GABA pentin ? If that’s what you mean is used for pain though that’s not what it was developed for. Ask your doctor to inform you about his choice and why he is prescribing it. Another opinion maybe what you need from a doctor you might trust more for your healthcare needs. Blessings

Gabapentin is used in conjunction with anti-depressants all the time in many Mood Disorder Illnesses....its actually where it was first off label, its an anti-epileptic med, before they used it off label for nerve pain. So yeah its not uncommon for those two type of meds to be put together. I will say I've done Pain Management for 30+ years, and I've done Bi-Polar/Mental Illness for 25+ years, both as a patient and as someone who worked in the field...I don't recall meeting too many medical professionals using Gabapentin as a detoxing agent.

I do know that when you look to the advice of a Non-medically advised Support Group over your Dr.'s educated and trained word, there is definitely a problem with that relationship and you need a Dr. that you can trust to treat you to the best of his/her ability. There seems to be a problem in your Dr./Patient relationship and you need to have a Dr. that you can trust. It might be time to find a new Dr.

Take care.

That would be excellent advice however, as you probably guessed I am retired military 24 years and as such I do not get to choose my Dr. I am aware of Neurontin because the VA prescribed this many years ago and then my trusted Tricare physician dc'd it years later and prescribed Opana. Then of course that was dc'd months ago, he puts me on morphine then gradually reduced that. He retires and his replacement the day he retires has her clerical help telephone me and state she is cutting that dose 1/2. 2 weeks later I finally see her face to face, She starts Neurontin and plans to totally dc the morphine by Junes refill. Something about this whole thing
seems wrong. I have been on narcotic pain relief for over 20 years,and this Dr., thinks 90 days is sufficient to dc everything, and rely on Neurontin. I swear this is all 100% true. It is of course a nightmare.

Have you considered going outside of the VA to a Pain Clinic? That's what my son had to do to get better care for his back injury.

The VA is most likely following the 90mg Morphine equivalent, meaning they follow the CDC's law and don't RX more of any drug, than the equivalent of 90 mgs. Morphine. The detox table they have you on of 3 months is a slow safe taper to get off the Morphine.

Now will the Neurontin cover the pain, it depends, Neurontin is for Nerve pain, not general pain. I'm not sure what kind of pain you have.

And this isn't just happening to you, many CP patients are dealing with the same issues. The CDC & FDA want narcotic prescriptions cut as much as possible so many Dr.'s are trying to stop them as much as they possibly can. Laws are tightening every where.

There is one bright side to detoxing off of pain meds, it will give your brain a chance to reset and see what your actual real pain is at this point. You've been on Narcotics for 20 years, there's no way you could have an accurate pain level. When you're completely detoxed and your brain re-sets you may find that your pain is less than what you thought it was. You could have been dealing with a lot of referred pain all these years. Once you get an accurate pain level, then you can go to your Dr. and figure out how to treat that pain.

But you may have to go outside the VA to get that treatment.

Thanks for the info. But I am outside of the VA. I haven't been to the VA in years but that's another story. I am on what is called the Tricare for life, the insurance is great IF you go by their rules and one of their rules is you go to the physician of their choice. Healthnet Federal Services & Tricare dictate who you see, many Dr.s will not contract with them so the choices are limited. That being said you actually gave me info that tells me why the Dr. I am now seeing is doing what and how. I wish some Dr.s would just be honest and say what you did. Thank you, you really cleared up things a lot and you were right to the point about it.

No problem. If you have any other questions, if I can answer them I will. I know it can all be confusing, but thinks to Drug Addicts and how they turned prescription narcotics into their "treats of choice" its made it hell on those of us who actually need the Narcotics to live and function each day.

Take care and I hope you find some relief.

Kat