Meds

[Qikdraw]

I saw my new doctor the other day, my old doc moved, and the new doc gave me new meds. Actually I like this new doc, she is actually trying to do something and was shocked I am only seeing a spine doctor after 9 months of problems. She doesn't think my previous doctor was very good. I agree. The meds she is trying is:

Gabapentin
Naproxen

Both say they may cause dizziness, which I'm not dizzy, but very loopy. I am having problems concentrating properly, I can't even work on a crossword as my mind wanders and my vision loses focus.

Does anyone take these, and does the loopiness go away? I can't drive, and I don't like the feeling in my head. I am willing to give the meds a chance as I want to work with this doc and help her help me. However I don't like the loopiness.

Brad

[sasha]

Hi Brad - glad to hear you're getting some help from your doctor.

But the side effects don't sound too good - I can't take Naproxen (or any NSAID) but did have Gabapentin for about 3 months but it gave me sort of pixellated vision, made me feel spaced out and sort of pressure feeling in my head, so couldn't drive and working was very difficult. I came off that and tried Lyrica, but that one was worse and caused all sorts of problems!

Maybe it takes longer for the side effects to wear off - but I couldn't put up with them. All best wishes to you and hope you get it sorted out.

Take care,

Sasha xx

[Qikdraw]

Thanks Sasha,

Your description of Gabapentin is exactly what I am going through. One thing I am experiencing is a twitch in my eyebrow, its been constant since I started taking the meds. Its pretty constant, a couple times a second it twitches. Nothing serious, but I do find it mildly annoying and mildly humourous.

Did the Gabapentin help with the nerve pain? I have a constant pins and needles down my leg, which is why she is giving me this.

[sasha]

Hiya - how annoying must that twitching be!!! There is a pill that will stop that and when I remember what the name is I will post it, as I had it (but on my lower eyelid) when I was working in a Bank, thought it made me look a bit suspicious, !

Anyway - no it didn't stop the pins and needles unfortunately and I decided I was better off without it considering the various side effects. But I have heard other people say it's been great for just that type of symptom. Maybe it will take time to have an effect? Or perhaps a diferent dose might be worth trying?

Good luck!

[loves to skate]

Hi Brad,
I was on Naproxen several years ago and had to stop taking it because it made me dizzy. I now take Gabapentin and the only side effect that I can notice is that it is hard for me to wake up in the morning. No big deal since I am retired. It does help me with my nerve pain. Why don't you try just taking one of those meds at a time so you can figure out which one is making you loopy? Good luck. Sally

[Qikdraw]

Hiya - how annoying must that twitching be!!! There is a pill that will stop that and when I remember what the name is I will post it, as I had it (but on my lower eyelid) when I was working in a Bank, thought it made me look a bit suspicious, !

LOL Yeah it is kinda annoying, although I seem to be able to not think about it when I am doing something else. As for another drug to stop it... Nah. I really don't like taking drugs to hide the pain and tingles as it is. Its just abandaid and not a fix. Good news is I finally see my spine doc on monday.

Anyway - no it didn't stop the pins and needles unfortunately and I decided I was better off without it considering the various side effects. But I have heard other people say it's been great for just that type of symptom. Maybe it will take time to have an effect? Or perhaps a diferent dose might be worth trying?

Good luck!

So far no major effect, however I also haven't been doing the same things I normally do. My wife has been working hard these last few days so we haven't done the walking or other things we usually do together. SO it'll have to see until next week.

Hi Brad,
I was on Naproxen several years ago and had to stop taking it because it made me dizzy. I now take Gabapentin and the only side effect that I can notice is that it is hard for me to wake up in the morning. No big deal since I am retired. It does help me with my nerve pain. Why don't you try just taking one of those meds at a time so you can figure out which one is making you loopy? Good luck. Sally

Yeah I'll probably do that, but right now I'll keep taking both until the first run is done. When I am finished with the bottle I'll hold off on one and then see.

[txmarinemom]

I saw my new doctor the other day ... The meds she is trying is:

Gabapentin
Naproxen

Both say they may cause dizziness, which I'm not dizzy, but very loopy. I am having problems concentrating properly, I can't even work on a crossword as my mind wanders and my vision loses focus.

Does anyone take these, and does the loopiness go away?

Brad,

I've never had any disorientation with an NSAID (that seems a little odd), but I *did* initially have "loopiness" with 100 mg of Gabapentin 3x/day.

My depth perception was particularly affected, and night blindness was exacerbated. It just generally imparted a rather surreal sort of feeling, for lack of a better term.

The effect was completely unexpected because I have such a tolerance to pain meds. It simply never occurred to me a relatively low dose of a nerve med would do that to me.

There's a post from me a month or so after my surgery around here somewhere where I was asking the same question about loopiness and Gabapentin. I recall being amazed that some took *300 mg, 3x/day* - and managed to function - when 1/3rd of that dosage was kicking my a**.

Anyway, good news is I adjusted to it quickly, and it went away after a few days. Hang in there. Hopefully that will be the case with your reaction as well! For those who benefit from it (not everyone does), it's a huge help.

