Neurontin and restless leg syndrome

I have just been put on Neurontin and found out about this weight gain thing!! I am freaked out. I have come off of Topamax due to I could not handle the side effects and I was like I was in a coma. I am also on lexapro for depression so the topamax really effected me. The Neurontin has said to be given to bi polar patients but from what I have read people are having depression problems on it. So the whole weight gain and the depression thing is scaring me.

RE: Neurontin and anger-outbursts

This is a follow-up for the side-effect I just posted. The problem of anger-outbursts can usually be traced to low levels of frustration-tolerance, and the good-feeling-feedback one gets from acting-out by doing something our society describes as "anger." This can take the effect of violence in some form or another, which usually gets a person into trouble with societal norms. It FEELS good to act-out and dissipate the frustration which may be described as feeling intolerable or inevitable.

Since Neurontin seems to work by lowering actual nerve-impulses that make muscles twitch, causing pain-signals, or restless-leg syndrome, or epileptic seizures (for example) it makes sense to me that a person suffering from OCD (Obsessional-Compulsive-Disorder)and anxiety would find the "need" to act out on obsessional actions like anger-outbursts -- which drain the buildup of anxiety and compulsion emotions -- helped by a drug that dulls or circumvents the nerve-signals causing emotional distress (Neurontin).

To expect or want a drug, any drug, to teach one how to tolerate frustration and anxiety without side-effects is unrealistic if not impossible. If you were MY client I would work with you to de-sensitize you to small levels of anxiety and frustration, while weaning you off of all meds. That way you would learn that the self-control is in your own hands, and give you the tools to deal with it without the crutch of looking for exactly-the-right drug. It's a matter of learning how to control one's own behavior in acceptable forms, like exercise, that drain-off the emotional charge that "feels uncontrollable" You CAN learn how to control your behavior without terrible emotional distress. Jan S. Kauffman, Neurontin userid, Masters degree in Counselling, alcohol and drug abuse rehab professional.

I have been taking 300mg of neurontin three times per day for the past 12 months due to a back injury and finally major back surgery in September 2002. I have many of the same symptoms: light headedness, swelling in knees, ankles, feet, short-term memory loss, lack of concentration and worst of all 'restless leg syndrome', severe muscle cramps from my thighs to my toes in both legs. I am really becoming concerned about these symptoms and I'm wondering if I should go off of neurontin for good. I have begun experiencing pain over my kidneys of late and I'm concerned that I may be experiencing the beginnings of kidney failure.
I would appreciate any comments.

PS: Restless Leg Syndrome: Probably caused by magnesium and calcium depletion, as the diuretic-effect of Neurontin exacerbates electrolyte imbalance. You should fast-fast have your doctor check this, and see what supplements you should take (potassium also affects muscle function, as erll, but it's a complicated and delicate balance.) JanK