Gabitril??
Question:
something wonderfully witty: Any of you ever tried, or use Gabitril? I have been on it for a little over a week now. I take it at bedtime. Since starting I have been having strange dreams, and waking up a few times per night. Also, it seems that my headaches have changed from one-sided to generally all over (feels more like rebound pain). Plus, I feel like crap when I get up in the mornings. Would like to add that I started taking Norco (10Mg Hydrocodone) at about the same time, but I have taken that before, and don’t remember having these problems. I have even tried taking it earlier in the evening….. with no luck!?!? Any ideas, suggestions? TIA, Kev
Yup it is one of the bullets in the gun. It is more for anxiety then anything else in my particular case. Supposed to not be "addictive" like valium or Xannax.
Response:
I took Gabitril, a relative of Neurontin (Gabapentin), for one month. I became semi suicidal and was told to immediately stop taking it. When I stopped, all the anxiety and bad thoughts went away. Gabitril is an anti seizure med in the same class as Zonegran, Topamax, Depakote, and Neurontin. Anti seizure meds are used "off label" more than 80% of the time, making drug companies millions of dollars. After trying me on all of these meds over a years time, my neurologist decided to have me take a sleep study. Turns out, I have a sleep disorder that he thinks is causing my migraines. Now I’ve been through all of the sleep aids, Ambien, Halcion, Restoril, Lunesta, and most recently trying Seroquel, an anti psychotic that is being used off label for insomnia, and for which my insurance company won’t pay. One months worth costs $135. I will take it for a month, and if my migraines decrease, I might pursue getting a psych doctor to write my Rx so the damn insurance company will cover the med. I know that involves getting labeled and may have possible consequences in the future. So I will not do this lightly. Karen in San Diego – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Any of you ever tried, or use Gabitril? I have been on it for a little over a week now. I take it at bedtime. Since starting I have been having strange dreams, and waking up a few times per night. Also, it seems that my headaches have changed from one-sided to generally all over (feels more like rebound pain). Plus, I feel like crap when I get up in the mornings. Would like to add that I started taking Norco (10Mg Hydrocodone) at about the same time, but I have taken that before, and don’t remember having these problems. I have even tried taking it earlier in the evening….. with no luck!?!? Any ideas, suggestions? TIA, Kev
Response:
I took Gabitril, but never noticed anything…and I’m pretty sensitive, but then again, it didn’t do anyting for my migraines either. I stopped taking it. I’m back on Zonegran and now on 300 mg a day. It helps me sleep, but not noticing any effect on my migraines though. Michelle
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Any of you ever tried, or use Gabitril? I have been on it for a little over a week now. I take it at bedtime. Since starting I have been having strange dreams, and waking up a few times per night. Also, it seems that my headaches have changed from one-sided to generally all over (feels more like rebound pain). Plus, I feel like crap when I get up in the mornings. Would like to add that I started taking Norco (10Mg Hydrocodone) at about the same time, but I have taken that before, and don’t remember having these problems. I have even tried taking it earlier in the evening….. with no luck!?!? Any ideas, suggestions? TIA, Kev
Response:
Any of you ever tried, or use Gabitril? I have been on it for a little over a week now. I take it at bedtime. Since starting I have been having strange dreams, and waking up a few times per night. Also, it seems that my headaches have changed from one-sided to generally all over (feels more like rebound pain). Plus, I feel like crap when I get up in the mornings. Would like to add that I started taking Norco (10Mg Hydrocodone) at about the same time, but I have taken that before, and don’t remember having these problems. I have even tried taking it earlier in the evening….. with no luck!?!? Any ideas, suggestions? TIA, Kev
Response:
I do know of some people that were prescribed Topamax as an aid for weight loss, just because it is a common side effect of the drug. These people are don’t have seizures or migraine, just need to loose weight. Karen in San Diego – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I took Gabitril, a relative of Neurontin (Gabapentin), for one month. I became semi suicidal and was told to immediately stop taking it. When I stopped, all the anxiety and bad thoughts went away. Gabitril is an anti seizure med in the same class as Zonegran, Topamax, Depakote, and Neurontin. Anti seizure meds are used "off label" more than 80% of the time, making drug companies millions of dollars. After trying me on all of these meds over a years time, my neurologist decided to have me take a sleep study. Turns out, I have a sleep disorder that he thinks is causing my migraines. Just as a side note, while I know many drugs, especially the anti-seizures are indeed used off label often, Topamax is *not* off label as a migraine preventative anymore. FDA has officially approved it as on label use. This is not to comment about its effectiveness. It is working for me, others have had no luck and bad side effects. The old YMMV. But, it is not off label for migraine prevention. Still, I had to have it *pre-certified* by the doctor for the insurance before the pharmacy could fill at the insurance rate. I learned this, of course, when I went to have it filled. Wouldn’t you think the doc writing the script is pre-cert enough? I had to pay the full price, the pharmacy kindly did all the phoning of the doc and insurance and took care of the "paperwork", then reimbursed me when I went in for the refill (I could have gone in for the reimbursement as soon as they got it certified, 3 days later, but I just waited) How the heck is a doctor supposed to keep track of which drugs for which insurance plans, regular vs HMO’s etc. need pre-certification? I looked through everything I had, no list of any drugs requiring pre-cert. Seems stupid to me. Either they cover it or they don’t. Apparently not. I also had the option of waiting for the pre-certification to go through before starting the medication. However, since migraines were fully in control of my life by that time, I was prepared to pay the full price of the medication to try it anyway I went ahead. At least my CVS was nice enough not to push it back on me to get it all done, like the nearby W*Gr**n’s would have done. Chalk one up for going to the same pharmacy and same pharmacist for the last 20+ years. Nat Now I’ve been through all of the sleep aids, Ambien, Halcion, Restoril, Lunesta, and most recently trying Seroquel, an anti psychotic that is being used off label for insomnia, and for which my insurance company won’t pay. One months worth costs $135. I will take it for a month, and if my migraines decrease, I might pursue getting a psych doctor to write my Rx so the damn insurance company will cover the med. I know that involves getting labeled and may have possible consequences in the future. So I will not do this lightly. Karen in San Diego Any of you ever tried, or use Gabitril? I have been on it for a little over a week now. I take it at bedtime. Since starting I have been having strange dreams, and waking up a few times per night. Also, it seems that my headaches have changed from one-sided to generally all over (feels more like rebound pain). Plus, I feel like crap when I get up in the mornings. Would like to add that I started taking Norco (10Mg Hydrocodone) at about the same time, but I have taken that before, and don’t remember having these problems. I have even tried taking it earlier in the evening….. with no luck!?!? Any ideas, suggestions? TIA, Kev
Response:
Oh dear…the side effects were so bad, I cannot even imagine. Michelle
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -I do know of some people that were prescribed Topamax as an aid for weight loss, just because it is a common side effect of the drug. These people are don’t have seizures or migraine, just need to loose weight. Karen in San Diego I took Gabitril, a relative of Neurontin (Gabapentin), for one month. I became semi suicidal and was told to immediately stop taking it. When I stopped, all the anxiety and bad thoughts went away. Gabitril is an anti seizure med in the same class as Zonegran, Topamax, Depakote, and Neurontin. Anti seizure meds are used "off label" more than 80% of the time, making drug companies millions of dollars. After trying me on all of these meds over a years time, my neurologist decided to have me take a sleep study. Turns out, I have a sleep disorder that he thinks is causing my migraines. Just as a side note, while I know many drugs, especially the anti-seizures are indeed used off label often, Topamax is *not* off label as a migraine preventative anymore. FDA has officially approved it as on label use. This is not to comment about its effectiveness. It is working for me, others have had no luck and bad side effects. The old YMMV. But, it is not off label for migraine prevention. Still, I had to have it *pre-certified* by the doctor for the insurance before the pharmacy could fill at the insurance rate. I learned this, of course, when I went to have it filled. Wouldn’t you think the doc writing the script is pre-cert enough? I had to pay the full price, the pharmacy kindly did all the phoning of the doc and insurance and took care of the "paperwork", then reimbursed me when I went in for the refill (I could have gone in for the reimbursement as soon as they got it certified, 3 days later, but I just waited) How the heck is a doctor supposed to keep track of which drugs for which insurance plans, regular vs HMO’s etc. need pre-certification? I looked through everything I had, no list of any drugs requiring pre-cert. Seems stupid to me. Either they cover it or they don’t. Apparently not. I also had the option of waiting for the pre-certification to go through before starting the medication. However, since migraines were fully in control of my life by that time, I was prepared to pay the full price of the medication to try it anyway I went ahead. At least my CVS was nice enough not to push it back on me to get it all done, like the nearby W*Gr**n’s would have done. Chalk one up for going to the same pharmacy and same pharmacist for the last 20+ years. Nat Now I’ve been through all of the sleep aids, Ambien, Halcion, Restoril, Lunesta, and most recently trying Seroquel, an anti psychotic that is being used off label for insomnia, and for which my insurance company won’t pay. One months worth costs $135. I will take it for a month, and if my migraines decrease, I might pursue getting a psych doctor to write my Rx so the damn insurance company will cover the med. I know that involves getting labeled and may have possible consequences in the future. So I will not do this lightly. Karen in San Diego Any of you ever tried, or use Gabitril? I have been on it for a little over a week now. I take it at bedtime. Since starting I have been having strange dreams, and waking up a few times per night. Also, it seems that my headaches have changed from one-sided to generally all over (feels more like rebound pain). Plus, I feel like crap when I get up in the mornings. Would like to add that I started taking Norco (10Mg Hydrocodone) at about the same time, but I have taken that before, and don’t remember having these problems. I have even tried taking it earlier in the evening….. with no luck!?!? Any ideas, suggestions? TIA, Kev
