Hey Grant,
I have stopped Neurontin that I took for 12 years w/little prob and stopped taking Fioricet every day that I was telling myself I was taking to prevent migraines (now just take for super duper h/a/migraine) and very infrequently HOWEVER~ the pain medication is really difficult to drop down from the 10mg/day dose and I take it every 24 hours.
The pain medication is thought to have caused "torturous bowel" - where part of my colon is very torturous thus making parastalsis and eventual evacuation even more difficult w/o being tied to laxatives a.m. and p.m. and now it seems it may have helped create a situation w/my bladder as well (cystocele) or bladder wall prolapse (from all the pushing/bearing down).
So I'm thinking I'm going to have to go off this stuff and find out where my real pain levels lie eventually esp. if I have to have a bladder tack up or some such surgery and bearing down is totally prohibited for a number of weeks (suposedly always).
Oh.. did I mention I completely get what you're saying re the moods.. yeah, it has happened to me when trying to decrease the pain medication that I've now been on for 10 years.
I can't imagine working and having my stomach flipping out all over the place or the moods as you mention. I can take someone's head off for no reason tho by now usually find the TV zone too comforting to leave when feeling really disgruntled.
Oh so easy to get along on these drugs and oh so difficult to get off some of them! Wishing you the best and just keep the sharp objects out of your hands at work!!! take care and thanks for the update! Glad to hear you're doing so incredibly well physically and that the swimming is so helpful mentally too (I used to swim every day and felt the same way).
