Gabapentin ER
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MW
- Posts: 81
- Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2009 6:13 pm
- Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: LTBPI, Feb 2009, hit by truck while on a run. Free muscle transfer at Mayo Clinic 6 months later.
- Location: Chicago, IL
Gabapentin ER
Wanted to share this for anyone on neurontin:
The FDA recently approved a slow-release version of gabapentin,
http://www.drugs.com/gralise.html
For anyone who takes a lot of this per day, this drug might make it so you only need to take it once per day, and the amount of med in your system stays pretty constant, rather than a peak/trough level from dose to dose.
My doctor said it's not available just yet, but should be out soon.
Best,
MW
The FDA recently approved a slow-release version of gabapentin,
http://www.drugs.com/gralise.html
For anyone who takes a lot of this per day, this drug might make it so you only need to take it once per day, and the amount of med in your system stays pretty constant, rather than a peak/trough level from dose to dose.
My doctor said it's not available just yet, but should be out soon.
Best,
MW
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AngelaW
- Posts: 240
- Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 9:03 pm
- Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: X
Re: Gabapentin ER
Wow, very interesting. I don't take it anymore, but I remember when I did it felt like I was taking a bazillion pills a day, lol. This would really make it so much easier to work into one's daily life. Keep us updated if you get to try it. 
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MW
- Posts: 81
- Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2009 6:13 pm
- Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: LTBPI, Feb 2009, hit by truck while on a run. Free muscle transfer at Mayo Clinic 6 months later.
- Location: Chicago, IL
Re: Gabapentin ER
Hi Angela,
If you don't mind sharing, what do you take now, if anything?
Because yeah, I take a bunch of this stuff everyday, and it helps somewhat, but if there's other stuff people have found that works, I'm all for it.
Thanks!
If you don't mind sharing, what do you take now, if anything?
Because yeah, I take a bunch of this stuff everyday, and it helps somewhat, but if there's other stuff people have found that works, I'm all for it.
Thanks!
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AngelaW
- Posts: 240
- Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 9:03 pm
- Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: X
Re: Gabapentin ER
I wish I could help more, but I don't take any meds now. My pain is usually pretty manageable. Right now my issue is simply getting enough sleep. I'm not kept awake by pain, but it's like my body just can't get comfortable enough to stay in REM sleep for more that 2-3 hours at a time, no matter how tired I am.
I really hope this new pill helps you out if you get to try it as it sucks having to swallow an entire pharmacy very couple of hours.
I really hope this new pill helps you out if you get to try it as it sucks having to swallow an entire pharmacy very couple of hours.
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Master DIVER TOM
- Posts: 759
- Joined: Tue May 05, 2009 11:51 am
Re: Gabapentin ER
Ok, Heres my thought 
I use feather pillows to support my erbs to sleep 
, Over the years I use 2 small ones to take pressure off . I just needed the pillows on the injured sided to sleep, When I was little I used stuff animals to do this 
GO figure In my case pain tolerance grew over my life What I hate about meds is you need more because you build up a tolerance to me?? Pain needs to be dealt with It is a Quest to do Pain needs to go down you need it to TRY 
Will my thoughts help I have No Clue Because I drove semi with long hours and starting times it does not help my sleeping even in retirerment I like cat naps
Mr, Positive,FOREVER,
To
I use feather pillows to support my erbs to sleep , Over the years I use 2 small ones to take pressure off . I just needed the pillows on the injured sided to sleep, When I was little I used stuff animals to do this GO figure In my case pain tolerance grew over my life What I hate about meds is you need more because you build up a tolerance to me?? Pain needs to be dealt with It is a Quest to do Pain needs to go down you need it to TRY Will my thoughts help I have No Clue Because I drove semi with long hours and starting times it does not help my sleeping even in retirerment I like cat naps Mr, Positive,FOREVER,
To
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djk
- Posts: 82
- Joined: Mon Nov 01, 2010 9:35 am
- Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: extensive right side brachial plexus injury as a result of a motorcycle accident on 8/25/10.
Re: Gabapentin ER
both gabapentin and the newer pregabalin have helped me. my take on the pain thing is to separate the nerve and the muscular. medicines are nice but i also know that i need to keep everything flowing so exercise/physical stimulation of some sort, is also very important. in my case, everything works together so i wrap exercise/massage/nutrition/medication/chiro~/accupuncture/love/care all up in my daily routine. important thing is, take care of yourself. good luck.
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jmar
- Posts: 528
- Joined: Tue Aug 10, 2010 3:43 pm
- Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: brachial plexus stretch during thoracic outlet syndrome surgery on may 18, 2010.
