Sciatica, Neuritis &

Neuropathy (Nerve Damage)

2 Weeks - No Results?  No More Rx!

Any vitamin, herb and/or supplement that I start, I have two, 2 week rules that I apply. 

My first rule of thumb is that I never start more than one new supplement with less than two weeks between them, so that if I were to have a reaction, I would know without hesitation, what caused it.

Think about it, if you start 3 new things on the same day, one may not be right for you, but two very well could be quality of life enhancing, so why do them and yourself the disservice of not knowing which is causing the problem?

The exception to this rule is if and when I am starting two supplements together because they are known to work synergistically; synergistically means that they actually enhance the benefits of each other when taken together vs. taken alone. 

E.g. Turmeric and Bromelain manage pain better together. 

Donq Quai and Siberian Ginseng are also known to work synergistically, just like peanut butter and chocolate!  Just seeing if you're paying attention...:)

My other two week rule is that if I've taken something for 14 days and I feel no better or different in the ways in which a supplement was touted to benefit me, I d/c (discontinue) it.

Additionally I apply this same two week "show me some results" rule to my prescriptions as well because in over 10 years of being a chronic pain person I have consumed thousands of prescription pills for numerous types of pain and its byproducts (insomnia, depression, anxiety) and I know when my body is responding to medication.

Thus, I also know when my body is not responding and after that  fair amount of time, I d/c the medicine because I see absolutely no logic in continuing something that not only isn't yielding results; but worse, has the capacity to still cause me harmful side effects. Think about that people. 

Just because an Rx doesn't yield any good, does NOT mean that it isn't still doing bad inside of you!  Thus, why continue? 

There is an expression:

"don't throw away good money after bad"

which is used to refer to financial investments. 

I feel the same about not investing the good parts of my health in Rx's that yield no noticeable improvement for the bad parts!

If you've never really thought about your health and Rx's from this perspective, please do.  With that said, I am NOT advising anyone to discontinue their medications. I am not a doctor!

Please talk with your prescribing dr. about your lack of results; asked if it's possible to get a different Rx.

For those who don't live with any chronic conditions, maintaining good health is as simple as just not allowing things in your body that cause bad health!  Don't smoke! 

Now, I'm not saying that there may not be some supplements and or medications that take longer to get into the human body and display benefits. 

I only speak on Spinal Trap of what I do know from first hand experience.

I know that when it comes to the myriad of pills for chronic pain, nerve damage, insomnia, depression, anxiety, etc...that I have tried in over a decade is the Rx's that did work, typically did so within the first 14 days; hence my basis for discontinuing after 14 days of no discernible improvement, UNLESS, my doctor said to expect it to take 3 or 4 weeks.

Lyrica would be a great example of an Rx I tried and discontinued due to a complete lack of noticeable efficacy.  Now with that said, I have met many people who absolutely love the relief that they get from Lyrica; thus, I am not suggesting that people not try it. 

Quite the contrary; pain is highly subjective and what does not benefit many, will work for others and vice versa. 

Thus, always form your own opinions based upon your own experiences and efforts.  Just be prudent in not wasting your time and health on things that don't appear to benefit you. 

As a holistic life coach, the advice in that last sentence, applies to everything in life, including relationships, for those who truly wish to live in peace with a balanced mind, body, spirit.

The first time I tried Lyrica, I felt nothing at all, so I quit it. 

I even gave it a second chance years later; it still was like I wasn't taking anything at all for my nerve damage pain, thus I discontinued it permanently. 

Think about it, why continue to take any pill, prescription or otherwise, if you derive absolutely no noticeable benefits from it?  What's the point???  Especially when many prescriptions do silent damage that isn't even realized for a very long time.

Do you watch TV shows that you don't like? 

Do you eat foods that you don't like? 

Do you go on vacation with people you don't like?  No. (Not counting family members that you're stuck with...:)

You watch TV shows that give you pleasure; ditto what you eat and with whom you vacation.

