gabapentin for pain, worried it will make depression worse

[strawberryfool]

Hi, all. I've just been diagnosed with shingles. Not really painful so far (one week into the rash), although it's hard telling because i have chronic muscle/soft tissue pain, and I hurt a lot anyway. I have more or less lifelong problems with depression and anxiety (I'm 55), and I struggle fairly often against suicidal thoughts, but I'm not taking any meds for depression or anxiety. I thought the last thing on earth I needed was post-herpetic neuralgia, a painful condition that can follow shingles and last for months or years with no cure. My doctor suggested I start gabapentin now for pain, but when I read some of the side effects, I thought that maybe the last thing I need is to risk having my depression or anxiety worsened or to have anything pushing me more toward suicidal ideation. I'm also very leery of anything that might be hard to get off of. My apologies if I'm breaking protocol or otherwise being annoying. Any insights appreciated.

Edited March 7, 2016 by strawberryfool

[jt07]

I actually took gabapentin for anxiety and depression. It didn't do much for my depression and helped a little with my anxiety though I think I was taking a low dose. My feeling is that it is unlikely to make things worse and might make things better for you. I would be willing to try it again if offered.

[strawberryfool]

Thank you! That's an encouraging report.

[melissaw72]

I'm sorry you have shingles!

Maybe you won't have any side effects from the neurontin (except the good effects that you want to help with the pain). 

TBH, I had a hard time going off of neurontin.  It is doable, but at a slow pace.  I had been on it for years though so that might have probably been the reason why it took so long for me to go off of it. 

For the time being though, it might offer you some relief from your pain.

[strawberryfool]

Thanks for the good words and for sharing your experience! 

[San]

Shingles sounds like super suck. I hope you get some relief, I've heard its painful.

Gabapentin is used as a second or third line mood stabilizer, and often used for anxiety. I found it threw me into mixed episodes, but helped my anxiety. Short term shouldn't do much. It should help with the pain and other issues.

Gabapentin has to be tapered down, but it isn't addictive/cause dependence, which is why its often used for anxiety. The tapering is done relatively quickly, there is no withdrawal or discontinuation side effects. The tapering is done because there is a slight possibility of seizure with immediate discontinuation, but its pretty low in those that don't have seizures, and this is common for any med in this class (like depakote, lamictal, etc) It's mostly a precaution.

So I wouldn't worry much. It's easy to come off of. It's not habit-forming. And its supposed to be great for pain and the other bad stuff you mentioned.

I hope you get relief from the shingles, and it goes away quickly.

[melissaw72]

FWIW I had a very big problem weaning down on neurontin; it had to be very slow for me... so YMMV.  Short term might not be as much of a problem.

[strawberryfool]

Thanks for the information, San; one of the things that worried me about the gabapentin was the need to taper down. (Although, @melissaw72, I have to heed your experience too, because I often have worse reactions to things than doctors expect.)

I talked to my doctor some more, and she says if I can handle the discomfort now, there's no need to start on gabapentin (i.e., it's not something that has to be started early in order to work). I'm in some pain, but because of existing muscle pains in the area, it's really hard for me to figure out how much to attribute to the shingles, and the pain itself does not seem to be making me more depressed so far. Plus it's early times, so maybe the pain really will go away after another few weeks. So for now I'm hanging tight and taking it day by day. Thanks again to everyone for the information!

Edited March 11, 2016 by strawberryfool