Thanks so much for your message, it's so nice to know that others are thinking about me! I had a terrible day yesterday as I was so tired and had to go to the dentist for a check up (I hate going now). Ended up having a row with the dentist about my son's teeth and bursting into tears. Really humiliating! Took some amitryptilene (25g) and slept really well. I'm feeling better today, though a little "spaced out". I haven't had much burning yet today but it tends to get worse as the day goes on. Twitching still there though not too bad yet! I wish I knew what the twitching is, the neurologist basically said it was all in my mind as she couldn't see it but she must need a trip to the opticians! The neurologist just gave me another prescription for gabapentin which I haven't used as last time I tried it it had no effect. It turns out though that this is for twice the amount i was taking before so if the amitryptilene doesn't work I'm going to give the gabapentin a go again. Trouble is you have to build up the dose gradually so it'll be 6 weeks before I'm up to the right strength. I think I've tried to soldier on too much with this instead of keep badgering the doctors for more help. I stopped going to see them as I thought they were getting sick of the sight of me. The neurologist wasn't sympathetic at all and was only interested if there was some chance it was a brain tumour or something! You're right when you say that the pain gets bad for a while and then seems to improve a bit as this happens with me too. This is why I'm hoping that one day it might get so much better that it doesn't take over my life any more. I'm sure that stress makes it much worse too. We're off to Jamaica for a holiday in 2 weeks so I'm hoping that the rest and relaxation there will have a good effect and I won't be in pain so much when I'm trying to enjoy myself. Last time we went there was 5 years ago just after the dreaded extraction and, looking back, I must have been so numb as I spent a lot of the time with ice cubes against the site of the extracted tooth as it made it feel better whereas now i can't put ice cubes there for long. Definitely my mouth feels better in the morning now as before it used to feel like my teeth on that side were too big and sticking out. I just hope that there is still time for me to improve and I don't have to put up with this forever.

Thanks again, Charlotte, and to everyone who has posted. At least the doctor I saw yesterday was sympathetic and realised how awful this thing is. She even recommended I sue the dentist but I just can't face all the trouble it will cause. Good luck to you and I hope you heal soon.

Thanks for you help and support and good luck to you. Maybe there's still hope for us after all this time. Do you have any twitching or muscle spasm sensations? I can feel them almost all the time and they are visible when I look in the mirror. Looks like my lips are throbbing, not painful but very annoying. Just wondered if you knew what they might be?

Thank you for the info. Have taken one dose of Amitriptylene one feel a bit odd today but it might just be tiredness. Only took one 25mg tablet so might try two if it doesn't help much. Do you know hoe long it takes to have effect as I forgot to ask the doctor yesterday? Does the effect build up or is it an instant thing? I think I need to keep going to see the doc now until they find something that helps rather that keep tring to go without drugs. Haven't heard of some of the drugs you mention so I'll look them up. Might be different names here in the UK. At least I've found a sympathetic doctor now who wants to help me, I think I've been too brave and cheerful before and they haven't realised how bad this problem is.

Thanks again and you take care too

D

I'm still here but still suffering, unfortunately. I took amitriptyline for a while but it didn't seem to have much effect on the pain so I've been taking gabapentin for what seems like ages now. I'm not really sure if it's doing any good anf I've tried up to 2400mg per day of it. I'm now on 1200mg and would really like to get off it completely but I'm waiting to see the doc at the pain clinic again. My family doctors don't seem to have a clue what to try!! My main prob at the moment is sleeping. I thought maybe the gaba was causing the insomnia so I've been reduced the dose from the 1800mg the doc recommended but last night I didn't sleep at all!! This is driving me nuts as I feel so tired the next day but, at the same time, I also feel hyper. What could this be, have you any idea?? The twitching is still there as strong as ever, if not stronger and it makes relaxing very difficult. I think I may look into the flexaril as mentioned by the other poster but I'm so worried about these drugs giving me all sorts of side effects. What do you think about the gabapentin causing the insomnia, it is mentioned in the leaflet but everyone else says they make them sleepy so I'm not sure what to do. I'm going to make an appointment with the doc asap and see what they say. I think the burning and tingling is a little better than it used to be but whether it's as a result of the drugs or time I can't tell!

Thanks so much for your concern, and if you or anyone else can provide any answers I would be very grateful

This website says that insomnia can be a "less serious" side effect of gabapentin (brand name neurontin).

Generic Name: gabapentin
Brand Names: Gabarone, Neurontin

http://www.drugs.com/neurontin.html

I had to go gradually go off the meds that I was on..I couldn't stand the way they made me feel. I'm trying to cope with the still present abnormal feelings and occasional pain spikes without meds...but I realize my injury doesn't seem to be as severe as others.

Has any physician been able to explain why you still have twitching 5 years after your injury?