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Is Gabapentinbetter Drug To Use In Treatment For Trigemental Neuralgia?

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Posted on Sat, 3 Aug 2013
Question: IS GABAPENTIN A BETTER DRUG TO USE IN THE TREATEMENT FOR TRIGEMENTAL NEURALGIA
doctor
Answered by Dr. Michelle Gibson James (37 minutes later)
Hi, thanks for using healthcare magic

Trigeminal neuralgia is a condition where there is facial pain usually on one side that may become recurrent or chronic. It may be associated with facial spasms or a tic.

There are different aspects of treatment such as medication, mechanical,electrical or thermal stimuli.
Antiepileptic drugs are commonly used for this condition and gabapentin is one of them.

Gabapentin has been shown to be very effective for treating this condition.
The medical studies that have been done only look at a few patients but one study found that patients who did not respond to carbamezepine responded to gabapentin.

It is thought to have few drug interactions and fast titration (this means the medication doses can be increased quickly if necessary).

It should be effective for you however everyone reacts differently to medication so if it does not work for you there are other options.

I hope this helps,feel free to ask any other questions

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Follow up: Dr. Michelle Gibson James (17 hours later)
Lamatrigene has become ineffective for me as well lyyrica has not worked to control my pain from trigemental neuraliga (TN) . I also have Multiple sclerosis
Apperently lyrica is within the same family of drugs . My question :
IS gabapentin a option as I have tried all the other drugs over the last 10 years and they have become ineffective as surgery seems to be the last option with its numerous side effects including a risk of stroke of 5% ???????????
doctor
Answered by Dr. Michelle Gibson James (1 hour later)
Hi, yes gabapentin is an option for you to try. It is one of the recommended options.

Surgery is an option for some persons. Overtime some may stop responding to the medication. A medical study conducted by a doctor called Delessio found that 25% to 50% of persons may stop responding to the medication.
There are 3 main surgical options and the pain free intervals vary from 1.5 yrs to possibly 15 yrs depending on the option chosen.

If the medication is ineffective you can consider asking your doctor for a consult with a neurosurgeon to discuss these options

Please feel free to ask anything else
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Michelle Gibson James (12 hours later)
I have been told by a family doctor that because lyrica did not work for me then because gabapentin was within the same family of drugs therefore it would be unlikley that it would be a viable option and surgery would be the only choice even with the risks associated with a surgical procedure
doctor
Answered by Dr. Michelle Gibson James (14 minutes later)
Hi again,

They are both in the same family of drugs, both are antiepileptic medications but persons react differently to medication so it is possible that you may react better than with the other medication.
This is the reason persons are switched between medications of the same class.

This switch is done in a lot of medical conditions, if one drug does not have the expected effects, another is used.

There are some persons whomare switchec and react positively. It is not whether it is better, they are both good drugs but is different and may produce a different response.

If you wish tomgo for the surgica option you can do this, as mentioned they may be eventual failure of medical therapies in 25% to 50% of persons so surgery may be eventually required even if you have an initial response to gabapentin.

Please feel free to ask any other questions.
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T
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Answered by
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Dr. Michelle Gibson James

General & Family Physician

Practicing since :2001

Answered : 16808 Questions

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Is Gabapentinbetter Drug To Use In Treatment For Trigemental Neuralgia?

Hi, thanks for using healthcare magic

Trigeminal neuralgia is a condition where there is facial pain usually on one side that may become recurrent or chronic. It may be associated with facial spasms or a tic.

There are different aspects of treatment such as medication, mechanical,electrical or thermal stimuli.
Antiepileptic drugs are commonly used for this condition and gabapentin is one of them.

Gabapentin has been shown to be very effective for treating this condition.
The medical studies that have been done only look at a few patients but one study found that patients who did not respond to carbamezepine responded to gabapentin.

It is thought to have few drug interactions and fast titration (this means the medication doses can be increased quickly if necessary).

It should be effective for you however everyone reacts differently to medication so if it does not work for you there are other options.

I hope this helps,feel free to ask any other questions