Any teachers on gabapentin?

frogmella

Hi, I am reposting this in this forum rather than the working matters one because I have only had one response there and I know this forum is read more.

I have recently started taking gabapentin and it is causing me to have quite a few "senior moments". (I am "only" 36!) I am due to go back to my teaching job next week, senior school, chemistry teacher. I am a bit worried about these memory issues in the classroom.

I have been struggling for words at times or just say the wrong one. I am also finding it hard to concentrate fully, I seem to just drift off. These things are all manageable at home and preferable to the nerve pain I have been having. But I am worried about how it will go down in the classroom.

I have worked out that I am going to have to go back to writing FULL notes for each lesson beforehand, rather than relying on my memory so that isn't too much of an issue.

I suppose I am worried about looking like I don't know my subject in front of the kids. Or just looking stupid while I stand there searching my head for the right answers to their questions.

Should I just tell all my classes that this is how I am now and hope that they will understand? Do I tell the management? Go back to Occ Health?

Any other practical advice?

Thanks in advance for any input

Helen

LignumVitae

Hi Helen,

That's quite a tricky one. I'm not a teacher but I do wonder whether your management and occy health may be the best first stop.

I think the full notes is a good idea - its a long time since I was in a classroom but could you put a PowerPoint together - that way if they have to copy down what you put on there it might give your senior moments a bit of a cover...'just letting you all catch up'! I reckon there's a good chance they won't notice but I understand your concerns.

Good luck, love LV xx

elnafinn

Hi Helen, I am not going to be able to offer you much help but after having a little google it appears that you are not alone with this feeling when taking gapapentin. Someone described it thus:"Inability to finish sentences, inability to spell simple words or finish a conversation without stumbling about looking for the word that I wanted to use. It was horrible."As to how to cope with this and if to tell the students is something that only you can decided, difficult though that is.

I do hope all goes well for you.

Elna x

Soretoe2

Hello Helen,
I have tried Gabapentin and Lyrica in the past. I had to stop because I couldn't think straight and felt very woozy all the time. My son who is also a teacher tried them for nerve pain but didn't get past a day or so as he said he felt like he was on planet Zog.
My docs have told me that this is very common and most people give up taking them due to the side effects. Particularly if they are still working. The drugs work by damping down the brain signals to the affected nerves, unfortunately also damping down the brain at the same time.
You don't say what dose you are on. If you are on a high dose you could try taking a lower dose to see if the side effects you are experiencing are acceptable. On the other hand if you reduce you may not have the same pain dulling effect.
It's a difficult job getting severe pain under control and most of us have to settle for less than we would like.
I would go back to your gp/consultant and have chat about it. There are other medications available, unfortunately most also have side effects too. It's usually a case of trying one after the other until you hit on one or two that suit you best.
Good luck,hope you find something that helps soon.

frogmella

Hi and thanks for the replies!

I am currently on a fairly low dose but am having quite a bit of nerve pain still (feet feel like they have been beaten, leg feels burnt, usual things!) and so I expect to have to increase them.

I was on amitriptyline before and they seemed to be better at controlling the nerve pain but I can't be sure because I had injections into my spine and facet joints at the end of May and they worked really well on all the pain but they are now wearing off. So I can't tell whether they would have worked on this pain or not! I only took ami from about the end of April until about a month or so ago when I switched to the gaba. The thing with the ami was the sleepiness that came on about 1-2 hours after taking them. There is no way I could have done parents eves on them! And school aren't particularly understanding. The Occ Health woman I saw asked if I needed to take them! Haha! Do any of us take these awful drugs for fun??? I was also fairly drowsy all day so the side effects of ami weren't great either.

My physio has asked me to ask the GP to get refered to a pain clinic so that is my next port of call. I see my GP Thursday so I will talk about these things with her. Although I have only managed to get the ami and gaba by directly asking her so not sure whether she will suggest any thing else or whether I should wait for pain clinic.

