Use of gabapentin to treat pain of cts
28 March 2012 - 9:12pm
I appear to have cts but wonder if one of the symptoms includes the fingers becoming claw like and unable to straighten. An xray indicated some joint inflammation.
I was also put on gAbapentin in December to reduce the pain from the cts in both hands. By January my right shoulder began to feel pain, this progressed to my left and now my knees. This is really bad at night.
Blood tests indicate there is no underlying rheumatism but the pain is severe. The GP has suggested I now come of gb to see if the additional joint pains go.
Has anyone had a similar problem with gabapentin and cts producing claw like fingers?
I'm not sure about the side effects of Gabapentin, I would have to look those up to be sure that odd joint effects have not been reported rarely but finger clawing seems unlikely. It is also fair to say that painful knees are definitely not part of carpal tunnel syndrome so you clearly have something more than just CTS.
The commonest causes of finger clawing are:
Dupuytren's contracture
Trigger digit
Arthritis of the small finger joints
Ulnar neuropathy
Dystonia (rarely)
It is not generally a feature of CTS in the absence of other problems, though the fingers often feel stiff and sausage-like in CTS, especially first thing in the morning. Most of these should be fairly obvious on examining the hand. I would not rely on blood tests to exclude arthritis - an opinion from a hand surgeon or rheumatologist is likely to be more reliable. Stopping the Gabapentin sounds like a worthwhile experiment - especially if it is not obviously producing any benefit. It is perhaps worth noting that a trial of Gabapentin recently suggested that it was no better than placebo for CTS pain. JB