, 12:41pm » | |
thanks neil,i am at this time waiting for a ct.scan,then my doc and i will go over it,i believe he is on my side .when i showed him a few pages of my claim from 90 he got intrested!,asking me to bring back the file or leave it with him ,but i opted out as there is only one copy i can get,he agreed and we will wait for the ct scan to see what has changed or what the heck has been wrong all these years..and for the money i have spent for meds over the years ,,geez half my paychecks where going to pain meds,relaxers,im not looking for money im already getting benefits,i just want my back healed,taking care of,and i will not ake those needles they stick into your spine or bones,talk about pain when getting these needles that was my last line of help,it was in about 3-4 visits to the doc that gave me these needles and after each session i could not hardley walk for 4 days.terrible but looking for some sort of relief!!!!!!!!! thank you all very much..  jjp
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Neil Garvin
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23 Year chronic pain sufferer
Joined: Feb 2002
Gender: Male
Posts: 332
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada
| | Re: Apo-Gabapentin as a pain medication
« Reply #6 on Aug 31, 2003, 5:17am » | |
Just remember that if the CT scan shows nothing, the next step is an MRI. Do you have a scanner hooked up to your computer?
If you have a scanner then you could always fax the file to him over your modem. Another option is if you have a CD writer then you could scan the files and write them to CD. I am sure he has an office computer he could use to read the file.
If those options are not open to you, I will offer you the use of my computer, which has a scanner, CD writer and a modem.
Just remember that my apartment is under construction LOL. So don't expect a spotless place LOL.
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Sometimes in the depth of my despare, I wonder what I did to deserve this life.
Neil G |
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jjp
Guest
| | Re: Apo-Gabapentin as a pain medication
« Reply #7 on Sept 5, 2003, 9:26am » | |
thanks for the advice neil,if i have any probs,i will talk to you regarding the scanner..great thank you  ,,should i just phone the wcb board main line,put in claim or?..............ty jjp,if they come back negative i will freak out!,shouldnt though.i remember though that a chiropractor wrote a letter to wcb about my back and he said it was chronic lumbar stain,and advised them that the best thing was for wcb to retrain my in a knew line of work,yha right wcb didnt even mention this to me,he also says that i will have on going problems from the nature of my job,mean while i thinking no one believes me and start popping pills every day to numb the pain,,i can just imagine how much torn muscles i have in my back..really weird the pain was very sudden when this happened i had a heavy hammer about 2lbs and i needed to swing this hammer bending down!ok bending over swung this hammer behind my head and swung it to the floor where i was banging in a piece of wood together,because it was to be snug(wood)all in that swing i swung hard with great accuracy,all at that time,oh yha every job at that time i swung that hammer about 2,000.times per job,with that force anyways,when i swung it that time something let go in my back,feel to my knees,i couldnt even breath proper,something ripped in my back or crunched,,sice that day the pain is worse still spasm every day no relief only when i was in physio,i actually fell asleep i was so comfortable,they had my back relaxed,but then later on wcb had cut me off saying that i had healed yha right,,thats a little bit about what happened!oh yha when i was back at work going to a job i was stretching out when i was stretching my hands straight into the air bang same thing happened to my back,could hardly move again.....till this day my back is still hard like a rock,this is only on one side of my back...............to be cont....,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,thank you for letting me vent 
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Neil Garvin
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23 Year chronic pain sufferer
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Gender: Male
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Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada
| | Re: Apo-Gabapentin as a pain medication
« Reply #8 on Sept 6, 2003, 5:06pm » | |
You will have to ask for the original claim to be reopened, they will then decide if the old claim will be reopened or a new one.
If they open a new claim immediately contact the Workers Advisor's office and ask then to start an appeal of WCB's decision to open a new claim.
If WCB is allowed to open a new claim it will have all sorts of negative impact on your dealings with them. Sice it is a new claim all the old mecical reports ect will be ignored and they will be able to deny that you have had a history of back problems since the original injury.
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Sometimes in the depth of my despare, I wonder what I did to deserve this life.
Neil G |
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Raindog
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| | Re: Apo-Gabapentin as a pain medication
« Reply #9 on Oct 29, 2003, 7:49am » | |
I tried the Apo-Gabapentin therapy (gradually increasing dosage). Unfortunately after spending about $200 and before I could get any benefit (pain relief) - the swelling started. I stopped therapy - swelling is slowly receeding and walking is slowly improving. Neil if you hadn't given me your experience, I might not have connected the dots, since my doctor had no idea of that side effect. Thanks again
Not getting much benefit from other prescibed meds due to complications, but I will keep up the GOOD fight.
All the best
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Raindog
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| | Re: Apo-Gabapentin as a pain medication
« Reply #10 on Nov 1, 2003, 11:00am » | |
PS
I am surprised that within a few days swelling was reduced by about 50% but has not reduced much since that. How long did it take for your legs to go back to "normal"?
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mari
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| | Re: Apo-Gabapentin as a pain medication
« Reply #11 on Apr 24, 2004, 9:07am » | |
Hi...I was put on Gabapentin also quite some time ago. It did help with the pain a little but but actually it helped more in combination with Nortriptyline for a sleep aid.
I was on 300mg @ night, but when he had me also take 100mg in the morning it was horrendous. I was like the sailor on a three day binge.
I also found that I had to start decreasing the night time doses as the "hang-over" effects upon waking (or trying to) were terrible.
I have finally stopped taking it altogether as it was of no use and if I can't sleep...I'll take a sleeping pill or a gravol.
I did some research on the side effects and have come to the conclusion that most of the meds that I have been a guinea pig for have side effects that mimic the darn symptoms anyway.
mari
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Neil Garvin
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23 Year chronic pain sufferer
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Gender: Male
Posts: 332
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada
| | Re: Apo-Gabapentin as a pain medication
« Reply #12 on Apr 24, 2004, 10:26pm » | |
Even worse there have been no studies done by anyone as to the long-term effects such high dosages will have on people.
This drug has had all the necessary testing done for it's intended use controlling convulsions there have been no studies done for it's effectiveness as a neuropathic pain medicine.
What happens is someone who suffers from convulsions and chronic pain took this drug and mentioned to the doctor that it seemed to help with the pain as well. The doctor informed the drug maker about it and the drug company set about informing every single doctor about the pain killing capabilitues of this drug.
The drug company suddenly has a drug that is marketable to a much larger base of possible users then the relatively small market of people suffering from convulsions.
Last year there was considerable play of this practise on the news and news oriented programs. One of the main controversies is that no studies have been done on the effects the much larger dosages needed to help with chronic pain have on the patients taking them. Then there is the question of doctors prescribing this drug and not telling the patients about the lack of proper studies.
The final thing was the drug company actively promoting the drug for uses it was never intended for and at dosages so much higher then studied.
It was felt by many that if the base dosage the patient was taking was changed another series of studies should have been done to see if the drug was safe at those dosages over a long period of time.
After all when you go from 100 or 200 mg per day to 3200 mg per day the long-term effect could be quite a bit different.
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Sometimes in the depth of my despare, I wonder what I did to deserve this life.
Neil G |
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