Gabapentin withdrawal

[Aimless Ryan]

As I'm sure there are more than a few people here on gabapentin, I just want to let you all know something important that was impossible for me to know before I started taking gabapentin, given my particular conditions; something I'm pretty sure your doctor never told you:

If you ever stop taking gabapentin, it will cause horrible withdrawal sickness. If you don't believe me, just google "gabapentin withdrawal" and find out from hundreds of other people who, like me, were unaware of the misery ahead of them specifically because doctors have been brainwashed into thinking this shit is the greatest thing ever. I have read a few people say gabapentin withdrawal is five times worse than heroin withdrawal. I can't compare it to heroin withdrawal (or any opioid withdrawal), as I have never used heroin nor withdrawn from any opioid.

I took gabapentin for about three months after having it prescribed while locked up in a nuthouse, where I was unable to do any research before taking it (which I always do before taking new pharmaceuticals). I had essentially no choice but to take it. Over the few months I took it, my highest dosage was 800 mg x 3 per day. Thankfully, however, I took much less than that most of the time I was on it.

When I was prescribed oxycodone a few weeks ago (which does wonders for me, without getting me remotely high), I stopped taking gabapentin. Withdrawal didn't begin until maybe 24 hours after my last dose, but it was fucking horrible. First my arms started itching near my wrists. Then my whole torso began to itch as well. Horrible stomach pain. Couldn't eat. And shit I can't remember because I was so far from my normal state of consciousness.

I didn't know what was going on. It wasn't until I had been experiencing this for nearly a full day that my friend, who is a nurse practitioner, suggested to me that it was withdrawal. So I took a gabapentin, and within a few hours the misery pretty much went away. However, now I was on gabapentin again. There is no way to win with this poison.

One thing that really upsets me about being prescribed this shit without being told about the consequences is that I now realize I have been through the early stages of gabapentin withdrawal many times. It has nearly gotten killed in the bathtub a few times. It made me feel so cold that I had to make my bath as hot as possible. It felt like my bones were freezing. Well, when I did that, I exhausted myself more than I thought was possible. Thankfully I was able to bite my medical alert necklace button to get help.

The first time I had to do this, I could barely speak to the medical alert operator, due to heat exhaustion. From what I remember, she interpreted my emergency as a false alarm. She was about to hang up when I was finally able to make some noises she could hear. The emergency crew was here within a few minutes after that, but I was already way beyond my original level of terror. I was freaked.

I just wanted to share my story so hopefully it doesn't happen to anyone else here. Some of you probably need to know how dangerous gabapentin poison is. If you currently take gabapentin, please do what I did, and google the search terms I shared above. Just inform yourself so you don't have to experience what I experienced multiple times.

This is not over for me. It may never be over. Thankfully I can get by pretty well on 200 mg twice a day, but I still experience mild withdrawal probably several hours every day. Also, since I still have to take some gabapentin every day, I am unable to escape the misery of taking gabapentin poison. So I have no choice but to be miserable because of this fucking evil poison, and I will probably experience this for months, if not a year or longer. If I'm even still around in a year.

So everyone, please be careful if you take gabapentin. Or be careful if someone prescribes it for you for the first time. I promise you you don't want to experience gabapentin withdrawal.

 

[biohacker]

Dude, i'm so sorry to hear about this but thanks for sharing. I have a co-worker/friend who was on this stuff for a while, and ending up attempting suicide from the withdrawals. I empathize. Although I haven't been through it, and know it's not even similar, but believe it or not I get withdrawals from ceasing cannabis, that are also hell on earth. I think it's basically due to the inability to sleep, and that causes even more brutal effects.

I assume your plan is to continue a very slow taper? How much cannabis do you use?

 

[Aimless Ryan]

I have to taper. However, I've taken 200 mg twice a day every day since the really nasty withdrawal episode. So right now I'm at 400 mg a day, rather than 2,400 mg a day. I'd say that's a very good start.

I had another withdrawal episode a few days after my initial episode because I thought I had taken some gabapentin right after I woke up. I didn't realize this until early in the afternoon. By then I was going through some pretty nasty withdrawal. Which, at that point, I wasn't able to recognize as withdrawal until it got really nasty.

