Dangerous Combination: Neurontin And Opiates (Page 2)

One of the contraindications while taking Neurontin is using opiates such as Hydrocodone (Vicodin) and Oyxcodone (Percocet). The opiates potentiate the effect of Neurotin by 14%. With Morphine, it increases the effect of Neurotin by 44%.

My husband was on Neurontin at 900 mg a day (taken in three doses). At that time, he was not taking much of his pain killer, Oxycodone (Percocet), maybe one 5mg dose a night. My husband was originally took Neurotin for shingles nerve pain.

His doctor decided to increase his dose of Neurontin to 1800 mg per day (three equal doses). Before that time, my husband increased his Oxycodone to two 5mg tablets before bedtime and another 5mg tablet about four hours later.

Upon the increase in Neurontin, my husband started to experience some adverse effects. These included:
Mental Confusion
Severe drowsiness
Dizziness
Lack of coordination
Numbness in toes
Swelling in feet
Belligerent
Hostility
Argumentative
Mood Swings
Rapid speech, slurred speech

He could not hold a sane conversation with me, keep track of time, walk without running into things, remember what someone had just said, interact with others without hostility and being argumentative, keep awake during the daytime, and could not speak and be understood.

The symptoms escalated from minor to major in a matter of days. It necessitated medical intervention, however, due to my husband's belligerent and confused state he refused to go to the ER. He did not want to spend the money.

My husband has a mental disorder. Caution is advised in giving patients Neurotin who have mental disorders. His disorder is a personality disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder ( *not* Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ), which has some of the exact symptoms as Neurontin’s side effects. What transpired over two weeks, my husband’s personality disorder escalated into a monster. His behaviors were off the chart. Those symptoms from the list above are Belligerent, Hostility, Argumentative, Mood Swings, Rapid Speech.

His speech was so distorted, rapid and slurred, that the medical assistant who spoke to him on the phone was alarmed. Based on his distorted speech, the doctor decided he should go to the ER instead of seeing her.

After he essentially refused to go to the ER, my husband decided to reduce his dose of Neurontin and Percocet. Now he is going through withdrawals. I told him he should decrease it slower. However, he insists upon doing it his way, a behavior of OCPD. He went cold turkey on the Percocet, taking none now. In one day, he decreased the Neurontin from 1800mg to 900mg.

On my husband’s side is my background in nursing with a speciality in pharmacology. I started to read up on Neurotin on drug.com and the rxlist.com . I discovered that Neurontin’s effects are potentiated by Hydrocodone (Vicodin). Upon further reading, I found Oxycodone (Percocet) is a related to Hydrocodone and therefore would do the same thing.

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I was taking Neurontin for 13 months,
300mg twice a day then went in for back surgery. The next day my Dr changed the dose to 600mg twice a day. 5 days later my feet started swelling & hurt like hell. I'm 120lbs, I gained 20lbs in my feet in an hour & they kept getting bigger. The next morning I was a mess, went to my surgeons office crying in pain & I could barely walk. When my surgeon walked in the exam room he didn't look @ my back incision he started screaming @ me that I could have blood clots & might die. He sent me to hospital ER with a script to have a 911ultrasound. When I got there my feet had become worse, my skin didn't have any room left to grow & started bursting like an oil field with blood squirting out in different places, was scary. Well I didn't have blood clots, had a reaction to the meds. Took a week & a lot of meds for the swelling to go down & over 5 months for my feet to stop hurting & be back to normal. Later on my friend that's an MD told me he's no longer writing his patients scripts for Neurontin because several have had severe reactions to it in the last year. Wonder if they've recently changed the formulation.

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Is it safe to take gabpinton after taking a soma .I have been on soma for a while 2 a day. Was given gabpinton for muscle pain in legs.

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Saying someone shouldn't drive on more than 200mg of gabapentin is absolutely baseless and completely inaccurate. You should not being giving feedback to people. You are giving people who need help and asking for medical assistance inaccurate information. I know countless people who take over 3000 mg a day for anxiety or pain and are not impaired. The medication would not even be prescribed if what you were saying was accurate. It's infuriating to see posts like this because you are confusing people and obviously have no idea what you are talking about.

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Voices of reason,

AMEN, I've been trying to articulate this in every inaccurate post I come across on here but not in such eloquent terms as you did. Thank you as these forums are only as helpful as the valid material posted. Regards, Kenie

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Jr reply to post 11,

You should probably refrain from posting on issues that you clearly have no understanding of.It's certainly not an effective way to furnish information to others seeking counsel or advice.

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Finally, someone else in this world has experienced what I have with Neurotin!!! Please don't misunderstand, I am truly sorry for what your husband has gone through. I go through it everytime I take the drug. My husband has found me standing in the middle of a four lane highway, I've tried to kill him, days will pass and I will remember nothing, etc. In twenty years of being sick, I have NEVER found a doctor who would believe me!!! I would highly recommend that your husband talks to his doctor and find some other remedy because this only gets worse. Good luck and God bless you and your husband.

