Neurontin and wean

I was up to 600mg of neurontin TID, for tension headaches, along with 150mg of elavil QD. My neurologist decided to wean me off the neurontin and told me how to taper off of it. I am now taking 600 mg QD, I am experiencing burning sensation that started in breast, then the rib cage, my back and all my extremeties and finally ended in my face. Is this a normal side effect from withdrawing from the neurontin. And if so, is there any damages that it can cause and if so, is that damage permanant? Can you please e- mail me back and let me know? I am very concerned and worried about this. Thankyou.

hi. i take 300mg neurontin twice daily for partial seizures.
i have experienced a great deal of kidney/liver pain since i have been taking this medication(1 1/2 years now), along with abdominal cramps, bloated torso sensation, lethargy, and a lack of concentration and co-ordination/balance.

i have had liver and allergy tests and the results came back normal.

the pains vary from mild discomfort, to stabbing sensations in my kidneys that prevent me from sleeping.
as i have been seizure free for two years now, i would like to try and gradually wean myself off the medication. has anyone any suggestions as to good ways of doing this, and things to avoid.
thanks for any help,
a.b.

I am the person who posted the above message about kidney pain as a bad side-effect of N. use for fibromyalgia -- I use the drug for muscle pain, and to get to sleep at night -- and am at the point of trying to lower the dose, as well as wean myself off of it, before permanent damage can happen to my kidneys (and I hate the brain-fog).

Some research into the chemical and physical effects of the med lead me to believe that it works by helping the kidneys take a certain substance out of the blood stream -- the same way that dialysis works for kidney-failure, so definately Neurontin will affect the operation of the kidneys (see posting on "husband taking it for prostate problems" -- is this because of problems urinating?).

There have NOT been any studies on how Neurontin works -- or dangers/side-effects of the drug --for any other use besides epileptic seizures. If a person is experiencing bad side-effects he or she should immediately contact the doctor who prescibed it and ask for a different med, or for the dosage to be reduced (don't just stop taking it, which is what a lot of people do about bad side-effects -- that could be dangerous.). Such use makes a patient a guiney-pig for research, and the makers of Neurontin have been under attack for aggressively pushing it for what are called "off-label" uses.

If the doctor won't listen to you about this, find another one. IT'S YOUR BODY and no one knows better how you feel inside of it. Also you could experiment with withdrawing yourselve from high levels of the dosage, or asking that the amount of the med in the rx be reduced...fast- withdrawal sometimes causes seizures (as I understand it) and of course you have the complete right to ask a doctor to listen to your symptoms and needs.

Also if you're a person who notices bad effects in a child or a spouse you should make it an urgent project to point the bad effects out to the doctor, to become an advocate for the person who cannot do it. Good luck. JanK in Portland OR (and I am not a doctor, just a person with a lot of experience in surviving the American health system.)

The only FDA-approved use for Neuronin is for muscle-spasm connected pain, with epilepsy. However I have noticed that most of the people who have responded to this side-effect registry take it for other reasons. I -- for example -- use it for fibromyalgia, a type of arthritis characterized by (in my case) whole body aching, something like a bad case of flu. It is similar to Dilantin, and nobody knows exactly HOW it works, except that it helps the kidneys remove Gapentin from the urine, and for that reason is often given to kidney-dialysis patients.
It has its own list of side-effects, and reading these postings will educate you about a lot of them, and it SEEMS to be as dependence-producing as Vicodin and related products, but not officially addictive.
I am concerned that you would be taking Neurontin in addition to Vicodin. Does the amount of Vocodin you now take not manage your pain?
If It were me in this position I would much rather be taking Neurontin than Vicodin, because of the addiction problem, and this might be your doctor's attempt to wean you off of Vicodin, especially if you are needing increasing amounts of Vicodin, a baaaaad sign.
TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR about this! Not a lot is known about the interactions of these two drugs, and in my mind could be possibly dangerous. The Neurontin seems to increase the effect of other medicines, especially the ones in Vocodin. Depending on your particular situation, taking Vicodin and Neurontin at the same time could be good, or life-threatening. Is your doctor going to mnonitor you closely, or are you going to be a guiney-pig? At the least monitor youself and the effects on your body for adding Neurontin -- and insist on starting with the smallest dose of Neurontin possible. I commend you for wanting to find out more before you take what sounds like an unexplained drug.
JanK, Neurontin patient, grandmother, retired Master's level alcohol and drug abuse counselor, First Aid Certified counselor, and elementary education teacher.