Gabapentin for Distension & Abdominal Pain

What mild antispasmodic? I was only ever offered mebeverine!

Mebeverine was terrible drug for me despite my chemist telling me they were good. Within only a few minutes of swallowing the first tablet, it felt like I had swallowed a pebble despite the tablets not being too big. I had horrendous indigestion, increased nausea and constipation . My chemist told me these tablets were good, but they weren't for me. I stopped them after 4 days and tried over the counter Buscopan which is very mild and actually works! Mebeverine didn't improve my pain one bit, A lot of people have trouble with Mebeverine.

I agree mebeverine just left my bowel gurgling continually, it felt like i had a washing machine not a stomach! I think they should advise people to try something mild. I can't take buscopan either that doesn't touch sides.

I later read that you should not take Mebeverine if you are constipated because it is designed to bung you up and is more suitable for IBS D. The doctor who prescribed them knew I was constipated from my notes but still prescribed them anyway! I have a strange metabolism which reacts to a lot of prescribed medication. Injuries don't heal properly either because my body doesn't turn pain signals off. An expert told me that this is what had happened when I was injured after a blood test.

Hmm that sounds right unless you see the same doctor they do whatever they want. My bowel gets so stuck i can end up in hospital and yet i still get my doctor last week mention my bowels are lose. Since when? My notes say ibsc, query coeliac disease, awaiting camera test. She was silly enough to ask when my camera was and how did it go? Hello did i speak Greek, what part of not yet doesn't she understand? Ridiculous. They still try mebeverine for me, blocked bowel not loose! Grrrrr!

When I explained that Mebeverine didn't agree with me, a different doctor listened to my concerns and noted down my reactions. He was happy for me try a different antispasmodic. I did this off my own bat because I didn't want my doctor to try me out on his choice of medications in case I would be hypersensitive to them too.

However, you often find doctors don't communicate effectively with one another and so you get them all saying different things despite all of them having access to your notes.

If your doctor can only guess at a 1% chance of your lymphocitic colitis coming back, I wouldn't be happy with that because there is no certainty or guarantee with this presumption.I think if the Gabapentin is making you dizzy, I would switch to anti inflammatory painkillers instead which helps back pain very quickly and you don't have to wait to see if it works or not. Since you had dizziness before with Gabapentin, it is likely you will experience the same side effect again. There is no point in taking a medication that gives you more problems than you started with. I have recurrent back pain from an injury and painkillers work very quickly for me for long periods without side effects.

You know your own body and if you are uncomfortable with the medications you are being offered, trust your own instincts and ask about medications that less likely to cause you problems. I was offered low dose anti depressants for neuralgia and was not given any other less toxic alternatives. I was not comfortable taking the risk, so I decided to live with the pain and try heat treatment which helps to manage the pain.I got the impression that my doctor was not being straight with me about the side effects and was playing down my concerns.

Yes, I would really like to treat my gut and not my brain. I've been reading that peppermint oil can sometimes help distension and bloating, as well as a mixture of simethicone, activated charcoal, and magnesium oxide. Anyone have experience with these?

Unfortunately, peppermint oil gives me heartburn because I have GERD. Peppermint relaxes my oesophageal sphincter too much and lets acid spew out. My oesophageal sphincter is weak and causes the problem. I have no experience with any of the other remedies you mentioned. However, you could try them anyway because everyone is different and what works for some may not work for another.

I absolutely agree! A lot of doctors won't offer natural remedies because there is no money in it. I was only offered low dose antidepressants for neuralgia and was led to believe there were no natural remedies which is untrue.When I suggested painkillers, he poo pooed them because of the side effects but was supporting the idea of anti depressants which can cause even nastier reactions. I have found painkillers actually helped my neuralgia.

Hi Pippa, thank goodness! I didn't think i'd lost my mind, sorry er i mean thought i was going mad! My doctors seem to rub their hands with glee as they think they can fill me with pills. I will not take them. I have to wait 6 weeks to see ent, it's vital that i do because i know there is other forms of treatment like Botox . I have a familial history of sinus difficulties down my mum's side of the family and then my dad had facial nerves that twitched. Hmm and they can't do anything? Rubbish!!!!

To be honest, I really should have asked for an X Ray or a referral to a neurologist to find out what is going on inside my arm. I'm sure the damage would have shown up.Of course, none of these things were offered except for tablets!I was daft enough to assume that they would have had the sense to suggest further investigations.

Hopefully, your endoscopy will give you answers.

hi Pippa, i have discovered you have to be really blunt with doctors. Go back and insist on the x-ray, i tell doctors what i think i need nowadays not the other way round. Ask to see your named doctor, no-one else. Tell them the medication is doing you no good.

That sounds a good idea.

I will say this to you the same as my friend Debbie, if j have to see my counsellor, you be honest to your doctor. She often goes and doesn't mention half of what she needs.

I may be misunderstanding. Are you saying there's a Botox treatment for IBS?

I often make notes on my phone to remind myself of the points I need to mention if I have several. There is so little time to discuss anything with GPs. 15 minutes goes by so quickly.

What? That's news to me, no not as far as i know!

I agree Pippa, i often write things in phone too, my dyslexia helps my brain to forget what i need to say.

I find when I write reminders down, I have set an audible alarm and check and recheck the info I have noted down because my autism causes me read the memo wrong and sometimes I miss appointments because of it.

This is a joke but i think my brain was wired in backwatds, i have a terrible dyslexic forget all memory! It's people who make us forget just blame them!

My brain is definitely wired differently.

No. I think other people have problems not us.

I often find I am most comfortable around autistic people.

I can totally understand that. I prefer Dyslexic/autistic spectrum people and people with disabilities. More empathetic.

I think this is why I am more open with autistic people and more guarded with people who have no disabilities.

I understand you more than you think. I find people without disabilities can be blunt and misunderstand me. Stick to who and what you know, you then can't be accused of getting anything wrong. I may not have autism but i know so many people with disabilities as well as people without

I often find when I am struggling to learn a practical task such as using cooking equipment, I am accused of not trying because I can't follow verbal instructions and no matter how often I am shown, I still get it wrong. I end up having to go through the rigmarole of explaining that while I want to learn, my brain and hands don't coordinate. I really shouldn't have to do this. Sometimes, with a lot of determination I learn the task eventually but sometimes not at all. I think I am more patient with myself than others are with me.

It's people outside those you don't know. I struggle to explain to people that under stress i can not remember what to do and which sequence to follow. I often mucked up using the new photocopier at work because i couldn't co-ordinate or sequence the instructions! My boss didn't understand this. I was trying to do my job on top of watching my dad die. I resigned in the end my job become too much!

This is one of the reasons I can't work apart from not passing interviews. I simply can't learn the job at the speed I am expected to.