I had my surgery to remove about a quarter size tumor from the right side of my tongue this past Friday, October 23. A day ahead of my 61st birthday. The doctor said he got all the cancer and I agreed to wait for pathology report to decide on neck dissection. It means more anesthesia and more of everything but the doctor felt it the right plan since I had neck radiated 9 years ago for my first go round with BOT, throat cancer. I did not have surgery at that time. Chemo and radiation was the course of treatment.

My question, has anyone been prescribed Gabipentin for pain? I had a list of side effects which I did not even concern myself with until I was getting alerts from my device that my heart rate was 107, 104, 98, etc. I called the triage nurse and requested input as to how I should proceed -stop taking it, take it??
Curious since this drug is totally new to me and usually my body tolerates without incident.
Thanks!
Nona Chris

Hello Chris I was on gabapentin while I was in hospital after my surgery to remove part of my tongue I had neck dissection also it was for nerve pain,but they gave me that only while I was in hospital they sent me home with oxycodone which I took only for one week after that I was taking over the counter but I am guessing it depends on level of your pain I had no side effects but maybe I was on lot of other pain meds,sorry I may not be of much help in answering your question.

I appreciate your taking the time to respond. I am surprised I was sent home with it. It seemed to be protocol. I was feeling the effects of the anesthesia wearing off and did not really appreciate what was developing for me. I had an understanding that I should take the Gabapentin every 8 hours...regardless. Of course, I did stop especially when I determined I was experiencing negative side effects. I think the overall attention given to my discharge was fair to poor and perhaps the explanation for the meds was not given the detail they deserved. I now understand it is in the narc category.
How long ago was your surgery?
Please be well!
Nona Chris

When my husband was given Gabapentin, the first thing the doctor did was to give us a schedule for stepping down. Apparently the patient is not supposed to just go cold turkey. It did not work for my husband at all. He did better on codeine. I would suggest you call your doctor or the nurse practitioner and ask them if it’s okay for you to stop.

I did call the triage number and the doctor was contacted. The doctor gave me the all clear to stop. There was no explanation about a schedule or stepping down from the dosage. It was more like take the tylenol every 6 hours, take the Gabapentin every 8 hours and if you have a number between 7-10 for pain then use the oxycodone. I have it written down on a sheet the nurse gave me before I was discharged.
Thanks for your insight. I will have questions for my post op this week.
So many different version of the same situation.
Warm Regards,
Nona Chris