I had been using probably half a gram to a gram of cannabis per day. But over the last couple weeks my cannabis use has gone down to almost nothing. Unintentionally. Probably because of the oxycodone. With oxycodone I don't trade one high for a different high. Rather, I trade being high for not being high. In addition to being much stronger and a whole bunch of other good things. With the small dosage of oxycodone I take, I get no side effects or withdrawal.

 

[strictly vapor]

I was put on gabapentin 9 years ago, among other things, and it was absolutely horrible. For me it mixed very negatively with the concerta I was also prescribed, and the marijuana I was using.

I would often throw up, feel like I'm not even there, be very mixed up emotionally and just overall it was horrible. In ways that are hard to describe, but anyone who's had the serious misfortune of being put on this horrible drug and lied to about the intense physical addiction it causes knows what I'm talking about.

The worst part is that with this drug and others, doctors are all too comfortable telling their often uninformed patients that these drugs will help them, with no side effects, and that they are NOT addictive. The same happened to me with the ssri cipralex, which took me 4 years to ween off and just about ruined my life beyond repair.

The kicker is that now for a traumatic brain injury my doctor wants to put me on gabapentin again, KNOWING what I went through years ago, and had the nerve to call me on tuesday and tell me to schedule and appointment to come sign up for more gabapentin torture. I won't do it. She laughed in my face when I politely mentioned medical marijuana, which health Canada now recommends for my type of brain injury.

These doctors are getting kickbacks from many of the drug companies, with some drugs having more incentive to push than others. I know this from not only reading and watching compelling documentaries and articles, but because my friend's mom routinely turns down these free trips and incentives as she is fundimentally against harmful, dangerous prescriptions. She is amazed at the co-relation between the strongest incentives and the drugs which are often the most chemically addicting.

We're in an age of corporate greed, with governments looking out for their own interests and it is up to us to look out for ourselves and fight for our health. The amount of information that gets suppressed sickens me, and the system in which our trusted doctors are learning their trade has been infiltrated by the very companies who rely on them to push their products.

@Aimless Ryan I'm really sorry to hear you have become a victim to one of the nastiest drugs I have ever experienced, and I really hope you are on the mend. As someone who managed to slip out of the gabbipentin grip, and also kick an even worse physical dependence to cipralex I want you to know there's hope. I got through it without killing myself using marijuana, and telling myself that I needed to keep putting one foot in front of the other every day, and eventually your normal baseline will slowly start to come back.

@biohacker really hoping your withdrawal symptoms ease out and that with new additions to your routine you can find a way to never experience this again. Drug withdrawals of any kind are debilitating and a form of torture like no other.

There's obviously lots of prescription drugs that save and drastically improve lives, and I'm really glad you found yours @Aimless Ryan .

 

[biohacker]

You are a true class act and an asset to this community @strictly vapor .... about to head over to the PM department, to pick your brain aka life experiences!

 

[herbivore21]

My best to you in recovering from what sounds like a dreadful drug man. So much terrible shit is mainlined into people against their will and without informed consent in mental health institutions. It is an awful stain on us all.

 

[Farid]

Gabapentin is an AED (anti epileptic drug), and stopping it's usage cold turkey(especially at such a high dose) can be deadly. AEDs are prescribed for non epileptics for a number of conditions. Even for non epileptics, stopping AED use cold turkey can lead to seizures.

Once I made the foolish decision to play doctor, and stopped taking Keppra cold turkey because I didn't like how it made me feel. I ended up having my first grand mal seizure despite having only had partial seizures up until then.

If I had known I would have just talked to my doctor, switched medications, and tapered down slowly, which is exactly what I did as soon as I got out of the hospital.

I understand some usages of AEDs for non epileptics, but gabapentin in particular seems over prescribed. A friend of mine who spent time in prison said lots of people had them there, to the extent to which they got the nickname "Johnnies".

 

[C No Ego]

this thread is scary as hell... they kept saying weed was bad in school- just think what the kids have to deal with now on the black market.. an over abundance of this pushed addicting ( docotr says it's not) medication from doctors for pay checks and kids wanting to experiment or escape... just give the kids a cannabis instead.... eating cannabis actually is a thing

 

[Snappo]

Damn... just discovered this thread and am scared as hell. Gabapentin is the only thing that has diminished the torturous effects of an 8 year horrible itch on my back, and also Burning Tongue Syndrome. I thought I'd found a safe relief where nothing else on Earth has helped. What now?!!!

