Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => Other Health Discussion => Topic started by: moonbeam121167 on August 16, 2014, 03:28:33 PM
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Afternoon all, need some help, been back on Amitriptyline now for a few months, was at first on 10mg then after a few weeks was told to up to 20mg which as helped with the headaches but my weight has increased, I am normally a 12 but now I am a 14 and this upsets me BIG time, I was a 10 but since all this Hysterectomy and HRT I have gone up to a 12 which I felt not to bad about but a 14 that awful . Has any one have this issue with these pills, I dont eat crappy food cause I have stomach probs, I hardly every eat a biscuit, never eat chocolate, always eating fruit, I dont exercise much, ride a bike sometimes and have started some gentle stomach exercises but the weight seems to be piling on , I think I am going to reduce down to 10mg for a while, I do have a appointment with the Meno consultant in October and hoping he will try me on Testosterone to see if it will help with my energy and libido so then I will be able to have the get up and go and they also say Testosterone can help with the middle age spread. If I dont try something I am afraid I will continue getting fat and that isnt happening... :)
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I take amitriptyline 20-30mg for nerve pain. Have been on it for a couple of years now. Although I did have weight gain over that same period I don't put it down to that. More to do with lack of exercise, mid life spread and eating far too much chocolate, cakes, bread and the rest. In the last year I have managed to lose a stone and keep it off. I guess exercise does help - anything exercise wise will help. I still eat choc & the odd cake but just try to be careful overall - ie not too much bread, potatoes, fat & sugar etc. Hope you get sorted soon.
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Cherylks,
I wish it was down to food but as I have IBS !!!! I do watch what I eat, I dont eat bread, chocolate, sweets, it maybe down to lack of energy since my op , I am hoping the consultant will give me a go Testosterone, he did say he might then maybe I can start having some get up and go............
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I am on it for nerve pain, just watch what I eat and a good long walk everyday. There is Noratroptyline which may suit you better it does some.
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I think the explanation given for weight gain with any drugs is that you feel better so you eat more.
I'm not convinced, I take Gabapentin for neuropathic pain. I vary the doses I take, my level of podginess varies with variations on dose, not the amount I eat.
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Ladies, I am going to reduce the dose from 20mg to 10mg, and hope the reduction will help abit, I honestly dont eat rubbish food but dont have energy, I am off work at moment (dinner lady) so I sleep in till 10am but still feel tired, just cant motivate, they help with the headaches but the physio said with correct posture it will help, possibly if I reduce the dose I may not feel so tired and that may help..
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Moonbeam, see how it goes.
For me, amitriptyline didn't help much with headaches, I just got really tired, groggy and brain dead.
Try the reduced dose it may be enough to make you stop feeling tired.
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These pills are so different for everyone the ami does not knock me out, if anything the opposite.
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Limpy , I must admit I do feel a bit brain dead, so thats what I am going to do, hopefully I feel less tired and have a bit more var var voom :)
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I think some ADs slow metabolism. Some are notorious for weight gain. I've not heard about amitryptaline doing this, but sounds like in your case it might well be.
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Increased appetite and weight gain is a common side effect of this drug. I put on around 10lbs in three months when on just 10mg but the benefits far outweighed the spare tyre! However, it can also cause fluid retention so it's important to distinguish between the two.
Taz x
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It would be good if the scales could identify fluid retention.
Mine just go up........
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I am on Nortriptyline for nerve pain - it does have less side effects than amitriptyline if you wanted to try it - i was on ami for quite a while beforehand.
I have found that the Nortriptyline makes you less groggy in the mornings but even going up on doses of this you get fluid retention. Never feel like i want to pee first thing in the morning like i used to anymore. I am very tempted to not take it at all - and have tried not to - but too much nerve pain otherwise.
Are there no other options for your headache.
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I only took 10mg last night and for most of the day I have had a awful headache, I am having physio but isnt helping, just dont know what else to try, I know the pain is awful but I cant cope with the increase in weight, can anyone or advise please :)
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As Hattie says, Nortriptyline may be worth considering.
I tried it for headaches and it helped.
Stopped using it because it seemed to exacerbate MS balance problems.
