United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

I am currently taking 4/400mg neurontin and had heard and read that it may affect the memory. I did a search and found this web site http://www.rebuildermedical.com/neurontin.html
If you are taking neurontin then I suggest you check out this website. Pfizer is the company that makes neurontin and the new drug Lyrica. The link suggests that neurontin MAY have the potential to cause serious depression and or suicide.

i just seen a commercial for lawyers taking cases on suicide cases against neurontin. i stopped all meds as i dont have much pain.

It's hard to tell exactly, because I was on more than a few drugs that depress the whole neurological system or cause depression, including Neurontin (Methadone, Oxycontin, & Lopressor, for post injury high blood pressure), but my gut feeling is that the Neurontin was probably the most damaging to me. I was on it the longest, three years, and after couple of months being off the stuff I started noticing real changes in my attitude and general over all spirit, not to mention the considerable drop in the frequency of suicidal thoughts. It's difficult discerning what motivated or contributed those thoughts & feelings, was it coming straight from me or was the medication helping it out by knocking out my will power and urge to fight. I'm still trying to figure it out and I needed to go through the being on meds to know that I don't ever want them again. But I wish I could have done it all with out any of them, even though I'm grateful they exist. I also feel like my memory is still foggy even though I've now been off the stuff since the end of last November. It's known that the stuff can be a depressant, and unfortunately so is experiencing pain, just be conscious which is killing you faster... Good luck! I'm still figuring it out, but to me Neurontin was like a big heavy wet blanket smothering my whole being.

Christopher

Actually it is FDA approved for neuropathic pain:

At present there are only 5 co-analgesic agents that carry US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved indications for neuropathic pain. These are carbamazepine (Tegretol [Novartis]) for trigeminal neuralgia, gabapentin (Neurontin [Parke-Davis]) and transdermal lidocaine (LidoDerm [Endo]) for postherpetic neuralgia, duloxetine (Cymbalta [Eli Lilly]) for diabetic neuropathy, and pregabalin (Lyrica [Pfizer]) for both diabetic neuropathy and postherpetic neuralgia. However, there is a significant body of literature demonstrating the effectiveness of these and other co-analgesics in treating a wide variety of neuropathic pain states.
I can't give the link to this as you need to be a member (I have membership b/c I am a student nurse). Nor do I discredit what you are feeling, but I have seen this before and it was wrong. It had been produced by laywers, maybe to get more $$ out of people, not sure. But just wanted you to see that all that is put out by lawyers is not necessarily the complete truth. It was a problem for the other things it was being used to treat and it does/can have some bad side-effects. It is only supposed to be used for neuropathic pain and seizures.
Anyhow, just my 2 cents, not trying to rock the boat or anger anyone.
Marieke

http://injury.freeadvice.com/injury_hel ... 8_1069.htm be careful of any info about this drug and its uses, it has not always been approved for pain, and the makers have admitted to dishonesty with 'trials' that they have carried out for this.

I didn't respond to this post because any of neurontin's legal issues... only because of the drugs side effects on myself personally. So take it at that value.

I know neurontin's manufacturer was being taken to court because of the sales people where marketing it for neuropathic pain to doctors when it went thru clinical trials only for epilepsy. And then there where people that took the drug for neuropathic pain that did commit suicide and then the lawyers jumped on that, putting two and two together.

I'm not aware that neurontin/Pfizer had committed and completed new clinical trials for pain. It was my understanding that doctors where prescribing it "off label" (meaning it works for ----- but was not intended to work for that, or wasn't tested for that).

60 minutes did a piece on this a couple of years ago.

I have been on Lyrica 50mg x 3 since last November for FMS and nerve pain from my failed C fusions. I have been depressed for some time but I have noticed an increase in this since last fall, particulary suicidal thoughts that seem to come in waves. I am on other meds and I am post menopausal. The lyrica has helped me a lot but if it is the cause of the dark days then I'm inclined to drop it to see what happens. Many in my FMS group are on high doses of Neurontin and they do very well with it.

