gabapentin and mood

Hi, I have heard of gabapentin and want to ask my pdoc about it. It seems like we are on a vicious circle with lamictal and serquel as well as celexa ( 60 mg.) He wants to titrate me off of celexa but not sure. He also wants to refer me to another specialist, for an eval. I am afraid as this is a well known pdoc who specializes in ect. Neither myself nor my husband want me to take that route. Plus, I hear people talking about drugs my pdoc has never tried, like other mood stabilizers.

I went to go get a refill on one if my medications the other day (gabapentin) and was shocked when I was told that at the beginning of last month my insurance was terminated! They didn't call me out anything those goofs. That left me to foot the bill (near $30) which I just couldn't afford this pay period. So me and my fiance decided I could probably survive without it for a couple weeks and it would be interesting to see how i faired with only lithium. So far it's hell!

I have rapid cycling bipolar as well as post traumatic stress disorder. He has me on Xanax for anxiety, Zoloft and Neurontin for mood stabilizer. Can anyone tell me what they think of Neurontin and if it words? I am very intrigued to know if I am on a good medicine or if this isn't good. I don't go back to him for 3 weeks.

my dr is using it to get me off benzos and to help my anxiety,but just how do they help...

My body aches all over, I feel nausea, I have bad head aches, and my breathing seems difficult. Sometimes, I can take Gabapentin and have almost no side effects at all. I am always impotent when I take Gabapentin. Is it dangerous to take the medication on an occasional basis and risk having the side effects?

I also take gabapentin. Three weeks ago I stopped temazepam and tramadol. I am taking zolpidem every night now and continue gabapentin 3x a day. I don't crave either of the meds I quit, but I have been experiencing inability to concentrate, ringing in my ears, vomiting, blurry vision, sweating, confusion, anxiety and mood swings. The symptoms wax and wane and I can't find a pattern. The seem to occur as a cluster, meaning all symptoms occur together and come on suddenly.

It has now been 45 hours since my last dose of gabapentin and the withdrawals are horrible. I had to remind myself what the withdrawal symptoms of gabapentin were so I didn't think I was losing my mind. I really hope these symptoms go away soon, they are terrible. Anyone else have experience with getting off gabapentin and how long their withdrawals lasted is appreciated. I did not quit cold turkey but did have a short taper. I had to get the poison out of my body.

Just been taken off Gabapentin because it is also a mood stabiliser and I am already taking another stabiliser for my Bipolar. Doctor has given me Axsain cream for my foot pain, will let you know the results in a few days 'cos it takes a while to take effect.

Yes well I tried Neurontin which is the other name for it in combination with Lamictal (Neurontin is generally used as an adjunct medication regardless of what medication its used with) and I found that it made me too nervous and that can happen but each person responds differently to each medication.

Like my pain was debilitating. I have been on the gabapentin 3 weeks now, and I am still rapid cycling w/mixed episodes, and anxiety too, and tonight I had suicidal thoughts, and still in pain. But they gave it to me as like a 3 in 1 for bipolar mood stabilizer, anxiety, and for the pain. It might be helping some, but not really that good.

t remeber things like talking to me on the phone and then he got worse and started becoming mean and cruel. I broke up with him. I tried to be understanding and friendly because I felt sorry for him but he got worse and then started imagining I was changing his facebook password. He became a totally different person. He also told me they were giving him morphine. Is this normal with Gabapentin? I'm really sad about it.

I suffer from bi-polar disorder herniated disks and i take gabapentin, morphine for that and triliptal for bi-polar, which they dont seem to be working as well as they used to anymore so ive asked my pharmacist what she recommends and she recommended lyrica. As you know pharmacists know way more about drugs than doctors, but I am super excited to get started on my Lyrica tomorrow!

Yes. I just went through a lot of MRI's all over my skeletal structure. I'm still experiencing pain. But pain on my spine was unreal. It almost felt like a delusion since it felt my spine was being twisted, bent, weighed down. I was just in awe waking up the next morning and for the first time in maybe a few years it just wasn't there! I have other fibro symptoms of course but the one in my back was destroying me. I couldn't even walk far.

I did some reading on it but someone told me that it can cause changes in personality. I asked to pharmacist and he told me that it might cause some mood changes. I haven't experienced this yet, but how would I know? Also when will my legs stop aching? Thanks.