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I have made an appointment for this Thursday for the GP, I know if I increase again my headaches will go but I will feel like a brain dead zombie, so I am going to continue to lower the dose and see if he will give me Nortriptyline to try or something else .
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The brain dead feeling seems to be an accepted side effect of amitriptyline.
Hopefully he will give something else.
And another thing - amitriptyline didn't actually remove my headaches, I was just too zonked to notice them or anything properly.
Good luck for next Thursday.
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I only took 10mg last night and for most of the day I have had a awful headache, I am having physio but isnt helping, just dont know what else to try, I know the pain is awful but I cant cope with the increase in weight, can anyone or advise please :)
you may have more of a headache today also from decreasing the dose by 50% - i have gone up and down on ami and nortrip and had headaches from decreasing - you could try cutting pills in half so you go to 15 then 10 then to 5mg to come off it - advise is to come off slowly on these drugs - i've done a week or two inbetween lowering.
If you are given Nortriptyline you can just go on it as a replacement for amitriptyline as they are very similar.
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Hattie thats a good point, I should of decrease it slowly, tonight should I take a tablet and half do think.
Limpy I thought the zombie feeling was a result of increasing but about a month on I still felt like a zombie and always tired and its horrible, the GP did mention Gabapentin but looking at these I dont want to try them, I know Nortriptyline is a new version and supposedly less side effects so hopfully he will let me try it, thanks for your help :) :) :)
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Hattie thats a good point, I should of decrease it slowly, tonight should I take a tablet and half do think.
Not sure how long you have been on 20mg but yes i would try 15mg for a week or so and then go down to 10mg - GP may tell you otherwise but this is what i have done. It gives your brain and body time to adjust.
I have also been on Gabapentin - i found it a horrible drug which made me very tearful and i couldn't think straight at the higher doses so i titrated down off that drug to.
Hope that you find something that helps.
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Hattie I have been on 20mg for around 3 weeks ish, I will try 15mg tonite and then see what the GP will say, I have read that Gabapentin is horrible so I will defo not using it, thanks for all your help xx
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Gabapentin does make you put on weight but it has helped with pain control, no other major problems. Well that's what's happened to me...........
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Hi again, I still reducing the Amitriptyline but yesterday and today I have been having the headaches back plus a horrible taste in my mouth, I am defo not tired nor feel like a zombie but have a bad stiff neck and headache, can't seem to win, GP cancelled till the 2nd Sept but I have been looking into Nortitrptyline and people say they put on weight with that just dont know what to do, Physio isn't helping much, :'(. Any ladies on her have any help on this, GP mentioned Gabapentin but Limpy and other reviews do say that make you put on weight >:(, I know people say well to be headache free you will have to put up with some side effects but the weight gain and zombie feeling is something I do not want, there has to be something out there to help me :)
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Hi - With the Gabapentin I was originally on 900mg a day. I have reduced this to 500mg a day this keeps the headaches (& podginess) to a manageable level. 400mg was brilliant for the weight aspect, not so good for pain control though ::)
It might be worth considering 300mg gabapentin a day (3 x 100)
that may help with pain control without too much in the way of zombie feelings or weight gain.
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Hi again what about Nortiriptyline, could that be any good , as they say it isnt as sedating, I have struggle this last few years with my weight and I have struggle to stay a size 12 but this last month its gone up to a 14 and it has upset me big time, I know the headaches and neck ache is bad but there has to be something I can take without causing weight gain and feeling like a zombie ???
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I had good results with 10mg of amitryp but it took a month before the total zombie feeling disappeared. It only lasted for the first two hours or so anyway so I just got up earlier so that I could still drive to work.
It really does depend on how much you are bothered by the pain to be honest. There will be side effects from almost all drug treatments so you have to weigh up the pros and cons. Is it really so bad to be a little bit fatter if you are feeling better in yourself? Also, if you have less pain you will probably up your exercise which could very well get rid of the extra pounds.
I'm sorry but I've forgotten what you are taking it for :-\
Taz x
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Taz2 I have been taking it for really bad headaches and neck pain, having Physio but doesnt seem to be helping, I knew the zombie feeling would happen but they said it would eventually go but after month I still felt like one and as I was off school I would be getting up at around 10.30am but by 3pm I would sit on the settee and fall asleep, just had no energy at all, once I reduced the dose I felt the zombie feeling subsided and not so tired but the headaches were coming back, people say to try Nortitrptyline as its less sedating but they still say you can gain weight and I know that may not bother some people if they are pain free but it depresses me ..
