Posted by Sean on November 28, 1999, at 22:29:03
In reply to Neurontin and other mood stabilizers, posted by DL on November 27, 1999, at 21:25:14
> Hi,
> I would like some feedback on neurontin. It must be dosed a number of times a day due to short half life, however it has less side effects than some others in it's class. Do others taking it notice a problem when they go a longer time without a dose?
>
> THe other day I didn't have to get up for work and enjoyed sleeping for a really long stretch (it has been years since I have been able to sleep well). This threw off my schedule and I took one less dose (I usually take 600mg at 7AM, 12, 5PM,10 or 11PM--with the 5PM dose sometimes 900mg). The long stretch of 12 hours (10PM to 10AM) seemed to really throw me off and the doses during the day didn't seem to fix things up enough. Then the next night I made the mistake of eating some dark chocolate (winds me up like caffeine) along with the upset in the neurontin. So I'm not sure what caused it, but I didn't sleep all night and had that racy inside feeling where i am irritable and can't settle down.
>
> Do people with experience with neurontin or other mood stabilizers have any input here? I am sort of afraid of Depakote since I work with a number of children who have had bad effects from it--but it apparently does not have to be dosed as much.
>
> Any input would be appreciated.I'm talking Neurontin at a lower doses than you
(900 mg/day) but it seems to really have an
effect on me in terms of dizziness, so I'm moving
up slowly after trying to get up to 1800 mg the
first week.I will say that even at this supposedly "low"
dose, I have noticed my mood cycling is much
improved. It took about a 5 weeks to notice this
effect and at first I was depressed, though this
may have been due to going off antidepressants.
Actually, going off the antidepressants may have
helped stop the mood cycling too, so it may not be
the Neurontin...In the beginning, Neurontin helped with sleep, but
after a few weeks this effect went away. My pdoc
prescribed Remeron to be used "as needed" for sleep
and I'm going to keep moving up the Neurontin dose.I'm not sure what your experience with mood swings
has been, but I'm really enjoying life without
extreme moods. And unlike many antidepressants, I
find I am very creative while on Neurontin. So
far, no weight gain problems either. If I do have
problems, I will move to Lamictal.
What have you noticed?
poster:Sean
thread:15851
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991123/msgs/15898.html