I was at your Dystonia website and thought I would send you a note about

my own experience with dystonia. I believe it was caused by a reaction

to Neurontin (gabapentin), which I was given for depression shortly

after being hospitalized in January. I wanted you to know so that you

could possibly add this to your list of prescription meds that cause

dystonia. I noticed it was not listed.

I had been on 900 mg of Neurontin per day for five days when my reaction

started. Within an hour I could no longer walk, and had extreme

spasticity over my entire body, enough that I could barely stay on the

ER bed. It took three months before I could walk normally again, and I

have ongoing problems with tremors and leg weakness. I write you in

part not just because of my own experience, but because I learned that

an aunt who was taking Neurontin has also had a dystonic reaction. I

now list Neurontin as an allergy, and try to be careful when taking any

rx medication -- I no longer take anything for depression, and oddly

enough am not in the least depressed. *smile*

I admire your website very much, and I thank you for it. My experience

with dystonia has greatly altered the way I view many things in my life

-- not just medications, but just being able to walk again is a great

gift. And I'm afraid I preach the gospel *against* drugs like Neurontin

to anyone who will listen. I firmly believe it is a potentially

extremely dangerous drug, and people should be made aware of the serious

risks before ever taking it. At the moment I am almost symptom-free,

working full-time again, and I believe that I've been very lucky. But I

won't forget what it was like, and I don't guess I'll ever completely

lose the fear that it'll come back.

Sometimes physicians prescribe various drugs that don't exactly 'fit' what they were/are originally intended for. I believe there was a post awhile back regarding Neurontin being prescribed for depression. You might do a search on the Neurontin Postings and you'll find it.

I make it a practice of questioning anything that my physician prescribes for me and we both go over 'all' possible side effects, etc. That way I'm well aware of exactly what I'm taking and it's my option to take it or not. This method of choice has served me well and thankfully I've managed to avoid having anymore drug reaction seizures, brought on by being prescribed a drug I should not have been given.