PainPals unite?! (part 3 / update)

  Well, that relief previously discussed was short lived.  Turns out the Gabapentin has some wacky side effects.  Blurred vision, Mood swings, quick to anger, uncoorindation, dizzy spells, low energy, memory loss, increased backpain, depression & suicidal thoughts among them.  All of these I have experienced over teh last few months.

  There are two things I've noticed, over and above that list that have changed in me from this medication.  The first being that I've lost the ability to multitask.  Gone.  And it's more extreme than that.  I can't even hear 2 sounds at once.  I have to mute the tv if Wifey is talking to me (I can't really mute her.)  That's tough only being able to process one sound at a time.

  The other change that's significant is writing.  I've always prided myself with extremely accurate spelling and grammar.  That's gone too.  Friends used to give me their resume to proof read and correct.  Even an executive of a multi-billion dollar company had me check and correct their resume.  Looks like that talent is gone too.

  Take this blog post, for example.  I can't write this directly in the blog because it's so full of errors.  I need to write in in a document and go over it at least 3 times to try to catch all the mistakes before posting.

  Even though I do to those cross checks, errors still get through.  I do this now for everything I write.  Work & personal emails, Facebook posts; everything I type needs to be checked and checked again.

  Last month, while posting for Jack Russell's Great White Facebook page, I wrote "Grand Fuck Railroad", instead of "Grand Funk Railroad".  It passed my checks and I posted it.  The next day, a buddy pointed it out to me and I was horrified.  I corrected it, but the post had already been seen by thousands of people across the world.

  The doctors sent me to a specialist that deals specifically with side effects of Gabapetin, who tells me all these side effects are common and normal.

  He recommended me change the timing of the dosage.  I did, and it made teh pain worse.  I tried that for a month and the pain got worse.  On a recent visit to that same doctor  he said 'Ok, that experiment failed, you can go back to the previous dosage and timing'.   Which I've done, but the pain is still there.    So, now I'm back where I was with the pain, and have these crazy side effects.

  Discussing this with my family doctor, she says it's about balance.  It's about the trade off.  Do I want the pain, or do I want to go crazy?

  Looks like it's both for now.