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Frank when you use neurotin for withdrawal do you just cold turkey the opiates no taper? Have had 5 major surgerys in less than year and other chronic illnesses so have been on opiates long enough that I am pretty sure I am at least physically dependant. I would like to get off completely, just don't want withdrawals
Feel sick enough already with my other problems. Thank you

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For the people who don't know gabby's and Subutex or Suboxone go GREAT together!!! The whole key is to find (YOUR) right dose. I've found if I take just the right amount I actually get energy and become very talkative and feel great! But if I take to much I get all fumbly bumbly drop stuff and my hands don't work the way I want them to. Or I can get really tired so there is a magic number you just have to find it! I'm lucky I had a friend that always filled his gabby 300mg's and never took them for a year. Before he left town he gave them to me so I was able to figure out what my perfect number was. I usually take(mine are all 300mg) 3 in the morning 3 at around 11 3 at 2ish 3 at 5p.m. That's my daily routine with about a half of a subutex. Some days I take a little more some days less. I wish I could just get prescribed Adderall that would be great for energy and focus. Guess I'll keep on wishing hope this helped or if anyone has anything they want to add or suggest please do

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That's why u should always use the same Dr and pharmacy.

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Where do you get your information?? To say that "anything over 200 mg is 'whoopass'", as you put it--is completely ridiculous! Are you even thinking of the right drug? 800-2400 MG's a day is pretty much standard with this drug. It's near impossible to OD on because a normal working body just pisses out what's not needed just like vitamin C. I think you're either extremely low tolerant, like off the charts low tolerant to safe, relatively harmless drugs...or just a huge melodramatic drama Queen.

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So I am really wondering if this can work to get off opiates. I am currently on methadone and when I took 1 capsule( sorry don't know mg.) Within 20 minutes,I felt as if I was in straight up withdrawals.(nausea,vomiting,dizzy,sweats,chills etc) I'm wondering if the methadone and GABA had a reaction? Although I had not had my methadone in about 6hours approximately.It was awful and idk if I should try to take it again bc I just pulled a muscle in my back today and don't know if I should try it again. Bc I am in horrible pain at this moment.Any ideas?

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I have been taking Gabapentin with low-dose Hydrocodone (5-35) for about 5 years for moderate to severe chronic pain associated with spinal stenosis, sciatica, and fibromyalgia. Before starting on this I had tried many other options, including Cymbalta, various SNR's, Tramidol, Lyrica, Sevella, and a few others I don't remember. I am currently taking 600mg Gabapentin 3x a day (1800 mg/day), having ramped up from 900/day a year ago. I take Hydro as needed - perhaps 3-4/week.

In my experience, the Gabapentin greatly increases the pain killing effect of the Hydro, or even a simple Ibuprofen. I tolerate the drug very well - in fact, it's one of the least problematic drugs I've ever taken. .

My doc would like me to cut back further on the opiates and ramp up to as much as 1200mg 3x/day (3600mg/day) of Gabapentin.

My questions are - 1) has anyone else had good results of a Gaba/Hydro combination, and 2) anyone else taking 3600mg/day Gaba?

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I recently started cutting back on my Gabbapentin intake. I was taking anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000mg a day sometimes mixing it with subutex or suboxone. And sometimes mixing it with oxycodone and oxymorphone. I'd take less gabby's when on the oxy. Now I'm taking anywhere between 900-1,800mg respectively. I noticed 2 days ago my feet and ankles were getting swollen and as of today they hurt to the touch and putting on my socks. I'm going to try and elevate them for awhile and see if that helps. If not I'll try and an soak them in warm Epsom salt. I'm starting to get nervous cause I'm in a lot of pain even with 90mg of oxymorphone ER. Does anyone have any suggestions on what the cause is and maybe something else I can do or try to make the swelling go down or away? And when do I say screw it and go to the ER? I'm a 39yr old single white male, six foot 2, 190lbs. Any and all help is appreciated.

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Okay, so I've been taking percocet for chronic pain for at least 4 years and it has help but now I came to realized I need to take at least 10mg in the morning to be able to function and start my day, if I don't take I have to push myself to even get out of bed, lately the pain is not going away and my dr prescribed gabapentin and I am hesitant to take it for fear of not being able to get the push that Percocet gives me, so my question is; would gabapentin will block the feeling Percocet gives me? I appreciate Simple answers, I have read all of the above and I am very confused of the contradictions of the many answers. I just want to know if taking gabapentin would take away the help Percocet gives me to función in a normal (my normal) way. Thank you in advance.

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The article refers mostly to Neurontin's effect on pregnant women.

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