Neuropathy

[livingwith]

I was the one that wrote the story about being in Vietnam and involved with agent orange and later in life came down with neuropathy. Today I went to the VA doctor and he checked me and again said there was no cure but only relief so he gave me pills to take and when I checked the out they are mainly for depression but he did say they would help with the neuropathy He gave me AMITRIPTYLINE HCL 25MG so if anyone is talking this please help me with whats involved with this med and the side effect...Read the full article

[diam-inc]

Hi - I'm assuming that your have all the usual neuropathy symptoms: numbness, burning, pain in mostly the forefoot. If you haven't heard of Nerve Decompression Surgery then you might want to check it out. I had it (Tarsel Tunnel Release) and got a lot of relief from the burning portion of the equation. There are a limited number of Drs in the US that does this surgery for neuropathy. Baltimore is probably the most popular but I would probably opt for St. Louis if I were doing it again. (and I would). Good luck!

[GypsyHeart]

RE: Amitriptyline 25mg:

It has been a while since you posted your question. Are you still on this med? If so how are you doing with it? Following is my experience, as well as with Gabapentin:

The first few days on Amitriptyline I felt GREAT! Pain reduction was 80%. I was able to get repairs done to my condo that I've put off for years. Despite making me sleepy, My energy level was through the ceiling for a few days.

By week two, however, I was groggy all day long. I began to take it only every second day then every third day. I then began to cut it in 1/2 but I still continued to be extremely sleepy, groggy and would stumble a lot. I then would go 3 or 4 days without taking even 1/2 of a pill and still had sudden flare ups of feeling sleepy and groggy. I stopped taking it completely, and even three weeks after stopping I still had flare ups of the side effects.

I am now on Gabapentin 100mg for three weeks. The prescription directions state to take 3 at a time, 3 times a day. After my experience with Amitriptyline I started out taking just one the first afternoon. An hour later I laid down for a nap. I woke up 8 hrs later. Goodness! I started taking two at night, two in the morning and one in the afternoon = 5 pills instead of 9 in a day. They made me sooo groggy and I stumbled a lot. I needed to hold onto the wall of my stairs to make it down in the morning. I cut back to 2,1, 1, then 1 at night and 1 in the morning. I was taking only 2 pills a day instead of the recommended 9 and still having strong side effects.

I am now cutting down to just one at night. The pain is basically still there and I'm too sleepy and stumble too much to get anything done at home (or to work). I did a lot more when I just dealt with the pain without meds. I don't seem to do well with these drugs.

I hope I can find a med that will take the edge off of the pain and still allow me to function. I've also been on Pamalor, but after a few years it didn't do anything for me anymore.

Please let me know what your experience has been.