The thing is I can manage the side effects when I am at home but I am not sure if I will back at work. I am really thinking that I might have to give up my job. The nerve pain is awful and difficult/impossible to work with and the drugs make work difficult too! Rock and a hard place!

I might end up with power points, although I find them stifling - mind you I am not sure how spontaneous I will be able to be any more so they might well be the way to go.

I think I will tell my students - they are human after all and, in the past, they have been more understanding and sympathetic than the staff.


Thanks again for all your help

Helen

barbara12

Hello Helen
I am on 300mg of gabapentin 3 times a day, and I take amitriptyline 50mg at night...I am much older at 62, so I was thinking they were just senior moments, I did google them when I first started on them, but to be honest I was so glad to take the edge off the nerve pain down both legs, I was willing to take them.
I went off then for quite a few months just to see if I could, I just could stand the pain, and I am quite good with pain, but while off them I still had the bad memory, so I put it down to the amitriptylines, I wonder if they both can have a similar effect.
I am so glad im retired, if I were you and things get too bad I would explain to whoever.
Good Luck with it all xx

barbara12

Hi Helen
I thought I would go and do some googling, and this is just some of what I found on amitriptyline
Amitriptyline belongs to a class of antidepressant drugs known as tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs). This class of drugs were one of the first used in the treatment of depression and work by raising levels of important mood controlling neurotransmitters such as serotonin and noradrenaline/norepinephrine in the brain. They do this by prolonging the time these neurotransmitters are present in the synapses (gaps) between nerve cells which means brain activity continues to be stimulated.



One of the drawbacks of TCAs is that they also block receptors for another neurotransmitters - acetylcholine. This leads to side-effects such as drowsiness and memory loss. This is one reason why TCAs are not used much today but have generally been replaced by newer drugs such as serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Prozac.
Hope its helps x

frogmella

Thanks Barbara,

I knew the ami was causing the drowsiness so I was quite pleased to be off them (except the withdrawal was awful!) but now that I am back to having the nerve pain I wonder if I made a mistake! The nerve pain is the worst thing - I am quite good with pain, that is why my old surgeon never believed I had an infection on my spinal hardware - I wasn't in enough pain!! The nerve pain just drives me to distraction and, of course, the normal pain dullers don't touch it at all.

Thanks for the good luck wishes. I think I am going to need it!

Helen

Soretoe2

Hi Helen, really sorry to hear your problems.
You mentioned the Pain Clinic.
Most of them just give you the meds you've mentioned plus other anti-convulsants, anti-depressants, epidurals/steroid injections or accupuncture. Some offer Cognitive Behaviour Therapy or a Pain Management Course (chatting about your pain) and that's about it.
I know I may sound a bit jaded but I've been up and down this path for years.
For severe nerve pain you need to see a Neurologist as they are much more clued up and generally can offer a lot more help, advice and treatment.
Have you thought about taking retirement on medical grounds? It sounds as though your condition is bad enough to qualify. It may be worth looking into the criterea for this.
Good luck at school, let us know how you get on. Joy

frogmella

Hi Soretoe (Joy) and thanks for your input. I am sorry to hear that you suffer with nerve pain too.

I am only part time and my hours have been reduced to 25% for this year. The school can just change us part time peoples' hours as they like. I have only half days so I am hoping that I will be able to grit my teeth through the bad days and then hobble home to bed.

My surgeon seems to think that long terrm he is going to fuse this level of my spine too. Thing is I had such a bad time last time I would rather avoid it - hence meds, physio, pain clinic etc etc. I am trying to do all the things I can to at least delay it. I suspect that work might be the straw that breaks it though! LOL!

I had sort of thought pain clinic might be as you describe but I hoped that at least I might get a bit more joined up thinking than with the GP?

I don't think I am bad enough for medical retirement, espescially at 25%. If my hours were increased next year and/or I got full days on my timetable I might think again. I also suspect that as there may be a surgical fix that I wouldn't qualify on those grounds? Not sure.

Again, thanks for your input. I'm sorry of it seems my story is coming out in dribs and drabs but I didn't want to write a massive OP and lose the main points somewhere in it!

