Posted by JohnL on April 13, 2001, at 17:51:17
In reply to Re: Having a difficult time with Neurontin, posted by AnnaBanana on April 11, 2001, at 10:15:25
> I took Neurontin for 3 weeks (for facial pain) and got up to 900mg per day. Then I got sick and was diagnosed with Colitis so I stopped for 3 weeks. I'm back on it at 1200mg per day for the last 2 weeks. I don't feel any better at all. In fact, I'm in a bad phase right now (which is not unusual - my pain fluctuates). My neurologist told me to stay on 1200mg for 4 weeks and then come see him. I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience in determining when it simply isn't going to work. I don't really want to keep upping the dosage if it's not going to make any difference. Personally, I think I should have felt some improvement by now. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I can certainly empathize with you. Been there too many times. But anyway, I tend to agree with you that there should have been some improvement by now, IF Neurontin was a superior match for you.
Conventional practice says to stay with it and give it time. Over the years though I have come to view it a little bit differently. From what I have seen, everybody has a drug that is a superior match for them, chemically and molecularly. There are also inferior matches. Very often an early response within a few days to two weeks indicates a superior match. The majority, but not all, of those patients go on to do the best given more time. On the other hand, a slow or absent response indicates an inferior match. Sure it could go on to work if given more time and suffering, but in the majority of these patients it won't.
Anyway, I feel as you do that perhaps there should have been some kind of hint of some improvement by now. But the doc is likely to let you suffer longer and wait more instead of refocusing on finding a superior med.
John
poster:JohnL
thread:51773
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010411/msgs/59733.html