So why, pump your body full of prescription pills that give you nothing good, no noticeable improvement? 

And quite possibly, still give you, much bad.

No More Neurontin!

Regretfully, I took Neurontin (generic name Gabapentin) over the years, for my sciatica and other nerve damage; and I have to tell you that my experience with it was that it would only take the edge off the horrid nerve damage pain running down my legs, but it would never completely manage it well, and simultaneously, it always made me lethargic and dizzy. 

Neither of which are life enhancing qualities! 

This is why smart people will not drink alcohol while on such medications.  The side effects are already very cognitively compromising, so why throw gas on a fire?  (All you have to do to be smart, is be smart.)

I finally discontinued Gabapentin when I began to have more than "temporary loss of memory" issues referenced in the prescription information report that accompanies every Rx.

Everything I experienced is why

I began calling Neurontin, "neurotten"!!!!!

You know how when something is on the tip of your tongue, if you think hard enough for a minute or less, you can recall it? Yeah, that stopped, completely. 

As a fair person, I will acknowledge that neurontin was not my only Rx causing this deficit.  Codeine did more to numb my brain than my pain! 

Names and words that I knew, would not come to me until days later.  It is humiliating to see the look of surprise on someone's face, when they know that you should know, what you can't remember.

I think of this as a tiny window into how hard it must be for people who realize they are getting senile and are afraid to let other know. 

I have to believe that enough "temporary" memory loss does eventually equal, permanent.  I am trying to find a neurocognitive specialist to do a brain scan and tell me what it shows so that if I can do anything to help myself with these issues, I do; and if not, I accept them and focus my energies elsewhere.

There is normal memory loss that comes with age, that comes with stress, etc...but when I know that mine has endured a more permanent status thanks to a pill or multiple mood and mind altering Rx's that didn't even give me full relief, why do that to yourself??  NOT WORTH IT CHRONIC PAIN PEOPLE! 

If you are on this medication, and like me, you don't enjoy more than a temporary relief of just taking the edge off your pain, and/or the lethargy, dizziness, etc...PLEASE reconsider staying on it and consider trying what I use, WITH GREAT SUCCESS:

Valerian Root!  ALL NATURAL!!!  (More below and it has its own page with more info under my "Herbs" tab.)

Don't just take my word for it, talk with your doctor and pharmacist too if your neurontin or lyrica, or whatever you take to manage nerve pain, isn't meeting your pain relief needs and/or are causing you hideous side effects whose damage is often irreversible.

 
A few questions that in hindsight, seem obvious and that I wish I had thought/known to ask years ago are: 

"IF I am going to have the temporary memory loss, at what point into the use, would I notice it? 

"If I do have this situation, are there studies that show how long I can be on it before temporary memory loss becomes permanent?"

"Is it possible for this symptom to be exacerbated by my other medications?  If so, can we make any adjustments to delay and/or defray from this issue?"

In fairness to the makers of Neurontin, I will state that just about all of my chronic pain Rx's had mood and mind-altering effects. 

The people I know who've died from Alzheimer's weren't even on multiple mood and mind altering medications in their lives; thus, when I think of how much more predisposed we with chronic conditions must be, that is daunting. 

It's also one more reason why alcoholics with a family history of dementia and Alzheimers shouldn't drink; because they are just rotting their brains faster and guaranteeing that someone will have to change their diapers someday.

If your doctor(s) don't know the answers to these inquiries, call the manufacturer; not that you will always be guaranteed an honest answer, depending on with whom you speak of course.

I say that not to be nasty but because it is a fair statement.  It is well known that car manufacturers have become aware of a deadly defect in a line of vehicles and make the conscious decision to not do a costly recall because they gamble that the odds of paying out millions in wrongful death lawsuits, will be cheaper for them! 

Thus, with sick, reprehensible, greed-filled humans like this on our planet, don't expect that a pharmaceutical company or two or ten, don't also have their own equally disgusting decision makers and agendas that get executed at the cost of health and lives.