 

[Aimless Ryan]

I'd say just knowing what could be ahead of you may be enough to prepare yourself for if you ever stop taking it. I didn't know what could be ahead of me. Consequently, I was caught off guard. Fortunately gabapentin is not something you'll probably ever have to search for on the streets, since every doctor seems to give it out like candy anyway.

Are you positive the itch on your back is not caused by daily gabapentin withdrawal? Because when I was withdrawing, I had a horrible itch all over my torso. (Or did you already have the itch before you ever took gabapentin?)

 

[Snappo]

I'd say just knowing what could be ahead of you may be enough to prepare yourself for if you ever stop taking it. I didn't know what could be ahead of me. Consequently, I was caught off guard. Fortunately gabapentin is not something you'll probably ever have to search for on the streets, since every doctor seems to give it out like candy anyway.

Are you positive the itch on your back is not caused by daily Gabapentin withdrawal? Because when I was withdrawing, I had a horrible itch all over my torso. (Or did you already have the itch before you ever took Gabapentin?)

Thanks Ryan... the itching on my back has been an existing condition for at least the last eight years, and the Burning Tongue Syndrome has been driving me crazy for the last year or so. Just started with Gabapentin a week ago and the symptoms of my tortures have diminished significantly since.

 

[Aimless Ryan]

Good. My amateur opinion says take as little as you need for relief. I mean, if I can get by pretty well right now on 400 mg a day, I probably never needed anywhere near 2400. (But then, I also have 10-15 mg of oxycodone per day helping me out right now.)

Just please don't let me make any of your important decisions for you!!!

Because for all I know, gabapentin may be the best thing that ever happened to you. Just like oxycodone seems to be the best thing that ever happened to me; even though it doesn't seem to affect most people as positively as it has affected me.

 

[CarolKing]

I've been on Gabapentin for awhile and never knew it was addictive. I'm also on an anti anxiety drug too. The two together is suppose to help with nerve pain which I have. They also wanted to tell me I had fibromyalgia which is a catch all phrase if you have pain throughout your body as I do. I have arthritis is what a couple doctors have said. I don't feel I'm having any adverse symptoms at this point. I do have a twitchy eye. I've thought maybe that was from the Gabapentin.

I did see online about the addictive properties. Where it suggests going to a drug rehab center to kick this drug. When I go into the doctor I'm going to talk to him about this.

This drug is used a lot.

 

[Snappo]

Forgot to mention that I also take Klonipin along with the GABA as the two in combination are supposed to be additive in beneficial effect for my maladies. Who really knows?.... we'll see.

 

[Aimless Ryan]

This post isn't withdrawal-related, but it is related to a tricky, confusing "side effect." Might be helpful for someone like @Snappo, who just started taking gabapentin.

Constipation.

I didn't start being constipated until at least a month after beginning gabapentin. Due to the lag (and due to the fact that lots of people take multiple pharmaceuticals), I'm inclined to think a lot of people would be unable to connect such constipation with its cause. It was easy for me, though, because it couldn't have been anything else.

When my constipation began (a couple months ago), I had not taken opioids in months. So I know my constipation is not caused by opioids. Also, the only other pharmaceutical I take is Adderall, which I have taken almost every day since 1992; which doesn't cause constipation. And all I drink is water; 2-3 liters per day.

Even though I have started taking oxycodone again, I know it has nothing to do with my current constipation issues because I took similar oxycodone dosage for a couple months last year, after tapering down from hospital dosage.

 

[looney2nz]

I've been on Gabapentin for awhile and never knew it was addictive. I'm also on an anti anxiety drug too. The two together is suppose to help with nerve pain which I have. They also wanted to tell me I had fibromyalgia which is a catch all phrase if you have pain throughout your body as I do. I have arthritis is what a couple doctors have said. I don't feel I'm having any adverse symptoms at this point. I do have a twitchy eye. I've thought maybe that was from the Gabapentin.

