Gabapentin

Hi, I have been prescribed Stertraline 25mg, I'm on day 5 now and my tinnitus is very loud and has been for the last three days.I can't find anything online about this, only that it can help to quieten it .Don't know wether I should stop taking it.Anybody else had this problem?

But clinicians are already concerned about long term effects they are observing, which is why now when it is prescribed rather than OTC its often a half dose.

They still think it works less if not taken regularly but that is considered down to frequency not dose, so where you see more cautous prescribing now, it isnt 2 tabs twice a day, its 1 tab 4 times a day IYKWIM.

Sorry Bradfordlass I've posted on your thread by mistake

Katyj youre on quite a small dose of that drug (which is usual to start off with). That particular med takes adjusting to both when you start taking it and when you stop. Its not unusual to have side effects initially that fade. Speak to your GP I imagine with sertraline they will say give it a few more weeks but no harm in letting them know. A phone back would prob do rather than a full appointment.

Dont stop taking sertraline without your GPs supervision

Notanan I must admit, I am astonished at how much Calpol some parents give their children. I'm not talking about only today, but going back to when mine were all small. A bottle use to last me years and often went out of date but some parents practically bought a bottle with their weekly shop!

The 500g x 4 versus 1000g x 2 is an interesting point. Does the amount of paracetamol in the body get up to therapeutic dosage, I wonder? Plus there's the matter of compliance - the more doses people need to take of anything, the less likely they are to comply.

To take the conversation in another direction, our vet had given my cats long-acting antibiotic injections for infection. They last about 10 days. I commented that that would be useful in humans too and he said it was actually developed for use in people but they found the effect only lasts 10 hours! I think he said it also doesn't work in dogs, or maybe rabbits. Bodies, human or otherwise, are weird!

Wow that IS interesting re the antibiotics.

Do you remember medised? I remember it being a staple beside the calpol in a lot of homes and considered quite safe! I never used it myself but was considered odd, even once called "cruel", for not dishing it out like my peers

Now imagine telling a young mum today how frequently people sedated their kids for car journeys, minor colds etc... they wouldnt believe you.

I think we will look back on the way calpol is used (e.g. for bumps and grazes) the same way in the future. Although it will IMO always have its place.

Yes, Medised! My adult dd with a baby is astounded that you could even buy it. It was quite useful for travel sickness though, which she was prone to. Eventually I found that if she wore earphones with music playing, that was just as effective.

Any sedative-type medicine had the opposite effect on my other daughter. She'd be going round at ceiling height for hours afterwards.

I was given Phenergan to make my daughter sleep ,I think you could buy it over the counter.I didn't ask for it,the health visitor asked me how her sleep pattern was and when I told her baby was awake most of every night this bottle of stuff was given to me.She told me I could have it on prescription for long term use .I didn't ask the doctor as I knew" bad sleepers" were a family thing and didn't want to drug her .I'm sure many young mums would have been only too happy to use it though as sleep deprivation is not something to welcome .

Cherrytree59 Thank you for your advice.

I do, usually, have a healthy diet (no processed foods, just vegetables, fish, fruits and very occasionally chicken) but at the moment I'm hardly eating at all and have lost several kilos since mid-January.

I also eat approximately half the amount most people put on their plates. This is by no means my attempt at weight loss, I long ago jumped off that particular band wagon. It's just that over the years my appetite has naturally decreased.

Notanan2
I've been a researcher for decades (had to be, to write my books) and am very interested in your links and information, for which many thanks.

I don't take paracetamol in my normal life as my arthritis responds so well to MSM. Once I kick this nerve problem, the paracetamol will be stopped.

I took the first Gabapentin last night, buoyed up by all your support.
I am truly grateful for all your input. Thank you.

SueDonim, many years ago, my three year old son was experiencing sleepless nights due to his severe asthma and his consultant prescribed Phenergan.
Just like your daughter, it had the opposite effect. He thought he could fly, proceded to ride a trike down a flight of stone steps and ended up with a black eye and smashed nose. We experienced a number of similar 'episodes', before we realised Phenergan was the culprit.

Yikes to thinking he could fly, Marydoll! I suppose the likes of Phenergan & Medised were considered then as the modern - and safer - version of gin or whisky in the baby's bottle. Hmm...

I've taken 1800mg per day of Gabapentin since 2010. No side effects. No weight gain or appetite increase. Liver and kidney function unaffected.

When my twins were babies they were bad sleepers, I was exhausted being awake with them for nights on end ,My GP prescribed Phenergan and it did make them sleep , but I watched them sleeping blissfully,but they were in a restless sleep, twitchy ,jerky movements, I thought that's not normal and I blame the Phenergan , I just didn't like the idea of giving it to them anymore,

I remember being given Phenegran when I was in early stages of labour ( 40 years ago) with my first child. It was given in a combination with Pethidine . There was also a local pharmacist who apparently made his own " teething medicine" I was always to wary to buy it, but seemingly parents came from miles around for it as it was so good !! No idea what was in it, but it allegeldly made the children sleep !

DH developed what was later diagnosed as a trapped nerve at the top of his arm. For six weeks he was in excruciating pain, couldn't think, couldn't drive, couldn't sleep. I had to attend all medical appointments to answer questions because he couldn't. The only pain killer the GP offered was paracetamol, which was totally ineffective. We were then offered a consultant's appointment - in another six weeks time. We went privately and were seen a few days later.

The consultant immediately prescribed gabapentine and the pain was finally under control, by that time DH was beyond caring about side effects. The gabapentine did make him feel a bit spaced out and whoozy, but that was all, but anything was better than the pain.

Bear in mind that the leaflets that come with the pills have to list every possible side effect that anyone has ever suffered, the probability of suffering from other than a few of the milder of these, if any, is remote. You then need to balance these against the severity of the pain. DH considered a feeling of wooziness a small price to pay for the pain relief.

He was on Gabapentene for about six weeks and stopped without problem as soon as the cause of the arm pain had been sorted.