Bubulous is right- Gabapentin is one of those 'Miracle Drugs' that has 101 uses, lol. Gabapentin HAS been used for a lot of withdrawal issues as an 'off brand use' for the med. It reduces heart rate in some people and eases up the withdrawal just as Clonodine does for others. It also causes a slightly 'nod' style of feeling which gives the masked feeling as if your body has received the level of 'tipsyness' it needs.

yes you certainly can. I have been on gabapentin 1800mg (for neuropathic pain) for 5 years now and Lamictal 150mg (lowered from 300mg originally)..for abt 18 months this I take for mood stabilizing. I have noticed no side effects from either drug alone or combined, except possibly some short term memory problems that may or maynot be related to the lamictal.

is that lithium is the only medication that was first researched and developed as a primary mood stabilizer. Every other mood stabilizer was developed as another medication and used off label as a mood stabilizer and then only FDA approved for that purpose afterwards. They are finding that the anti-convulsant used for my physical disability is showing mood stabilization properties and they may potentially document that.

I was having extreme anxiety and very bad withdrawals from quitting gabapentin cold turkey. I resumed taking gabapentin yesterday and now today find myself very depressed. I quit it cold turkey because I felt it was causing me depression and mood instability. It is messing with my moods terribly now resuming it. I am very down and feel so disconnected from myself. Do not want to live like this. I know I will never quit it cold turkey again but feel this is not the medicine for me still.

as far as I know, there is no generic version of Lyrica at this time... and Lyrica and Gabapentin are two completely different medications... if your doctor or pharmacist told you otherwise, they are incorrect. Gabapentin is generic for Neurontin, originally developed as an anti-epileptic, whereas Lyrica was developed specifically for treatment of neuropathic pain. They both work on the body's GABA receptors, but the mechanism of action is slightly different with each.

I began taking Gabapentin for the electricity and muscle spasms in my legs. My initial dose was 100 mg at bedtime. Now, I am up to 100 mg 3 times daily. It has helped greatly, but recently I have been having some break-through spasms. I do not recall having had any "vibrations" from the medication itself.

Yes there is a link with increased suicidal thought with gabapentin like most antidepressants and mood-stabilizers. They tend to go away with time. I will tell you the same can be true with BusPar since it have a relatively short half-life it is possible that you feel a comedown from it therefore creating the suicidal thoughts/depression symptoms as BusPar is a serotonin 5-HT1A receptor partial agonist as well as having some affinities with dopamine.

And, could the MRI findings be indicating a level of damage that could be contributing to the sphantom someone, tinnitus and mood and energy challenges? When you suggest that brain lesions could be contributing, could these be what the MRI findings state as being "foci of high T1 and T2 signal"? My family doctor told me the MRI report indicated nothing to worry about but I can't help but wonder what the terminology could refer to and why they'd suggest a CT follow up.

I have taken gabapentin and xanax for 10+ years without problems. Xanax is a shorter acting benzodiazapine then librium. You may find you need less librium with gabapentin.

After seeing colorful pinpoints of light, rapid left hand flapping began with an internal burning sensation, and jerky movements started spreading throughout my body. I also had unusual mood changes of intermittent laughing spells that didn’t fit the situation. The first radiologist found a 6 mm hypothalamic lesion, but wasn’t informed of the presence of a recent movement disorder.

On the 5th day I felt as if there was a lump in my throat and got the worst tremors in my face and the front of my neck. It has been pure hell. It has been an absolute nightmare. I am under the care of a Neurologist for the tremors. My dx is Pscychotropic Tremors from Neurotin. He said they will eventually go away, doesn't know how long it will take and I am on medication for them. I would listen to your pdoc.

You have received some very good information already. Although anxiety attacks can go on like that for hours, and sometimes be anxiety without the fear component, I would be more inclined to look into the cardiophysiologic explanations, and treat the symptoms accordingly. If gabapentin works, it is a good medication for you..but pursuing the "why" is still a good course of action.

I'm not sure if this is the correct forum to post this in, since I have never abused medications, but I think I might be experiencing withdrawal symptoms from prescription medications, so I thought I would seek information here. I previously alternated between temazepam and zolpidem for sleep. I also take gabapentin. Three weeks ago I stopped temazepam and tramadol. I am taking zolpidem every night now and continue gabapentin 3x a day.

Gabapentin and mood

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