Re: Gabapentin ER
yep, djk, when i get lax on my excercise routine, my hand and arm let me know about it. AND HOW IT TELLS ME!!! it aint pretty. they can get right down ugly. so i just do me excercises regularly and i dont have to worry too much about the pain. i take lyrica right now and will be on it for at least another year. that helps keep away the pain too. along with the stellate ganglion blocks i had. those blocks were magical!! i could tell a big difference almost immediately. i am going to have some surgeries done in july and hopefully i will get some feeling and strength back in my arm and hand. and the pain hopefully will be reduced also.
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MadisonB
- Posts: 13
- Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2011 4:50 pm
- Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: During my right shoulder surgery about three months ago three nerves in my arm were stretched causing my Brachial Plexus Palsy. The outer part of my upper arm is numb to touch, as well as the inside of my forearm. This continues up to the palm of my hand to my thumb and pointer finger. I have movement in my hand but that is about it. I am unable to pick up my arm at all. I had the crushing and burning hand for about two months, but now it had dulled out. I am nineteen years old and played volleyball for a college. I went back for my second semester of college but had to medically withdraw. We are now waiting to see if the nerve wakes up, if there are no differences at the end of the month we are going to visit the Mayo Clinic to see what surgical options I might have.
Re: Gabapentin ER
Thank you for this post! I am going to talk to my doctor about it.
I hope you are doig very well!
I hope you are doig very well!
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hilltopfwb
- Posts: 82
- Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 11:50 am
- Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: May 24, 2008 an 88 year old lady did not see me and pulled out while I was riding my 06 HD Street Glide. The accident resulted in 9 broken bones and brain hemorrhaging. The accident's most serious results was two avulsions confirmed in my C6 & C7 vertebrae. In Oct of 08 Dr. Li of Wake Forest University performed nerve transfer lasting around 8 hours in surgery. I have limited use now of my left arm. It took until July of 09 before it moved at all, and now is moving limited. I experience burning pain in my left hand, staying busy helps keep the mind off of burning. I visited the Mayo Clinic May, 2010 and consulted with their brachial plexus team. May 1, 2012, I underwent a muscle transfer at Wake Forest University. This surgery was deemed a success and I have more movement in my arm.
- Location: Fuquay Varina NC 27526
- Contact:
Re: Gabapentin ER
My two cents worth is I switched from Gabapentin to Lyrica last year and I agree with Jmar about the exercising routine. I try to work out (arm and all) at least 4 mornings a week ...and I do pretty good at staying with that routine. I take a 150 mg Lyrica at 6am and I take another at 3 and that pretty much maintains me each day. My first year I was on way too many drugs. I made up my mind I was not taking a pharmacy daily - so I backed off myself. Dr. Li suggested me try Lyrica and it was the best decision I have made concerning pain management. Good luck!
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MW
- Posts: 81
- Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2009 6:13 pm
- Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: LTBPI, Feb 2009, hit by truck while on a run. Free muscle transfer at Mayo Clinic 6 months later.
- Location: Chicago, IL
Re: Gabapentin ER
Hi all,
This med is now available in 300mg and 600mg tabs. You take them in the evening and the coating slowly dissolves, which means that you get the gabapentin slower but at a more sustained rate. I'm on about day 7 of trying it out.
The issue I've seen with this is that I was on gabapentin 800 x3 or x4 per day, and I'm taking only 1200 of the slow release stuff. What happens is that I'll take it, but it "wears off" significantly before the next evening, so I still have to take one of the normal meds sometime during the day too. So while I was hoping that I could take the ER tabs once at night and be done with it, I still have to take the fast-acting stuff in the afternoon and then the ER stuff later. But it has reduced the number of times I need to take medication from 3-4 times to 2 times, and while it is working, it works fairly well.
The other issue with this stuff is that it is way more expensive than the generic gabapentin. With my current health insurance, it's still $100/month. For me that is a lot to pay for the same med as before, just at a lower frequency. I suppose the flipside is that since it is the same drug, you don't have to worry so much about new side effects.
Anyways, hope this helps anyone considering this new treatment.
Best,
MW
This med is now available in 300mg and 600mg tabs. You take them in the evening and the coating slowly dissolves, which means that you get the gabapentin slower but at a more sustained rate. I'm on about day 7 of trying it out.
The issue I've seen with this is that I was on gabapentin 800 x3 or x4 per day, and I'm taking only 1200 of the slow release stuff. What happens is that I'll take it, but it "wears off" significantly before the next evening, so I still have to take one of the normal meds sometime during the day too. So while I was hoping that I could take the ER tabs once at night and be done with it, I still have to take the fast-acting stuff in the afternoon and then the ER stuff later. But it has reduced the number of times I need to take medication from 3-4 times to 2 times, and while it is working, it works fairly well.
The other issue with this stuff is that it is way more expensive than the generic gabapentin. With my current health insurance, it's still $100/month. For me that is a lot to pay for the same med as before, just at a lower frequency. I suppose the flipside is that since it is the same drug, you don't have to worry so much about new side effects.
Anyways, hope this helps anyone considering this new treatment.
Best,
MW
