Hi there!
My bestie had been suffering from chronic neuropathic pain (long-term complications of viral meningitis). It's been going on for a long time now. He had been on Gabapeptine 900mg x 3 times per day for about 3 months now. He does feel slightly better, but he is yet to have a full day without pain. Some days he stays in bed due to the severity of the pain. So, it's not that great.
His doctor is completely useless (Hooray to free health care!), and it seems I know more about neuropathy than he does. He just says "Keep taking it" :/
When I was in constant pain, I had to research my own treatment, coz the meds they were giving me did nothing (including gabas). Venlafaxine was the thing that helped me in the end, but yet again, everyone is different. Still happily taking it and have little to no pain. A big difference between me and him though is that opioids never worked for me, but they work really well for him. However, it's not really a good idea taking them every day for years. you do develop a nasty wee addiction and get opioid headaches.
Anyhow, I told him he can try antideps (amitryp/Venlafaxine/duloxetine). He is really wary of them though due to his occupation, but at that point, I think, he is ready to try anything.
So, I was wondering about your experiences with pain medication. I looked through a number of papers, and it seems their efficacy is about the same (or trials are inconclusive ha). Also, can you take a combo of anticonv and antideps perhaps? And if anyone did, what was the result?
I'd be really thankful if yous could share your experiences thoughts and advice!