Finding the cause of illness is not that much different than solving a mystery, ya know?
Or a Shakespearean play, not that dissimilar to the Comedy of Errors!
Or getting your Sherlock on; using deductive reasoning.
Acquiring and assembling all the information leading up to the crime/illness, and verifying plausibility, true?
Using reliable sources.
And so I did.
My spondylosis and spinal stenosis from my cervical(neck) through to my thoracic (chest) region had caused me significant pain and while waiting for the Radiofrequency Ablation in those areas of my spine I had few choices of pain meds, due to having recent CKD, chronic kidney disease, and blood work that stated my liver enzymes were not in the normal range. I had previously bleeding ulcers from non-steroid anti-inflammatory, and Tylenol is not recommended with elevated liver enzymes. And so my doctors had found that my anti-spasmodic medication gabapentin, the generic of Neurontin used for epilepsy, had worked not only on my severe spasms, but also on my neuropathy pain, so over the years that had become my goto medication for any severe pain I had to deal with like herniated discs even MS pain, etc. And since this was really painful so 1800 mg. of the gabapentin was agreed on strength. Mind you that I had weaned/tapered myself from a previously very high dosages and that I had eventually maintained a mere two hundred milligrams for several months until last June till I was completely off of it then! Fast forward to this fall, actually that was wrong my neck last June did not require the gabapentin, the pain meds were initiated by my suggestion to the pain doctor who felt I would need something and so I believe it was in October that I quickly returned to full force relying on the gabapentin. This is a medication that they are recently trying to classify it as strong as an opioid!
I never had an issue with it over the years I had been on all different dosages and weaned/tapered myself off without any problems! But that is just it you must TAPER off of it or you might end up in the hospital due to severe seizures!
So now at a eighteen hundred milligram dosage that I take three 600 mg. each day till tonight when I will be extracting one of the 600 mg.
Here's the rub, I may have gone back on to the medication too quickly that then caused the nystagmus and tremor. Oddly enough I did with my ridiculous dancing eyes and tapping fingers scourer the Internet trying so darn hard to find out why this had happened.
And I might have, the very thing that even the pharmacists concluded is supposed to help these two newest forever symptoms on the laundry list called Multiple Sclerosis symptoms of nystagmus and tremor might very well be responsible for creating this whole enchilada... WAS THE GABAPENTIN! Yes, also creating the need for infusions due to NEW symptoms, hospital visit due to too high glucose caused by them and then when the infusions did not appear to work since my, tremor and dancing eyes got worse, needing blood work and an MRI that I had severe spasms during! My blood work was back and my kidneys that had gone from a 70 GFR more normal prior to all this in October, below 60 is not normal, mine had plummeted to 32 in November due to the infusions and untreated sooner of my high glucose and a glucose that rose to nearly 400! Now my GFR is better at 57. I forgot to ask about my glucose. I thought the gabapentin was the culprit early on, but many nurses from each doctors' offices as well as the pharmacy insisted that it wasn't. Who am I but a stupid impatient patient with way too much time on my hands! I finally came up with validation today! You can see it below. I had been also calling the pain center doctor and my neuro's office for the last two days, and one finally called back!
And the WINNER IS... Dr. Montoya's nurse in the neurologist's office, Angie once again, the infusion nurse! And it was decided to drop like a rock the bedtime six hundred milligram dosage, having me swiftly go down to 1200 mg. for today! And the new dosage until...?I forgot to ask, there are always Mondays! It is weird how specific the medical item was below almost describing me to a "t", hey wait my name begins with a "T"!
CRAZY! Below is what I found! My validation.
Who have Nystagmus with Gabapentin - from FDA reports
Nystagmus is found among people who take Gabapentin, especially for people who are female, 60+ old , have been taking the drug for < 1 month, also take medication Gilenya, and have Multiple sclerosis. This study is created by eHealthMe based on reports of 134,139 people who have side effects when taking Gabapentin from FDA, and is updated regularly.
How to use this study: bring a copy to your health teams to ensure drug risks and benefits are fully discussed and understood.
Who is eHealthMe: we are a data analysis company who specializes in health care industry. Our original studies have been referenced on 500+ peer-reviewed medical publications, including The Lancet, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, and EANO. On eHealthMe, you can research drugs and monitor them (see testimonials). If you find eHealthMe useful, please help us to spread the words below or leave us a testimonial.
I did better than bringing it to my health team I brought it to you world!
In reality I believe going back on the gabapentin too quickly is what is the cause. Previously I had had no issues with this valuable necessary medication for so many!
Happy good night all!
Count those blessings and we will too!
And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!
Oh that is right one pill less a week is non-dangerous tapering, but you must always consult a physician for yourself or loved one to validate what is right for you or them!
Mystery almost solved, still waiting on the MRI results, and the rest of my blood work!
Wish me luck!
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