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| gabapentin chemical structure - RUN!! |
Gabapentin was originally discovered by the Japanese 40 years ago, who sold it to Parke-Davis, which became Warner-Lambert, which was then bought by Pfizer. So now Pfizer is responsible for this disaster.
There has been ample literature about the side-effects of gabapentin (for example, here and here) and lots of publicity about the fines that these companies paid for illegally marketing this drug, like here.
My own personal experience with the drug is an eye-opener.
I had surgery on my feet to remove two pinched nerves (one in each foot) 7 years ago. Lingering pain in my feet has prompted me to search for pain relief, from orthotics to physical therapy to yoga to electrical stimulation to acupuncture to pharmaceuticals.
One of the pharmaceuticals prescribed for me about three years ago, as a way to lessen the nerve pain in my feet, was Neurontin.
After the second dose of Neurontin, as I recall, I began to hear voices. Whispering voices. Saying something I could not quite make out. But there were voices, many voices, and it was spooky. I quit taking it after the second dose.
I told my doctor about the experience and he changed the Rx to Lyrica, another Pfizer product. After a single dose of Lyrica, the voices returned. I quit taking Lyrica.
Fast forward to 2014 and I am still having pain in my feet. Mostly they ache and burn but sometimes there are sharp stabbing pains.
I saw an orthopedic surgeon last week and he suggested that I try a new compound that he said was showing some promise in treating my type of pain. He didn't say what was in it, and like a fool I did not ask. It was compounded in Dallas and arrived in the mail on Friday.
I noticed gabapentin was one of the three ingredients in the cream. Remembering my earlier experience with the drug, I wondered if a topical application, as opposed to oral administration, might produce not-as-strange effects, so I decided to try it.
On Saturday, I tried the first dose. It is entirely possible that I took an overdose of medication on Saturday. I followed the instructions that arrived with the compounding cream but, before I could get the cream to come out of the dispenser, a good bit of golden-colored, transparent liquid came out of the dispenser and got all over my feet.
I assumed that this liquid might have been some type of bonding agent that held the other ingredients together, but I suppose it is possible that that liquid contained a multiple dose of gabapentin. There were no instructions to stir up the compound if it had separated in transit, so I didn't, and I got a large amount of that golden liquid on my feet.
This was about 3pm on Saturday. I was finally able to squeeze some of the actual cream out of the dispenser and rubbed it all over my feet. (The recommended dosage was 1 to 2 grams, but there was no way provided to measure the actual dose.)
By 5pm, I began to feel like I was tripping on LSD.
I was having trouble swallowing - dysphagia - a side-effect of gabapentin. But worse, I felt like I had gone mad. Or that the entire world had gone mad.
Watching TV, nothing made sense. Reality had become untenable.
I am an atheist, but I had the distinct impression that I had died and was waiting for the demons or spirits or perhaps Jesus Christ to walk around the corner and take me away.
Somehow I remembered that gabapentin was in the compounding cream, and surely that was what was responsible for my delusional thinking. It was a very unnerving experience. I can absolutely understand how some people could have suicidal thoughts while on this drug.
By 10pm, the effects had worn off, and I promised my wife that I will NEVER take gabapentin in ANY FORM WHATSOEVER in the future, and I urge you in the strongest terms to be SUPER CAREFUL before you take this drug!
- Research the effects carefully.
- Do not take the drug while at work.
- Be sure someone is with you and that they know what you are taking.
- Tell your doctor.
The fact that this drug is still on the market is borderline criminal.
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