Hi All,
I wanted to share with the Community my experience with Gabapentin. When Dr. Samji prescribed gabapentin, I was very cautious about taking it, because my sister used to take Baclofen prepuberty, and she really didn’t like it. It was very hard for her with all the side effects it has vs. the effects for her Jacksonian seizures.
Today I understand why she felt that way because I had to experience those effects myself.
I tried to break down the dosage in combination of the time I took the medication.
Pre-Surgery
Dose 300 mg a day
Side effect: Lightheadedness
Effect: Did not control the pain very well. It helps in reducing the feeling of inflammation and the lump in my throat
Dose 600 mg a day
Side effect: Lightheadedness, Restlessness, Increased and new anxiety
Effect: Helped control the pain better at night and in the morning. The feeling of inflammation reduced significantly but still would come back when I didn’t rest enough.
Dose 900 mg a day
Side Effect: Lightheadedness, Restlessness, Feeling jumpy in foot traffic, Increased and new anxiety (the hardest part for me to deal with), Vivid dreams, Waking up in panic (not from night terrors, without any reason at all), Blurred vision, Belly ache, possible proctitis (undiagnosed yet due to Covid - 19 restrictions), stomach bloating and flatulence.
Effect: Helped control the pain better all day. The feeling of having a lump in the throat, throat soreness, pain the the tongue and the sensation of inflammation were under control.
Post-Surgery
Dose 900 mg a day
Side effect: Lightheadedness, Clumsiness , Blurred vision, Belly ache, possible proctitis (undiagnosed yet due to Covid - 19 restrictions), stomach bloating and flatulence.
Effect: on the 7th day after surgery I developed a First bite syndrome. Increasing the medication diminished the effect and has been well under control. Tested by increasing the medication to 1200 mg. Helped control the pain better all day. The feeling of having a lump in the throat, throat soreness, pain the the tongue and the sensation of inflammation were under control.
My anxiety hasn’t come back since the surgery. The first day I attributed the lack of anxiety to the painkiller and anesthesia. Since I stopped taking the painkiller on day 1 after the surgery and haven’t to this day (day 12 after surgery), I haven’t felt uneasy at all. It could be that the increased anxiety was due to my vagus nerve being irritated by the styloid process, but there are still weeks ahead of me in recovery to determine if that has been completely resolved.
Cheers,
Risto