Off Neurontin and slowly adding exercise

[Maria]

It's been quite some while since I had a big neuropathy flare up after riding my new bike which has sat unridden since then.

Since this time I've stopped taking Neurontin completely now for a week. So far so good.

Now adding some light exercises that I'm doing at home. Started with once/day and today so far has been 2x/day just for 10-15 minutes with some upper and lower body and crunches.

Most people report gaining weight when starting Neurontin. I actually gained some weight going off it. 5 lbs right in the abd and bumm so am wanting to try to work this off tho not rigorously.

Have had a few posterior tibial tendonitis flare ups in both feet so cannot walk as much as I'd like in terms of "exercise" plus the rest of my body needs some toning.

Just getting on the mat last night my upper back felt like so weird like I could feel every bone back there that I was lying on. Today the 2nd time I exercised I felt looser in my upper back and much better.

I don't want to screw anything up so am trying to introduce some really light weight exercise into my lifestyle again and hope that I can handle it. Normally my neck really bothers me when I try to exercise my arms however I'm trying to work around this.

Am trying to use relaxation techniques and gentle stretching to keep my cervical area calm (vs. drugs) however am feeling some muscle tightness/light pain currently tho at this point I'm can handle it.

Slow and steady.. guess it's just a life long mantra for an old spiney

[Jim M2]

You are probably already in better shape than most middle agers and I know you will get stronger. I'm afraid of weight so I go really slow with them. Never more than 2.5 lb per hand. I'm so happy for the progress you're making!!

[Maria]

Sometimes I wonder if I have some kind of autoimmune condition or mixed tendon/joint thing going on.

Today my back, hip, buttocks, legs don't hurt at all however my fingers, thumbs and elbows hurt. My arms hurt a little with that kind of exercised burn/ache.

I've no idea why my thumbs hurt except their arthritic and my elbows feel like they have tendonitis tho I was very careful using 1 and 2 lb weights because of that tendency in the right elbow esp.

My neck hurts a bit tho that's nothing new. Not increased.

Had a great night's sleep and woke up feeling energetic and "all" systems go so am really happy with how well my body is adapting to less medication overall.

Jim I too like to keep my weight down to what it should be as I'm on the shorter side at 5'2" so extra weight shows up pretty easily plus it's just less to worry about in the realm of healthcare concerns.

[dshobbies]

Maria,

As I've stated many times, I have chosen mild pain over the fog of N or L but even though I decreased my dosage slowly, it still took one month for it to fully leave my system.

There have been days when I regret my decision but they are short lived. I try to be careful with Pilates and know by days end if I pushed too hard. For me, exercising is a balancing act as my leg, ankle and foot flare up quickly. This could be mostly eliminated with N or L but then again, the desire to get dressed, drive to the studio, etc., etc., would also mostly be eliminated.

If you're still pain free in a few weeks, I'd say you're home free!

Dale

[Maria]

Thanks Dale re your experience. I too took the dose down from 1800mg/day to 0 over about 6 weeks with each dose change lasting nearly 2 weeks.

In the past my body would react if I even tried to take it down by one dose and violently with horribly increased burning pain in my arms, buttocks, and legs. Crippling pain.

I think my head had been telling me for quite some time to start reducing the dose but I just didn't "get it" ~ I wasn't even clear enough to figure that out on my own!

Mentally I still have some sluggish periods tho it's very abbreviated and overall I feel so much more energetic and clear minded. I think even the way I speak reflects my clearer thinking or so my friends are telling me.

I do understand what you mean re drive and productivity. I too feel a little pain that isn't crippling would be tolerable just so I can continue to feel this good mentally.

I'm sure that 12 years worth of this drug isn't going to come out of my system all that easily if at all (must be deposits in fat/tissue). I wonder if there is a safe way to flush my system... I guess the most safe manner is to drink plenty of water~

[ans]

I am happy for you Maria. Working out is almost ecstacy.

[Maria]

I have been working out at home every day w/o any problem. Usually for 15 minutes 2-3x/day. Wanted to do this before joining a gym.

Sunday evening I took my first Bellydancing class. Ok this is not as easy as it looks!!! I thought I'd just be shaking stuff but noooo, there's a lot of isolation of muscle groups and really working them out.

So near the end of an hour workout my back was sending messages to my right let that it was going to fall off, my feet were hurting, my thoracic spine hurt at the beginning when I first started that part of the movements but not at the end. Went home with a backache and burning in my thighs/legs. Drank a BIG glass of wine, fell promptly to sleep.

Woke up feeling like I had drank a big bottle of wine w/tired body however the only thing that continued to hurt during the day was my neck so knocked that pain out with 2 Fioricet and my feet were hurting tho stopped only to resume their nagging tendonitis type pain in the evening at a mild level and persist into this morning.

My back is GOOD!!! Whooooooohooooo!!!!! No Neurontin!!!!