Neurontin Redux

So my new GP has started me on Neurontin 300mg 3xD (I hate three times a day---so difficult to remember that middle dose, but I can do it)**. I wasn't expecting it, but since my first dose, I'm now worried about sleepiness. My body is telling me it's nappy nap time, and honestly, I haven't been awake that long. And I've had a Red Bull. You do the math.

I've taken Neurontin before for my migraines. That time, it was ineffective until I got up to 2700mg a day (that's close to three grams), then it did the strange thing of working for 3 days and then not working for 3 days. That continued for three months until it quit entirely, and I had one episode where I told my husband to hide the guns. Part of me was in utter despair, the other part was like, "what the hell? life is good right now... nothing's really wrong... why do I feel like this?" Then it stopped working, I came off it, and my feelings returned to normal. Yikes! Luckily, I'm not at that level now.

I'm gonna have to call the pharmacist and ask if the side effects will fade and if so, how long it will take. He told me earlier today that it should be effective for my neuropathic pain in about 7-14 days (but my doctor would probably want to keep me on it longer before giving up if I found it didn't work).

I'm not so worried about it not working now. It's working. Nappy time.

But will it work on what we want it to work on without making me Sleeping Beauty? Jury's still out.

Phone call. Then nap. lol

[Update]

Well, it's not gonna work on the migraines, that's for sure! Surprisingly, I love what it's doing for my mood. It's giving me longer time to think clearly before I open my mouth. I'll stay on it for that reason alone, regardless of what it does for my pain! Hopefully that desire won't complicate pain treatment down the road. Like my body isn't a black box enough... Ha! (Black box is a programming term where you're testing a program for functionality, but have no idea what's going on underneath.)

At Microsoft, we had a saying, "you're turning a pig into a porcupine..." The story was: say you've got a three-legged pig. You build a prosthetic leg. It works okay, but you want to do better. You add another prosthetic leg, and another, and another until the pig looks like a porcupine. It's the idea that just adding stuff to fix a problem can end up being a problem of its own.

So, lots of stuff to deal with (not being able to drive is not constructive to my life, but that may pass) and lots of stuff to think about.

My pharmacy is in my corner. I hope to bring this doctor in as well, but it's a courtship. He's only met me once and has now had two phone calls from me. One to get me on the medication (he forgot) and now one saying essentially, "Whoa, nelly! Too much!" I can only hope he sees me as responsible and not a bother. I don't want to be overwhelimg with my information, but I don't want to be seen as withholding either. I also want to use my medication safely and wisely.

If I were into recreational loopiness, this would be pretty awesome. Me, I'd rather pay for the amusement park ride. I am not of the opinion that my body is a chemical playground. No thank you. One, I'm fragile. Two, time and a place: having a beer at a birthday or wine at Thanksgiving and Christmas, sure. Maybe a margarita with 'the girls' after a particularly stressful week. But not all the time. Especially since I need to keep a close eye on my symptoms. I like and need to have my wits about me.

**Doc has lowered me to 2xD. Awesome.

Until then. Nap time.