Regards,
Pam

[Qikdraw]

Brad,

I've never had any disorientation with an NSAID (that seems a little odd), but I *did* initially have "loopiness" with 100 mg of Gabapentin 3x/day.

I am on 300mg 3x a day. Is that too much do you think?

My depth perception was particularly affected, and night blindness was exacerbated. It just generally imparted a rather surreal sort of feeling, for lack of a better term.

The effect was completely unexpected because I have such a tolerance to pain meds. It simply never occurred to me a relatively low dose of a nerve med would do that to me.

Yes! Surreal is a good word to describe it!

I do not like taking pills, and pretty much avoid them completely. My last dc gave me Motrin which I did not take at all. Its not somethng that helps nerve pain, so I'm not gonna put chemicals in my body for no good reason.

There's a post from me a month or so after my surgery around here somewhere where I was asking the same question about loopiness and Gabapentin. I recall being amazed that some took *300 mg, 3x/day* - and managed to function - when 1/3rd of that dosage was kicking my a**.

LOL I wouldn't have thought anything could kick your a**.

Waking up is really hard, cause I just don't want to wake up, and when I do its very hard to concentrate. I just woke up and this post is taking me a while to type. heh

Anyway, good news is I adjusted to it quickly, and it went away after a few days. Hang in there. Hopefully that will be the case with your reaction as well! For those who benefit from it (not everyone does), it's a huge help.

Regards,
Pam

Thanks Pam, So far I still have the side effects, the eyebrow tic is gone, but I feel it still wanting to start. lol My wife is going to drive me to my spine doc on monday, if I survive the trip, it will be good to finally see him. I hope I like him.

Brad

[sasha]

I am on 300mg 3x a day. Is that too much do you think?

That's the dose I was on that caused me problems, so maybe it is a high amount to have in your body - perhaps your doctor can advise when you see him/her on Monday?

Surreal seems to sum it up well Slow release Tramadol did similar things to me, felt as though I was observing rather than being myself, if you get what I mean - most odd!

Hope the visit goes well.
Sasha

[aktech23]

The Naproxen shouldn't be making you feel dizzy at all. you can get that stuff over the counter (aleve)

all those NSAID medicines hurt my stomach terribly. I can't take them at all.

[Susie*Bee]

Meds seem to react differently to different people, and probably they also differ with time (as in periods of our lives), so it's really hard to "guess" about them... I remember years ago feeling I couldn't think straight or do anything at all when I was (briefly) taking tylenol with codeine... it was like I was in outer space, brain-wise. My brain was not my own...

On the other hand, post-op with this surgery, I don't remember thinking that the Neurontin made me feel weird in any way, but I was also taking hydrocodone. I started with the 300 mg. Neurontin, 3 times a day and continued that for 2 months and then weaned down to 100 and tapered down on how many/day, etc. At the time I thought I was thinking pretty sharply-- but maybe I just didn't know the difference. Looking back, I was taking Norco, Neurontin and valium. How sharp can you be with those??? When I was first home from the hospital, it did feel like my brain was sluggish and took awhile to process things-- and there's the story about how i told my kids the laptop keyboard just wasn't the same as a normal one. (It is...) All that kind of stuff I think can be attributed to the higher, stronger, more frequent doses of meds that we start off with. I didn't start the Neurontin till about 4 weeks post-op though, so the Norco was not as strong by then either.

I did experience dizziness, but it was when I was weaning off some of the drugs-- and happened when I would lie down on my side and the room would spin around. So I avoided lying on my side! (DUH!) Anyway, those chems alter things for awhile-- and getting used to them in our system or adjusting to no longer having them, sometimes takes a little while.

About a month ago my family doctor changed my arthritis medicine and I'm still adjusting to that. I think it doesn't work nearly as well with the arthritis in my lower back and hip, but seems to be doing better with the arthritis in my neck. What to do!??? If only we knew what would work best in the long run, without all the trial times, it would be great!

Brad-- I hope you get it figured out soon and/or adjust to your dosages and can manage it. Take care! Susie

[loves to skate]

Hi akteck23,

I just googled Naproxen side effects and below is what I came up with. There is a difference between Naproxen and Naprosen. Naprosen (Aleve) is over the counter and Naproxen is prescription. I was on Naproxen several years ago and it made me dizzy so I had to discontinue it.

Naproxen

All medicines may cause side effects, but many people have no, or minor, side effects. Check with your doctor if any of these most COMMON side effects persist or become bothersome when using Naproxen:

Constipation; diarrhea; dizziness; drowsiness; gas; headache; heartburn; nausea; stomach upset; stuffy nose.

Oops, Naproxen Sodium is Aleve and Naprosen is a prescription.

Sally

[Qikdraw]

Thank you everybody for your responses. I go see my spine doc (Dr Chang in LA) today, and I'll talk to him about the meds.

I'm trying to start up a business and look for investors, I really cannot be loopy at all. This last week was a bust for me cause I just could not get it together. My mind just wandered all the time.

Brad