Nerve Pain/Sleeping Issues

[briarrose]

Hi everyone!

I'm 5 months post-op and for the past 2 weeks I've been having a lot of nerve pain in my right leg. It usually starts in my lower leg and then radiates up to my hip (It's much worse at night). I know several of you have had nerve issues with you legs. Did you take Neurontin? Did it eventually go away on it's own? I'm having a similar problem in my right arm too. It would go numb before my surgery and had pretty much stopped until about a weeks ago.

Then there's the sleeping. I have such a difficult time falling asleep (usually takes 1.5 hours) and then I wake up 5-6 hours later. I don't know if this is related to the surgery or not. It's been a problem for about 2 months. Melatonin doesn't work. I did buy some Valerian root last night and it seemed to work better.

Any input would be appreciated!

[Susie*Bee]

So sorry to hear about your problems, Shell. I took Neurontin (gabapentin) for leg nerve problems, for probably about 4 months, weaning down toward the end (from 300 mg. to 100). By the time I was off it, I had no problem. Have you mentioned this to your surgeon? If not, I wouldn't hesitate to give him a call if I were you. The sleep issues I had seemed related to when I was changing meds or dosages-- and then sometimes it seemed like I only got a few hours' sleep. It was so frustrating-- especially since all my life, I've pretty much slept like a baby with no insomnia whatsoever (my head hits the pillow, I'm asleep...) Keep us posted.

[Qikdraw]

Shell

I take Gabapentin and Naproxin a little before I go to bed, and it does help. Although lately not as much as my back is all knotted up and my wife can't do her regular massages for me because her arm hurts much more as the weather gets colder. (she had an ulnar nerve transposition a few years ago)

But the drugs have helped out a good amount.

[loves to skate]

Hi Shell,
I take Gabapentin (neurontin) for leg pain and restless leg syndrome. I was not able to fall asleep when I had the RLS and when the leg pain started. The pain gets you so tensed up that it is hard to relax. The neurontin has helped me with both problems and I fall asleep fairly easily most nights. My Doctor said it can take up to two years for the nerve pain to subside. I hope you can get some relief soon because sleep is so important. Sally

[briarrose]

Thanks so much for your replies Susie, Brad and Sally. I appreciate it!

I guess I should call my surgeon. He doesn't know about the nerve pain. He's always reluctant to give out medication and that's been keeping me from calling him about it. I need to call anyway to ask for antibiotics for an upcoming dentist appointment. It sounds like Neurontin works well so I will ask about that. It gets depressing to have issues come up post-op. I have the same pain now that I did before the surgery. I have to keep reminding myself that the sole reason I had this surgery was to stop the progression and that appears to be successful.

Thanks again!

[amae28]

I have had a really hard time with falling asleep and staying asleep also post op. It started when I was off all my medications, at about 1 1/2 months. I am 4 months out now and doing a lot better. I called my family practice doctor and she prescribed me a low dose of trazadone, i think it's 50 mg. It really helped with the sleeping. I also started to exercise more and that helped too. After about a month of taking that, I gradually reduced it to half a pill a night to just a quarter to nothing. I am sleeping well now most of the time but every once and i while i still take part of one. If you aren't getting any sleep it's something to look into because it's not habit forming like other sleep aids. Good luck!!

[Singer]

Shell, I have also had a hard time sleeping since I got off all the meds (7 months ago). I take Melatonin, which helps a little. The thing about Melatonin is, you need to take it regularly for about a month or so before you get the most benefit from it. That's what I was told, anyway, and that's the way it's worked for me.

I work part-time and I sleep much better the days I work because I get more mentally and physically tired. Walking every day helps too. I would urge you to look into Neurontin for the leg pain though. It's not a narcotic so your surgeon should not give you a hard time about it.