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Nortriptyline isn't entirely free of weight gain issues - found the following when I gogled it.
"Hi Jeanne, I hate to disagree, but nortriptyline is definitively known for it's side effect of weight gain
But if you are very careful you can keep the calories down. Nortrip does cause cravings of sugar and carbohydrates, as you've probably noticed.
Just try to exercise more and cut down on carbs and sugar."
I tried it for headaches, it worked for a little while then stopped, didn't get dopey though.
Stopped taking it because it worsened MS balance problems for me.
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Hi moonbeam
I've been taking Amityiptyline and Gabapentin for some time now and I haven't put any weight on, infact I've lost a few pounds. The zombie feeling does go after a while though, so it might be an idea to persevere for a little while.
Katy x
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Hi maybe it isnt the Amitriptyline that is causing the weight gain then, this last 3 years has been a bit of a nightmare, since I had my Hysterectomy at the end of Dec '12 my stomach sticks out and I have what they call middle age spread, I have not pigged out cause I have stomach problems, the HRT I am on has be great but my sex drive is very low plus my weight , no energy , I know when I went to the meno consultant he said he may give me testosterone, I have an appointment with him in Oct so hopefully he will give me some to try, I will stick with the 10mg Amitriptline for now and not go up to the 20mg dose, as I dont feel like a zombie on that dose as she how things go, thanks ladies for your help and advice x
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Hi moonbeam
I find nortriptyline is less sedating especially in the mornings.
Is there any other route besides the physio that you are having to find the cause of your headaches and neck pain ? as these drugs are just masking the symptoms.
I have gained weight - probably through the drug and lack of exercise - i now think of 12 and 14 as just numbers - put a lot of clothes away out of sight and try to wear something that makes me feel good as i am now.
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Hattie I have said to the GP why do I get these headaches but they just give me pills, I have physio once a month which so far dont help, don't know what else to do xxx
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Sorry Moonbeam - Drs aren't very good at sorting out headaches.
For me, regular gentle exercise helps to lessen them.
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Since I have reduced the Amitrypltine I am not so tried or like a zombie but I feel miserable and my headaches are back and my IBS has flared up, the 20mg dose was great for my IBS and headaches but the side effect were not nice, off to doctors tomorrow, thought to ask about Nortirptyline , so anyone have any thoughts on this medication or some thing I can ask about :) sorry to be a pain but I feel the GP thinks I am a bit of hypochondriac, dont like the sound of Gabapentin just dont know what to do, others said I should of given the 20mg dose a bit longer but I couldnt 3 weeks were enough , I have to drive and Thursday I go back to work, I felt totally out of it x
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3 weeks should have been enough to improve the headaches, don't feel bad about trying something else, Nortriptyline may work for you. Or the GP may suggest something else completely.
Don't get fobbed off, you go out to work, and need help.
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My headaches on the 20mg was good, none whats so ever but the zombie feeling and tiredness was too much to bear hence the reduction to 10mg , I will have too see what the doctor has to say wont I, thanks xx
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Hi been to doctors and he has said to try 1 and a half of the Amitriptyline and then see how it goes and if that doesnt work I got to try Gabapentin but he said they wont help with the IBS and if they dont help I maybe able to try Nortiriptyline but he wont give it to me now as it is too expensive and they have been told not to prescribe it !!!!!! so lets see what happens ??? ???
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Hope it works
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Limpy
lets hope, as it worked great on my IBS and headaches but the zombie feeling was horrible, I took the half this morning and I will take the whole one tonight and touch wood hope it will work :)
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I have decided to stop (slowly) the Amitriptyline, as I have been putting on weight with it and its making me so unhappy and this fogginess is horrible, before I started taking them I bought a new pair of jeans (size 12) but today went to put them on and I couldn't and it made me cry. I finally got down to the size 12 after my op and the feeling was great but now >:(. I have a script for Gabapentin but have heard that can led to weight gain so I just dont know what to do, anyone on here can help please, my headaches and neck ache can be bad but what was good about the Amitriptyline was it helped my IBS, GP told me if the AM cant help try the GAB but he said it wont help my IBS he also said Nortriptyline is too expensive but it could be the answer , I am so confused, I know people say if they help the pain and IBS why worry about the weight gain but it bothers me, it can consumes me , its all I think about the weight gain.
