my doctor is adding neurontin as my carbaazepine is no longer working as it should. What can I expect, do you really gain lots of weight? What are your side effects
I have ATN, GPN and HFS, and am doing the reverse, started with gabapentin because of initial problems with carbamazepine. Got up to 3,600 but it still wasn’t doing the trick so now I am adding trileptal which is a first cousin of carbamazepine and so far so good, except for the usual floating-like-boat brainless feeling the first few days of successive upping the trileptal (I am knocking back the gabapeton a bit as I go.
The good news is I get a few more hours 80% pain free before it sets in for the day and if I’m really quiet can make that last even longer. So that’s a good thing to look forward to:).
But yes, I have gained a bit of weight. Not sure if I am retaining water or its a shift in metabolism or its just because for the first time in a couple of years I actually feel hungry! Initially I lost 20pounds over six months. Not crying over a bit of gain at this point but hope it doesn’t go overboard. Mostly just really pleased to have more hours in the day.
I take carbamazepine & neurontin, my neurontin dose is only 900 at night, no weight gain for me at that dose. 
I started on carbamazepine..then later had neurotin added to it. It has helped a lot with the pain...i actually get some pain free days now, and when i do have flare ups they aren't as bad. But..yeah...i've gained some weight. My level of hunger has changed and my ability to control myself has as well. I can "be good" most of the day and stick to a healthy eating plan...but afternoons and evenings. *sigh* It's like i have a compulsion to eat. Plus, as mentioned previously, i think some of it is maybe water retention, as i've gained more weight that i think the food would cause.
But...and this is just me...i'd rather be fat. The pain for me was so all consuming that i was, seriously, making plans and considering suicide. So i'd rather be fat than in that kind of pain. I've been "heavy" all my life, so a little more jiggle in my wiggle is a small price, in my mind, to pay. I understand that some people don't think like that...and i understand that. I'm just saying, for me...i'll take it over pain anyday.
Wishing you peace and relief
~Mistee
I used to take nuerontin (gabapentin) and tegretol(carbamazepine) to lower my atypical facial pain (TN2). I found the the neurontin more effective than the tegretol, but both cause severe drowsiness for me. My breathing also became somewhat labored under the neurontin. The tegretol made me more forgetful. I did not find that the neurontin made me gain weight, but I am overweight to begin with, though I would not have minded noticing added weight if the drugs worked better. I was told tegretol works better with those with TN1 than TN2.
Hi Sluggo
I took both Neurontin and Gabapentin before my MVD. I didn't gain any weight, however, the high doses I was on (1600 mgs and 1800 mgs respectively) made me feel as if I was watching the world through a net curtain. On many occasions I could not work out simple tasks which I had completed many times in the past and my memory, especialy short term, was suffering. I struggled to keep up with conversations. Reading and retaining information was impossible. At that time I was also taking Baclofen and Amatriptyline, so my side effects were probably determined by that cocktail of drugs. Hope this helps.
Regards
Jim
Just a note Sluggo: I have lost most of the initial weight gain so I think it was my body adjusting.
Jim: great to hear the MVD worked. I am waiting to see a NS but it takes forever here in Canada…
I too struggle on the combination and am always asking myself: What do I do next. I love it when I wake up in the morning remembering what my clear mind felt like, try to hold that as I stumble through the rest of the day:)
I am taking 2700mg of neurontin and 800mg of tegretol a day and have been for a very long time it feels like. I had an mvd last July and another one 5 weeks ago. I have gained about 40lbs in the last year and a half. Of course I’m not sure how much is water, how much can be blamed on the meds, and how much is because I’ve been so fatigued ive been in bed a lot over that period of time. After my first mvd I did start Pilates and started losing some of the weight before the pain came back and I had to have this second mvd. I agree with whoever said self control seems to be much harder. I’ve always been very thin my whole life (5’10" and 135-140lbs) so this weight gain has been very hard for me. I’ve really isolated myself so that other people don’t see me like this. I have stretch marks from the weight gain. I’m not going to lie, it’s depressing. I’m just now learning to accept it, and decided I would rather have some pain control and be chubby (ok I’m fat!) than endure the horrible pain. I just hope the pain starts to die down so I can wean off these meds.
Even though that’s a very honest account of my experience, medications affect everyone differently, so you may gain no weight at all. Also, you may not be on such a high dosage. My point is, don’t be scared off by my post, and like I said, I’d take the weight gain over the pain anyway.
I was on 1800 of neurontin and I gained 45 lbs and felt extremely stupid all the time:( was also on trileptal. I didn't eat more but my doctor said I didn't have to to gain weight on these meds.