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        Cluster Headache Help and Support >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies >>  Neurontin Update - Swerkin
        
(Message started by: Batch on Sep 17^th, 2006, 8:37am)

Title: Neurontin Update - Swerkin
Post by Batch on Sep 17^th, 2006, 8:37am

Hi to Moderators and All,

Well it’s been 10 days and Neurontin (gabapentin) is still working great! The 900 mg/day TID regiment appears to have the right amount of therapeutic effect in controlling my CH. I’ve not been totally free but the few attacks that I’ve had were minor KIP 3-4, very controllable with hydration or a minute or two of O2, and a direct result of not dosing on time. Two of the attacks resulted from a deliberate delay in dosing following acupuncture to see if the treatments were working. The CH “burn through” followed some shadowing and came around 10 hours after the last gabapentin in both cases so it’s clear the cycle is not over and they’re still there… I’ve also had a couple of attacks while sleeping but they were evidently muted to a level that did not wake me fully, and it was easy to roll over and go back to sleep. What a treat. Sleep and a feeling of control have done wonders for me during this cycle. Thanks to Catherine, SMACK, and Charlotte for the comments.

V/R, Batch

Title: Re: Neurontin Update - Swerkin
Post by Charlotte on Sep 17^th, 2006, 10:51am

Welcome back, Batch. Do you have spring & fall cycles?

I'm glad the O2 is working for the shadows. So you tested the timing of the gabapentin to see if it was directly related to your success, and it was. That is important to know.

I'm just now getting up to 700 mg gabapentin a day. I also use 2 ml X 3 o r4 daily of liquid kudzu extract, and 75 mg time release Indocin X2 daily.

Thanks for the update. Come back sometime and join the lightheartedness in the general chat, We have some good jokes, too, and a supporter's sections in case you have a loved one who needs a little help coping.

Charlotte

Title: Re: Neurontin Update - Swerkin
Post by Batch on Sep 17^th, 2006, 8:30pm

Hi Charlotte,

Thanks for the note. For me, gabapentin has been as regular as clockwork and the 900 mg/day TID is working very well. If I miss a dose, shadowing followed by an attack comes 10 to 12 hours after the last dose. There's a good product information pdf you can pull down from neurontin.com that gives the clearance rates and half-life of ~ 6 hrs. Gaba appears to act as both a prophy as well as an abortive. I've taken it a KIP-3 and it aborted the CH in less than 10 minutes without O2.

I normally have a spring cycle of 6 to 8 weeks. However, I've been on rapamycin for an unrelated eye condition and I think it's had a mild prophylactic effect and also shifted my cycle to start in early August.

Good luck with the gabapentin. I'll give the lightheartedness section a try.

V/R, Batch