??? :'(
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I am on ami and have not put weight on, are you sure you are just not eating more and not exercising enough. Gabapentin will also put weight on, and be warned can be hell to get off of. Noratriptyline I am sure is not expensive, you can look up how much all these pills cost, ami is the cheapest, I then thought Nora, then it goes up and pregagablin is the most expensive.
It could also be because it has stopped your IBS you are getting more nourishment from your food.
I take it for nerve pain, but it has also stopped my IBS and constant back ground headaches. Try the Gaba but I know a lot of people struggle with the side effects of it, they all make you drowsy for the first few weeks but I have no side effects at all now.
Gaba is used for people who have seizures so works very differently on the brain, my GP offered me all of the different types and I decided on Ami.
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I guess you may have to decide which is worse, the weight gain or the pain? I was originally given Gabapentin for nerve pain but it just knocked me out, i could barely get out of bed but then I know others get on really well with it. Our bodies definitely seem to vary on how they react to different tablets. But seriously consider if you have to choose between the weight or the pain which can you cope with better? x
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None of this is easy.
My initial dose of gabapentin cured the pain, but did put on weight and made me groggy.
Messed around with dosage and now have a maintenance dose which works mostly but still need to top with other things now and again for migraine pain, weight mostly okish.
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MaryJane, I have always careful in what I eat cause of my stomach, I do have moments but mostly I careful, exercise, well I have been trying but with the zombie like feeling I have been having with the AM it has been hard thats why I went down to 10mg but the headaches and IBS were coming back hence I was told to creep back up, I did ask for Nort but he wouldnt give it to me, cause of the cost, I know the pain should be the first thing I should think about but my weight is a big thing for me and there has to be something out there that can help without the zombie foggy head and weight gain but WHAT!!
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Moonbeam did you try the one and a half tabs of amitriptyline?
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Hi thats what my GP said to try one and half last week but, today I tried to get my size 12 jeans on and couldnt get them on did it for me, I cant handle to weight gain, its very depressing for me :'( :'( :'( :'(
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I think they all have the potential for weight gain, I have just looked up the cost of noratriptyline it is £12.06 x a 100 of the 10mg, if you had 15mg a day that would last a long time. Ami and Gaba are very cheap, pregagablin is very expensive. I think your GP is being unfar not allowing you to try the Nora, I may be wrong but if you feel another drug would be better for you, isn't he supposed to allow you to have it? Don't quote me though.
Although I think you will still have problems with foggy head to start with, what about beta blockers for the head and IBS? or the anti depressant Prozac and the like, but again all these drugs can put weight on with some people.
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Thanks Maryjane for your help, I am going to wean myself off the AM, and then see if my weight drops, I will then see how things go, and if in a week or two I will go back to the GP if my headaches are that bad, cross fingers they will not be bad x
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Do you know what's causing your headaches? You're off to see the meno specialist soon I think so perhaps you will get some answers then?
Taz x
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Taz2
its worth a try asking him, I am not coming off HRT as I hate the menopause symptoms I was getting, I am on Estradot 100mg, thought maybe gel will be helpful!! thanks for your reply :) just have to wait and see, I use to get bad headaches around the time of the month and was hoping they would go when I had my op.
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Which op? Sorry I've not been keeping up with posts lately!
I meant what investigations have you had re your headaches?
I know you are hoping that testosterone may be prescribed. Have you got your date for the clinic? I'm sure they will be helpful.
Taz x
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Taz 2, hysterectomy, not really had any investigations, just sent me for physio, which has not helped much, as I said had terrible headaches all my adult life, it happen around the time of the month and was hoping after the op they will go but Noop, physio said my posture is bad, my neck or something, been doing the exercises but has not helped, what I have decided to do is come off the Amitriptyline slowly and see if my weight drops, I am afraid to try Gabapentin as that can cause weight gain, I will mention to the consultant about my headaches but what i am afraid of is he will say to come off the HRT and I dont want to as its been great for all that meno stuff, I know u say well whats worse weight or headaches but surely there has to be something out there that can help me head but dont cause me to gain weight cause I get real depressed when I do x
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Hi moonbeam
Just caught up with your posts, I'm on Nortriptyline and they were initially prescribed for my tension headaches, they do work I no longer have pain just slight tight feeling every so often.
