Feedback on Amitriptyline & Gabapentin?

I have tried gabapentin it worked very well for nerve pain but the side effects in my case was migraines . Had to stop taking it.

Its worth a try many of these drugs work very well. I hope they help you thru the phn from shingles.

I took pregabalin and amitriptyline when I had shingles but not when I had PHN as that went on for months,(not pain but itching eye as I had it in my head, forehead and eye)  no side effects at all from the pills, and  the amitriptyline helped so much especially with helping me to feel calmer and to sleep well!

I also tried gabapentin, but could not handle the side effects. I was on amitriptyline a few years back for other nerve pain and gained 20 lbs. So I decided not to take it again. I ended up taking Trazadone as I have issues sleeping and it also seemed to help the pain during the break out. I just ended by third breakout and so happy to not be exhausted everyday! The snow is finally melting and the sun is shining today! Going to get the new vaccine once it is available!! Hope it is next year. I also keep taking Lysine and an immune system booster drops in my water. Good wishes and kind thoughts to everyone out there suffering .

I'm on my 4th week of having Shingles,I was prescribed an anti virol and Amitripyline which sends a message to the brain to halt the pain,however, it carries with it lethargy ,I'm 70 years old and have never felt the need to sleep during the day till now that is, I reduced the Amitripyline down to one last night,I was taking two, I woke this morning in terrible pain,my Shingles is right collarbone,the pain is top of my arm and my neck,I don't want to increase the Amitripyline as I don't like the sluggishness of the daytime hours,it's a vicious circle 

Hello. This is my experience. I was started on neurontin early on after my shingles for pain. I had a bad side effect. It made me very hoarse. I read online that it can happen. So after that they switched me to lyrica. Unfortunately my voice didn't improve.I didn't think the lyrica was helping and was ambivalent when I ran out one weekend and WOW I had pain. So it works for me. Later I had amytriptiline added to my list of PHN meds. It made my ankles and legs swell. So I was switched to nortriptyline. I was started on a lower dose. When I saw a neurologist for PHN to see if she had anything to recommend or offer and she went up on the nortriptyline. I was skeptical again and ran out one weekend and again I was hurtin' for certain. So both meds work for me. The neurologist added something she wanted me to take to help the nerve heal

...it's Alpha Lipoic Acid. I take it 2x a day. You can read about it online. The hoarseness didn't go away till I had PHN for over a year. My taste buds are totally different. I used to love spicy food and now cannot tolerate but a tiny, tiny bit. Most things taste very salty to me. The only food that tastes normal to me are sweets. Candy, chocolate, fruit...you get the idea. On these meds I have gained a bunch of weight. I am on several meds that cause weight gain, actually. Meds for type 2 bipolar and depression. I'm hungry all the time. I take the nortriptyline at night because it makes me sleepy. Gives me dry mouth, too. But none of my side effects are bad enough to stop taking nortriptyline or lyrica. I think I'm on 50mg of the nortriptyline and 600 total a day of lyrica(every 8 hrs) . I think that's my dose. I'm not at home to look. Wish you the best. Good luck.

I will also add my two cents. I have used Amitriptyline in the past and it worked for a time, then I kept having to increase the dosage. Also a lot of weight gain. I can not take Gabapentin, it gives me various side effects. Currently for lack of sleep etc. I have been using Trazadone. I have not had any side effects and feel fairly clear headed in the morning. Taking Lysine daily as well as Vitamin B, Turmeric and eating as clean as possible has helped the most. I started drinking Chuga Tea and I think it has also made a difference to my energy level.Good luck and hope you find your answers. Gayleen

 

Following this discussion. I also got an Rx of gabapentin. It scares me! I don't feel I need it at this time but if it comes to a point I do, the side effects are crazy. I'm curious to see if anyone has good reports about taking it as I've only heard horror stories

My wife is on 1800mg daily Gabapentin now. She has no serious side effects but does have occasional balance issue, slight eye focus problem and comments about occasional hot flush face. She has been at 1800mg daily now for over a month.