I voted Maybe because I think Neurontin is (over) prescribed for a broad range of painful conditions and while it may help with nerve-based pain (neuropathies, neuralgia, pinched nerve, etc), it is far from the panacea the medical establishment seems intent on using it as.

I've been on a high dose of Neurontin for about 4 years. I never struggled with anger issues until I started it. For about a year I had a hair trigger hostility thing going on, now I am just plain hostile in general. My poor husband. Then I also gained 50# in the first year (and can't lose that weight to save my life). I have experienced severe psychological issues which I never dealt with prior to taking this med - stuff like suicidal ideation, which was just never something I even considered before. I also now have borderline glaucoma in my eyes - basically my inner eye pressure is ridiculously high at a really young age... and other negative stuff added to the already frustrating and life-changing medical conditions I was being treated for.

Thats just the some of the stuff that came about when I started on gabapentin. Is it the drug's fault? I think so, but I can't absolutely prove that claim, so... About a year ago, I decided to taper myself off the drug (yeah, yeah I know you aren't supposed to without dr approval, but... I had reasons). Within a few weeks, my neuropathy was far worse, like fire ants biting my bone marrow worse. So I shifted the dosage more, wondering if I had tapered too fast. And adding back the missing dosage improved things right quick... much less fire ants. But all the nasty side effects remain.

I hate being fat. Hate. It. I hate that I already have glaucoma - its so unfair. Hate that my moods resemble a game of ping pong where nobody wins. But gabapentin really does seem to help the sensations of having an acid IV of running straight to my extremities... I just don't notice how much it helps until I stop taking it as much.

So yes, if I knew a person with nerve pain issues I would at least tell them about all the nasty side effects, but also how much it helped my pain.