Neurontin Caused Mother's Deterioration

Nancy regrets taking her mother to a pain clinic. Dorothy was prescribed Neurontin and Nancy is certain this drug caused her depression and stroke. "Her quality of life went downhill and it never came back; she has been bedridden ever since," says Nancy.

Nancy James (not her real name) of Hitchcock, Texas: "My mother was prescribed Neurontin as a pain killer because she has arthritis and osteoporosis. She took Neurontin for six months and her health began to deteriorate. Although the drug helped relieve her pain, she started to have memory lapses and her speech was slower. These symptoms happened as soon as she began taking Neurontin.

"I noticed that she was forgetful about a lot of things and she was also sleeping a lot. She generally lost interest in life. Dorothy was always upbeat and interested in everything around her - this was a complete change of character.

"A few times I noticed that she limped and couldn't move her legs. She was losing control of her whole body and couldn't get her feet to move. She got real pale and broke out into a cold sweat and then it would pass. Then she would fall asleep.

"I took my mother to the pain clinic every second week. I talked to the pain specialist and told him about these possible side effects. 'It's a trade-off with most medications, you treat one thing and something else might bother you,' he said. But she just got worse. Eventually she had a massive stroke and she is now bedridden. Most of all, she is severely depressed.

"Right up until she had the stroke, she was taking Neurontin. In the hospital they didn't give it to her, she has been off it ever since. Now she is on Prozac for depression and she is delusional. My brother wanted me to stop taking her to the pain clinic because he didn't like the changes in her - he was very concerned. I was torn because I asked my mother how the pain was and she said it was better.

"I feel partially responsible because I took her to the pain clinic. I firmly believe the stroke and depression were brought on by this medication. But she wanted to try it a little longer. She was only aware of being more tired and blamed the rest of her symptoms on her nerves.

"Now my mother needs 24 hour care.

"Looking back, I know the medication helped her go downhill. Then, when I saw complaints about Neurontin on the Internet, I thought , 'oh-my-god, don't tell me more people have suffered from this drug.' I don't think doctors know enough about this medication. "

Neurontin Caused Mother's Deterioration

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