Posted by Emily Elizabeth on March 10, 2006, at 21:48:57
In reply to How are you liking Neurontin? » Emily Elizabeth, posted by Racer on March 10, 2006, at 20:09:46
I've taken it for quite a while now--around 3yrs, I think. When I first added it, I was primarily experiencing GAD w/ a little dysthymia. My anxiety wasn't sufficiently controlled by Paxil (plus a mini-dose of Wellbutrin to counteract sedation). So we added neurontin. I found it very helpful w/ rumination, but less so w/ the physical symptoms of anxiety. My pdoc said that most people had the opposite experience.
Side-effect wise, I don't think I have noticed anything. (Although I'm fairly tolerant of side effects). My impression is that Neurontin is known as a pretty low-side effect med. It also has relatively few drug interactions.
It is probably worth a shot. My sense is that you'll probably find a number of people who have NOT found it helpful, but fewer who quit b/c they had problems w/ it.
As for me, it is one of the drugs that pdoc and I are contemplating cutting down or cutting out when we start to cut down on my meds (although we both are a little too afraid to touch anything until I have been "well" for a longer period of time). Since it has been a while since I started it, I feel tempted to discontinue it to figure out if it is doing anything. Also, from my brief scan of the literature, my sense is that it has not been well supported for off label use, such as anxiety.
Sigh. Psychiatry is a little like some sort of voodoo at times, isn't it?
Best,
EE
poster:Emily Elizabeth
thread:618314
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060310/msgs/618627.html