If you think that when you watch all of those attorney commercials seeking litigants for class action lawsuits due to the devastating effects, diseases, and deaths that result from prescriptions pills, these situations come as a surprise to every single pharmaceutical company, I've got some swamp land in Florida that I'd like to sell you...oy vey. 

Seriously people, wake up, think, (something you can't possibly do when on multiple mind and mood-altering drugs!), gather data and make intelligent decisions based upon the facts and most importantly, YOUR GOD-GIVEN INSTINCTS that He gives us for our protection and self-preservation. 

Now that I've gone herbal as the rule since early 2012, I have the mental wherewithal to make stunning realizations and draw fair and accurate conclusions about chronic pain, insidious* prescriptions, and worst of all, the permanent, quality of life costs, to the accepted norm of getting on the chronic pain drug wheel that perpetuates its own quality of life depleting byproducts, such as allegedly "temporary" memory loss.

*insidious definition (from merriam-webster.com) as relates to a disease: developing so gradually as to be well established before becoming apparent.  (You know, just like a lot of the damage done by Rx's!)

Read that again, [developing so gradually as to be well established before becoming apparent].  Let it sink in.

Listen people, many diseases can be controlled but not cured; equally true, much damage done by them cannot be reversed. 

So again, I say, please, stop and think about your big picture health and quality of life.  If you don't, you may or may not live to regret it.

When you're in severe pain and desperate for relief, and the dr. gives you an Rx, it is because they believe its benefits will outweigh its risks for you; and we are trained from birth, to rely on our doctors to a point of not even questioning them. 

This is a HUGE mistake; DO question your doctors! 

DO understand your diagnosis/diagnoses. 

DO ask for ALL of your options including natural, herbal or at least, non Rx related symptom management such as physical therapy, massage therapy, chiropractor care, psychologist visits, music meditation, and the MANY all natural modalities that work for me and hundreds of millions of others, that you will find on Spinal Trap under the Self-Help Healing tab and throughout.

DO find out if they are current on all of your options.  Different medical schools = different training.  Different times of going to school = different training.

DO make your own decisions based upon facts and again, most importantly, your God-given instincts.

The only reason I will never know if Lyrica would've produced bad results is because I discontinued it. 

Sometimes when you take a different road home because you suddenly felt like it, you will never know if the Holy Spirit just helped you avoid being in a fatal collision, or causing one.

We humans get so used to basing our opinions and decisions off of that which we can see, do, and feel that sometimes, we don't stop to realize we have to go by a lack of tangible evidence too. 

Additionally, is that horrible pain itself compromises your cognitive skills; so even if you read the numerous warnings on drug data sheets, you will turn a blind eye to them because you are so desperate for relief. I get that, been there, done that.

Desperation can and often does, make humans cast common sense aside; throw desperation for relief from life-altering pain on top of it, and there's your perfect storm of TENS OF MILLIONS of people who end up in the numerous vicious catch 22 cyles of chronic pain and its countless, negative, unhealthy, quality of life draining, multiple prescription drug using ramifications.

I did not get to the place of peace

in mind, body and spirit that I am today  while ever taking 10 Rx's daily.

I got here by the grace of God through prayer, following His advice to check out the herbs and supplements that He gives me the instinct to research.

Please read my Herbs home page to learn more. 

Neuritis:

One of my numerous diagnoses is brachial neuritis.  Quite honestly, I was always so overwhelmed by my flattened spinal cord, 7 herniated discs, shoulder damage pain, etc., that I had no energy to dedicate to learning about brachial neuritis. 

Thus, since I can't speak of it from a knowledgeable patient perspective, I have provided a link below so that if you are interested in learning more, you may do so from those in the know.

This "diseases a to z" link below has a good page about neuritis for those of you who have it and don't understand it.  I have not read the entire site.  

 http://diseasesatoz.com/neuritis.htm