I have nothing at all to back this up, but I do know how drugs work on people who take them and really don't need them. I see it on a daily basis givin the area I live in. If you are taking a drug no matter what it is that is prescribed for a legitimate reason,you have to take risks in hopes of a better overall future. As Christopher said most of you guys are on so much stuff it makes it hard to tell what the real problem drug may be.

My problem with all this is when you have true quack doctors out there that prescibe drugs that have a fair amount of serious side effects to people who probably don't need them to begin with. I'm sure sucide is a thought that ran thru most of our minds at some point in our life without any drugs at all involved.

Prescribing drugs to people without due cause can have
extremely dangerous side affects. I personally belive that this is the root of a lot of the problems associated with neurontin,and other drugs for that matter. Suicide is a very sad thing. And you can't take away that being on prescription drugs may have played a roll in problems people who have committed suicede had.

My grand mother was on xanax and valium for over twenty years.(She told her family doctor she had back pain).No evaluation needed,script writen on the spot.

I have two friends right know that went to thier family doctor complaining of muscle spasms ,nervousness and stress at work. Said it was keeping them up at night and made it difficult for them to daily activity. I kid you not,with no exam at all one of them walked out with scripts for 160 300 mg somas, 120 7.5 mg loritab , and 60 10 mg xanax within one our of walking in the door. And thats per month!

This happens everyday all over the country.Just my opinion , but I would argue that a lot of people are getting drugs they don't need. Not to say they are lying to get them , they just get over prescribed.

If you put drugs with pretty major side effects in the hands of some one who's real problem is unknown.And without having some clinical back ground on their condition, What do you think is going to happen. I can see why suicide rates for some drugs are going higher in this country , but at the same time I also see an underlying blame that goes completely unreconised.Like I said it's just my opinion , over prescribing without proper evaluation = a whole lot of problems.

Catachatrain~
Very well said!! You are completely and totally right! I see it daily with my parents going to their doctors and getting whatever drug they want. No physical, no exam....nothing!!!!
I have tried Neurontin and ONLY Neurontin. My injury happened 19 yr ago and its the only drug I have tried for pain. I was on it about 2 yrs ago. My experience with the drug had MANY side effects but suicide was not one of them. I stop taking it because simple daily tasks were almost impossible.
At the time I had 3, very small children and I felt I was putting their lives in danger. Plus we wanted more children and Neurontin is very dangerous when trying to have a child and during pregnancy.
I am drug free with a lot of pain (depending on the season) but I am able to function and I am a better mom without Neurontin.
Kath in Chicago

THE PAIN WILL GO IF YOU TRY TO TAKE NO DRUGS AT ALL, WHEN YOU GET PAIN CHALENGE IT AND SAY IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN DO . TELL YOUR SELF THE SAME THING EVERY TIME, DONT TAKE PAIN KILLERS BECAUSE THEY END UP NOT WORKING AT ALL.
I AM 39 YEARS OLD I TWORN ALL MY NERVES SUPPLYING MY RIGHT ARM FROM THE SPINE, THE PAIN WAS BEYOND WORDS.IN THE END OF THE FIRST YEAR I DECIDED TO TAKE NO MORE DRUGGS TO STOP THE PAIN.
AND TRUST ME I LIVE A PAINLISS LIFE NOW , I ONLY GET PAIN WHEN MY MISSES STARTS NAGGING AND WE GET ESTREME COLD WEATHER IN EVAN THEN I CHALENGE IT IN MY MIND AND ASK FOR MORE PAIN THEN IT GOES.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL I HOPE THIS METHOD WORKS FOR THOSE IN PAIN, IT MUST BE WORTH A TRY.

IT WONT HAPPEN EMEDIATLY GIVE IT TIME, AND BELIVE ME WHEN THE PAIN WENT I THEN STARTED TO LIVE A NORMAL LIFE.
TAKE CARE AND GOOD LUCK..