I notice you are on HRT, is it pill type, I'm on patches as they are recommended for headache suffers.
I believe Consultants can prescribe Nortriptyline as they have more authority, or maybe higher budget allowance.
On the weight side side of things I have put on weight, I was 7stone in 2010 before having throat surgery, and thyroid problem and having to also take thyroxin and then Nortriptyline I am now 10 stone 5 I'm not sure if any or combination of the drugs are responsible, but I also have ms so Nortriptyline will probably stay as I now also have nerve pain which this drug also works for.
I had a bit of dry mouth when I first started taking it, but no tiredness at all, and I take 70mg at night.
If every thing else fails why not try switching HRT to the patches, if of course your not already on them, it could solve your headache problems and maybe help your ibs? I also walk my new puppy three times a day but no weight loss yet !
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Smokey, I am on the patches, and as I said they have been great for my meno, but these b....y headaches are the bain of my life, I have always been a size 8 to 10 but after my 4th child a 12 was it and i was happy on that but since the Hysterectomy I have struggled hard to keep to the size 12 and since taking the Amitrypline its been creeping up to a 14 and I have been so depressed by this, there has to be something they can do or something I can take that can help but wont make me put on weight, I have started to exercise but with these Amitrypline they make me feel very tired, even on the 1 1/2 dose , thats another reason why I need to change them, I shall wait a few weeks before I go back to the GP and then I see if he will give me the Nort x
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As i replied to you before and Just reading what Smokey has said about a consultant prescribing Nortriptyline for her. Thought i ought to say that a pain consultant had my Amitriptyline changed to Nortriptyline - my GP usually follows what a consultant has said but might not prescribe Nortriptyline readily herself.
Hattie
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I only got Nortriptyline because my Neurologist recommended it.
I have talked to a recent GP about trying it again, she said it was off licence.
Didn't persue the fact that I had been prescribed it by one of the other GPs........ ::)
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The GP said he will only give me Nort if the AM still makes me feel like a zombie and the Gabapentin doesnt work but I will not try the Gab as everyone I have talk to and read about says its side effects can be horrible, so thats enough for me to be put me off, I am going to give it a few weeks and then see the GP ask politely that I want Nort as the others have not worked, or wait till I see the Meno consultant on the 2nd Oct and see if he can suggest anything x
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Gab works well for pain control but sleepiness and weight gain were not good for me on 900mg (3x300) a day. 500mg (2x200+100) works mostly for pain control and not bad for feeling groggy
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Limpy , what about the weight , has it been a problem even at the lower dose x
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No - It's stayed controllable.
Sometimes, not often, I need to take Sumatriptan or Paracetomol and Codeine for migraines or other pain.
If you time the doses so the 100mg is in the morning, about 8 or 9am, sleepiness isn't a problem.
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Limpy, well that has been very helpful, once I have come off the AM and my headaches are to bad and the GP wont give me Nort then I will have a go at the Gabapentin, :thankyou:
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It's all a question of trial and error.
:hug:
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Limpy, well that has been very helpful, once I have come off the AM and my headaches are to bad and the GP wont give me Nort then I will have a go at the Gabapentin, :thankyou:
Was having a think this morning - You would need to gradually increase the dose of Gabapentin, it's not recommended to start a higher dose straight away. I had come down to 500mg having been on 900mg a day.
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i was told to take 300mg Gabapentin once a day in the morning for 3 to4 days then take 300mg morning and evening between 4th to 7th day and then 300mg lunchtime so that you are then taking 900mg a day.
Was told that this 900mg is the first effective level for pain and to give it 6 weeks or so to see how things were on that level then titrate up or down after that.
You may find the lower levels ok Moonbeam it was when the consultant told me to go up to 2400mg (800mg x3 a day) that the Gabapentin affected me badly.
A low dose of just 300mg a day may work for you.
Hattie