Gabapentin and stomach pain

CottonCandyKisses

Hi,

I just joined the group today and was hoping for some insight. I recently received an injection in the back of my head/base of my skull for pain and headaches I've been having since July (I've had headaches/migraines most of my life but this one was new/different) . This particular issue is just at the base of my skull on the right side and hurts constantly, MRI showed nothing. So anyways, not wanting me to take narcotics forever (they don't really work that great anyways), the doctor decided we should try Lyrca--maybe its a nerve issue. Okay. We try it for 1 week with samples and I notice no change, but maybe I need longer. She calls in the prescription and holy crap it is EXPENSIVE!!!!! I can't afford that every month, so she called in Gabapentin instead. My stomach does not like it. At all. Doesn't matter when I take it, or with food or not .My stomach hurts all day. Plus, I'm not getting relief from the pain with it either. Do I wait it out? Does it take 2-3 weeks to start working? Maybe there is something else to try that you have been on? I'm ready to throw all these pills in the garbage and say the hell with it. I was really hoping this injection would make things better so I would feel like myself again and be able to start working out again but so far its not looking very promising.

iamthecatsass

First off I want to say, have your spine checked. Often referral pain can end up in the head. I have had surgery and have myofascial chronic pain plus a host of issues over the years. Often I can get headaches from a muscle in my shoulder that is tight. Still, go for a second opinion of the MRI if you can.
I was put on gabapentin 5 years ago and still take it. The first pill I took affected me right away and I was pain free for 2 weeks. I started to adjust and an amount of pain came back. To my detriment I lowered my dosage (should be taking three times the amount) so I haven't had that "pain free" experience again. Hhmm..maybe I should start taking what I was told to..anyway..yes Lyrica is twice the cost..I have no stomach issues.
If it hurts, don't do it..go for more research...Don't let them give up on finding the problem..

CottonCandyKisses

I do have pain in my shoulder/shoulder blade which we believe stems from the issue at the base of the skull. The injection did help with that, but not the headaches. I go back on the 20th and will ask what other things we can try or other ideas she has. I will also be suggesting some of my own. Thank you for you input and ideas

Beckycm1971

I can't believe you guys are talking about this! First off, I took this med years ago, got off all meds six years ago but I don't remember it making me feel sick. So hopefully this will clear soon for you.

In march I had a migraine unlike any I have had, over the months I continued having migraines almost every day, that were centered in this very spot, the heavy throbbing like my brain would pop out of my head, I ended up having a lot of dizziness, numbing in my face, tightening around my eye, tingling, my whole right side was much duller than right. (Right head didn't feel hot water in shower at all while left side burned) my balance was off. We did an MRI and found nothing. A week later the pressure on my head subsided, I could then lay back or lean forward without a problem. I began to feel more down the back of my head and not so much the top, I think because of the numbing letting up I became more aware of where it was coming from. Not sure. Anyhow, now my neck is always stiff, I still wake up with my face stiff and eyelid drooping but I'm on magnesium now so migraines are pretty much gone as well as a lot of the neuropathy. My follow up appt the doc decided to focus on other issues. But I continue to wonder what the heck. It definitely feels now like I injured myself so I'm always trying to find what to do to help it, stretches and how much working out I should or shouldn't do. I don't do weights any more at all which I think helped a lot. But I get a lot of pressure in back now and always have like ice cream headaches up and over my ear toward top of head. Very frustrating.

We have now had to take a break from docs while I get caught up on medical bills. But would really love to figure out if it's something I should continue to find a fix for, I missed a lot of work because of it.

I wanted to ask exactly what this med does for this, I had taken for a mood disorder.

CottonCandyKisses

The Gabapentin is supposed to help with nerve pain, but so far it just gives me terrible stomach pains. I decided to stop taking it last night. Right now I just take Topamax for migraines (its an anti-seziure med), its supposed to calm the nerves in my brain. It's the only thing that has helped at all with the headaches and migraines. I do go to the chiropractor to make sure something isn't out of alignment and sleep with a heating pad and try to stretch and exercise often. I think I will ask for another MRI or maybe some other type of scan. I don't want to live life like this every day.

iamthecatsass

Gabapentin is also an anti seizure, used for epilepsy. A milder form so often used with another med.
It's certainly a chicken an egg theory isn't it..does the issue in skull cause shoulder pain ir vice versa.
Can you afford a chiropractor? Just make sure they don't do any adjustments to the neck. Or a massage therapist who can really work the shoulder muscle..Have someone hold the muscle that runs along the top of the shoulder up to the neck and gently roll it. Even work their way up to the neck portion. Just don't press in on the carotid artery.
That can become tense also and it can relieve the migraine type pain if it relaxes. It helped my mom with her headaches.

CottonCandyKisses

I go to the chiropractor 1-2 times a week or some weeks not at all, depending on how I'm feeling. This week I've been twice.

Beckycm1971

I was wondering about the massage, cause my husband rubs me a lot, and did the other night focusing on my shoulder, shoulder blade area and back of head and the next morning I woke up with my head worse than before he rubbed it. So I decided I better not have him rubbing it anymore.

Good luck with all this CottenCandy, it's pretty miserable stuff for sure!

I looked up myofascial, and that definitely sounds like what I have going on, I have been trying to learn more about fibromyalgia, and reading on myofascial it said some docs believe it's the beginning of Fibromyalgia. Do you think that could be the case for you Cottencandy, or is this a very isolated issue for you?

CottonCandyKisses

Whenever I go to the Chiropractor, he suggests a massage because I usually have alot of tight muscles. But I don't like people touching me and I don't relax enough. Plus I got a massage once and I really just didn't like it! At my last appointment we had talked about fibromyalgia, but I don't have enough of the "points" to qualify. It seems like alot of my issues are muscle related...like I will have a muscle that starts spasming and pulls things out of alignment or causes headaches. It's odd.