Gabapentin (Neurontin)
Belonging to a group of anticonvulsants, Gabapentin is ultimately popular and appreciated among patients with related disorders. The active components of this anti-epileptic remedy interfere with the body chemicals and nerves, which are involved in the reason of pain and seizure occurrence.
As a result, the medication serves an effective treatment of nerve pain, triggered by shingles or herpes virus, as well as seizures in patients over 3 years old.
Additionally, Gabapentin (Neurontin) can be taken off-label for a range of other disorders and illnesses, but, such a course needs to be supervised by a qualified medical specialist. Never start the therapy without proper diagnosis. Your doctor should be sure the condition you have can be improved with the anticonvulsant. Following safety instructions advances the chances of an effective and flawless therapy.
Address your doctor to report the bothersome symptoms you experience. A healthcare provider will perform several medical tests and specific procedures to ensure that your condition is either related to herpes zoster or seizures.
Postherpetic Neuralgia: Symptoms, Causes and Possible Complications
Before you contact the doctor to report the nasty condition, you need to learn the main information about the issue. Postherpetic neuralgia is the consequence of shingles, caused by herpes zoster virus. The disorder damages the skin and nerve fibers, triggering burning pain, which can last long even after blisters and rash of shingles disappear.
The risk of condition occurrence increases, as a person ages, though it can bother younger patients as well. Despite neuralgia has no cure, its symptoms can be considerably relieved with quality medication, such as Gabapentin (Neurontin).
Signs of Postherpetic Neuralgia
The symptoms of the disorder are usually limited to the zone, where the shingles or blisters first occurred. Nevertheless, it can spread to other parts of the body. There are several symptoms that are peculiar of the condition, including:
- Itching and numbness. This is the least dangerous and harmful condition symptom, which frequently occurs, but it is not severe. The area of the skin previously affected by shingles becomes itchy and numb. The disorder usually requires time and disappears on its own.
- Long-lasting pain, which starts multiple days after the shingles fade away and lasts for over 3 months. Pain, associated with the condition is deep, sharp, aching, burning and jabbing. It limits your actions and restricts free motions.
- Skin sensitivity. Patients, who have experiences shingles rash can turn sensitive even to light touches. As a result, they feel pain, even if the clothing touches the affected area.
Reasons of Condition Development, Complications and Risk Factors
People, who have had chicken pox, have the virus, which remains in the organism for the rest of their lives. However, the virus gets activated only with age, or when the immune system is ultimately suppressed. Postherpetic neuralgia, in its turn, appears in case your nerve fibers are damaged or affected during the condition outburst. As a result, nerve fibers send exaggerated and confused messages to the brain, causing excruciating and sometimes chronic pain.
The condition is exclusively spread among elderly people.
Additionally, there are several other groups of patients, who are in the risk group of condition development:
- Patients over 50 years old;
- Patients with severe pain and shingles rash;
- Patients, diagnosed with accompanying diabetes;
- Patients with shingles on the torso or face.
If untreated, postherpetic neuralgia can aggravate and last for over 3 months.
Additionally, it will trigger a range of other physical and psychological complications, such as:
- Excess fatigue;
- Abnormal lack of appetite;
- Depression;
- Concentration disorders;
- Sleeping problems and others.
Seizures and Related Disorders: General Information and Condition Specifications
Seizures, also known as convulsions, can also be successfully treated with Gabapentin (Neurontin). Seizure is generally defined as a sudden attack of brain activity, which leads to the lost control over the body actions. A patient can have jerking of the legs, arms and face. Seizures can be of various types and severities, lasting from a few seconds up to several minutes.
One of the main causes of the condition development is idiopathic epilepsy. Actually, it means that there is no definite reason of seizure appearance. It is a brain disorder, which can cause you to have multiple attacks.
Additionally, people with head injuries, high fever, infection, tumor and other medical conditions can experience seizures.