Thank you! Helen

dibdab

Hi Helen,

Like you I teach part time (0.5) and have RA- whilst school is generally sympathetic and supportive it is a tough call especially during a flare. I talked to Occ Health and the union about ill health retirement and was advised that it's really hard to get it these days- so I've taken the decision to retire next Easter when I turn 55. I really hope that you get the help and support you need, I'll be thinking about you as school starts again next week- I'm dreading it!

Deb x

Soretoe2

Hi Helen,
my heart truly goes out to you. Life is pretty rotten to some of us isn't it?
My advice would be to try everything offered to you but don't be too disappointed if you come away feeling it's just not enough to help you.
I'm sure as you've been through so much already you realise what's it's all about. Chronic pain people are very difficult to help and treat. We are considered a bit of a nightmare by most docs.
I have had a lot of surgery over the last 45 years. All helped a little bit with fusion/ mobility to a point. However the pain is as bad as ever and I now have the added nerve pain from surgery damage, coupled with squashed nerves from two car accidents I was unlucky enough to be involved in. To add the RA/OA, it's all a bit hopeless.
Then we are back to meds......
I wish you well when you face your class and that they are a well behaved and sympathetic lot, unlike your employers.
Do hope there is an answer out there for you. Hope springs eternal comes to mind. Best wishes and good Luck, Joy.

frogmella

Thank you for your lovely, supportive posts. They help a lot. I feel like a moaner when so many of you have worse problems to live with. I think it is just that it is on here that I can be really honest and not have to paste my brave face on!

Thank you all again.

Helen

merri

First of all you have my sympathy and a virtual /hug
Secondly I wouldn't advise telling your management, purely from a paranoid view that it might have an impact on your "fitness to teach" and I wouldn't tell the pupils in case it gets passed back to management.
Thirdly - I'd speak to the GP, see if there is anything that they can do to help with the side effects
Fourthly - do you have Smart software? If so you can use that to make sure that you don't forget any important points, and it's less restrictive than PPT. I also include more detail for my learning objectives and outcomes, so that they are listed on the board and we go back to them during the lesson. It helps me stay on track, it's a big tick if OFSTED were to come in and lastly it's good AfL practice.

and lastly, I forget what I'm saying half way through a sentence, or can't find the right word in the classroom all of the while. I tend to make a joke of it, it's down to my meds but I make out it's because I'm scatty. Oddly enough the pupils seem to prefer me that way. If I can be of any help, please give me a shout or send me a PM.

Take care,

Merri

frogmella

Thanks for the help Merri.

I did tell my HOD dept but I don't think she was that interested. I think I will probably go down the scatty route with the kids that you use too!

We don't have SMART software, I am a pen and whiteboard girl from the stoneage I'm afraid! I don't even have a work laptop - if I want one I have to provide it! So, to reduce heaviness of bags in the car I tend not to lug mine into work.

It is quite difficult to work with a laptop logistically because I often have big demos on the front bench and it gets in the way. I found it easier to go back to writing on the board than doing battle with the laptop and the lab techs!!

I am seeing the GP tomorrow so I am going to speak to her about the side effects. I keep hoping they will be transient, or that maybe I will get used to it. It is hard to suddenly find myself feeling stupid!

Thank you for your input, I may well be back in touch with you.

merri

No problem, happy to help

If you like, I can put together a list of some of the things I do to make teaching easier. Let me know if this would help.

Take care,

M x

frogmella

Oh, Thank you so much.

Here are the things I already do as a matter of course:

Take books in when I can mark in school or get the homework done on paper so that I don't have to lug heavy bags in and out of the car

I switch between standing, sitting and walking around the lab according to my pain

On bad days I get the kids to come to my desk for help rather than me go to them

I always sit by them when I talk to them rather than lean over the bench

I think those are the main things, but I haven't taught for a year so I am a little bit hazy!

Any other little tips you can share I would really appreciate. Thank you again

Helen