Naproxen is widely available, and from someone with inflammatory joint disease it works great for me. Unfortunately I am not allowed as I am on blood thinners. However, I do think I would rather risk a bit of bleeding for the pain relief.
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@LindsayM if they are taking you off Gabapentin, I hope they taper it gently. One of our cats has been on it for about two months and the vet said just to stop it (I had run out of tablets).
Freddie had massive withdrawal effects and it was over the weekend, so there was nothing to be done. I got some more yesterday and he is back to normal. From googling it, I have to taper the dose over a two week period.
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Funny coincidence David, just about to post. Yes they are tapering me off Gabapentin and starting Amitriptyline again which they reckon is the “gold standard” for neuro pain. Taking the 2 in parallel for 2 weeks will be if nothing else interesting.
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I don’t know if it’s gabapentin withdrawal or Amitriptyline start up but this is hell. Can’t stay awake.
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It’s the Amitriptyline, always does it, ask to be moved to Nortriptyline. They always start on that to see if you can tolerate it before moving you if necessary.
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I seem to remember having a similar reaction to Amitriptyline at first but my body seemed to adjust after a couple of weeks. In the end however it was agreed that it wasn’t providing me with any real benefit so was withdrawn. I don’t remember experiencing any withdrawal issues from Gabapentin.
It’s well worth you persevering with these treatments, I’m sure they’ll find a balance that suits you.
My own treatments were interrupted by the pandemic. Unfortunately I assume that the numbness in the right side of my skull (across the top of the ear, into the eyebrow area, the cheekbone and down the jawbone) has become permanent. Still, at least the pain has relented. I can deal with the (almost) daily headaches. 
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Now on minimum dose of Amitriptilyne (10mg) but every morning is like a hangover to end all hangovers. 4 weeks now, Dr says I have to go 6 weeks to get benefit and adjust.
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If it doesn’t improve enough ask to be moved to Nortryptiline, it’s standard to start on that one, but it has a lot of side effects.
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Yea, and make sure you tell the prescribing Dr this advice came from some random guy on the internet…
Probably not the best place to get advice on the use of a drug. But hey that’s just my opinion.
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Yes but I’m seeing it as people just sharing their experiences.
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Are you still also tapering off Gabapentin?..I would imagine if you are taking both it will intensify some of the side effects. I’ve been on Amitriptilyne (20mg) for a while and yes the tiredness is the main side effect. It does seem to have become more manageable over time. The benefits are well worth it to me although I still take care to manage my back problem as I know it can easily kick off again. Good luck with it
No I’ve finished Gabapentin 3 weeks ago and am only on 10mg Amadriptilyne each evening but it’s wiping me out. I’ll give it until after the BH and that will be 6 weeks, and then discuss with my GP.
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Sorry to hear that, it does sound like you can’t tolerate the Amitriptilyne. Hope you can find something else
Dr took me cold turkey off the Amitriptilyne, 3 days now, way better. Paracetamol and occasionally codeine as required.
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