Like many psychiatric drugs, physicians may have identified a new potential use for Neurontin. However, there are still concerns about Neurontin birth defects even as new studies recommend Neurontin for pain.

According to a recent paper published in the Cochrane Database of System Reviews, patients suffering from neuropathic pain could take Neurontin for pain. Neuropathic pain includes a number of different disorders, where pain is caused by disease of or damage to nerves. One of the better-known types of neuropathic pain is fibromyalgia, a condition where nerve endings misfire and cause widespread pain in the body. Researchers have found that while fibromyalgia is poorly understood, patients saw improvement when taking Neurontin for pain. Similar results were found for people with neuropathy from diabetes and neuropathic pain during recovery from shingles.

The research took the form of a meta-review, a type of medical paper wherein trained researchers review existing medical papers to find out the state of medical research on the subject. Researchers found 37 studies meeting their criteria, which included more than 5,633 human test subjects. Researchers found that 30 to 40 percent of patients taking Neurontin for pain showed improvement, which was more than double the number who showed improvement on placebo alone.

However, researchers found that patients taking Neurontin for pain also experienced serious Neurontin side effects. This included dizziness, trouble walking, and trouble sleeping. Serious Neurontin side effects occurred at a rate of about 1 in 33. About 10 percent of patients suffered side effects serious enough that they had to stop taking Neurontin. The paper’s authors called for more longer-term studies on the safety and efficacy of Neurontin, as many forms of neuropathic pain are long-term and shorter studies are not as helpful to evaluate Neurontin under these conditions.

Neurontin and Birth Defects Risks

One area for concern with Neurontin is the possibility of Neurontin birth defects. Other psychiatric/pain/mood stabilizing drugs like Neurontin have been linked to serious birth defects. Though Neurontin itself has not been thoroughly studied in pregnant women, animal studies suggest that Neurontin could cause serious birth defects and health problems.

The idea of Neurontin birth defects is especially concerning for another reason. Drugs like Neurontin cannot be lightly discontinued. In fact, it’s recommended that patients slowly taper off drugs like Neurontin under a doctor’s close supervision over the course of at least seven days. This is because Neurontin is often used to treat seizures and psychiatric problems. When a person with epilepsy stops taking their medication, there is a high risk of “rebound seizures.” During the period where the Neurontin is withdrawn, the brain’s process of adjusting to life without the drug leaves it extra vulnerable to seizures. This means it is difficult to stop taking the drug, and if a patient becomes pregnant, she has to balance the risk of birth defects against the risk of potentially-deadly rebound seizures.

Neurontin Birth Defects Lawsuits

In Neurontin birth defect lawsuits, women and families are coming forward to seek justice and compensation after their children are born with serious birth defects allegedly due to exposure to Neurontin in the womb. While pregnant women with epilepsy often require a drug like Neurontin (gabapentin) to prevent epileptic seizures which could harm them or their developing babies, many women are not aware of the risk of birth defects associated with this drug. If you believe that your child’s birth defect may have been caused by your use of Neurontin during pregnancy, you may be able to pursue compensation for your damages.