I did see online about the addictive properties. Where it suggests going to a drug rehab center to kick this drug. When I go into the doctor I'm going to talk to him about this.

This drug is used a lot.

It is prescribed off label A LOT, there was even a government investigation.

Gabapentin can work for some folks, but one of the most significant aspects of the drug is the cognitive impairment it causes. I was working towards my masters and was in a critical thinking and writing class, the pain management doc turned it up to 2400mg in short order... I was having all these 'tip of the tongue' moments, searching for the right word (I have a large vocabulary), hence it's nickname 'Morontin'.

I don't think they weaned me off slow enough, 'cause I was sick as a dog from that stuff.

(rear-ended, lit up my spine like a christmas tree, fibromyalgia followed <insult to injury!>)
That said, while Lyrica and Effexor help the pain level, they are a bitch 'cause they cause dry mouth, and after you lose a bunch of teeth, you start getting mighty pissed... I don't have $30K for implants
This is with regular brushing, using Biotene, drinking plenty of water.

I also weaned off the Effexor this last quarter to humor the docs and try Cymbalta... BAD decision.
Halfway through weaning off slowly, my pain level DOUBLED.
I persevered, the Cymbalta was a disaster... I'm back on the Effexor and have worked back up to my normal dose, but my pain level is now at least 1/3 higher than before

@CarolKing, how many points on the FM constellation of symptoms did you hit?
Some of the research has shown a profusion of glial cells in the pain pathways that seem to be amplifying the pain signals

A problem I've run into is that I have to medicate pretty well before I make tracks for the doctor (driven, not driving), which makes it appear that I'm not in as much pain or my mobility isn't as impaired... already had a doc blow me off due to that I think.

 

[Aimless Ryan]

A problem I've run into is that I have to medicate pretty well before I make tracks for the doctor (driven, not driving), which makes it appear that I'm not in as much pain or my mobility isn't as impaired... already had a doc blow me off due to that I think.

I hate that. I know exactly what you're talking about, having seen several doctors for pain management over the last several months. Largely because I look 25 or 30 to most people (I'm 43), and I guess my face doesn't show my pain. Apparently doctors can't see the wheelchair I can't get out of (due to pain).

I can't even remember (specifically because I have taken gabapentin), but I think feeling stupid was my original beef with gabapentin. I was kinda OK with it, though, considering my circumstances; I liken taking gabapentin to pressing a pause button on life. I thought I'd be able to deal with it until eventually hopefully receiving real pain management.

I already have full-time double vision from optic neuritis in my left eye. In other words, I always spin. On gabapentin I always spin a lot more.

 

[Aimless Ryan]

Today I'm taking my first step down, from 400 mg (200 x 2 daily) to 300 mg (100 mg x 3 daily). I'll report if I encounter any problems.

Seems smooth so far, though. I took my morning dose (100 mg) over an hour ago. I felt like I was withdrawing a little when I woke up, but I don't currently feel like I'm withdrawing. Gonna try a dosing schedule of 100 mg every 8 hours. I had been taking 200 mg every 12 hours for about the last month.

 

[Aimless Ryan]

I've been withdrawing pretty bad for an hour or two. Feels like I've been punched in the stomach really hard. I guess I sensed withdrawal coming on about an hour ago because I took my second pill of the day at least an hour ahead of schedule. I think instead of taking 100 mg three times a day, I'm going to try 100 mg every six hours until this doesn't happen.

EDIT: Half an hour after posting, the withdrawal pain is considerably better. The thing that really sucks is that oxycodone doesn't help this pain. And to be clear, I did not take an oxycodone in hopes of relieving this pain. Rather, I took an oxycodone before withdrawal began; before I knew it was coming. Which means I pretty much wasted a precious oxycodone.

 

[Aimless Ryan]

As of yesterday, I'm trying to take only three 100 mg pills a day (down from 400 mg the previous day), but I ended up taking a fourth one sometime in the middle of the night (due to the fear created by at least a couple hours of mid-day withdrawal yesterday). I think I might be able to get by with three pills today. If so, that will be a big win; should create some confidence.

I took 100 mg of gabapentin at about 8:30 this morning. Figured I'd be withdrawing pretty bad by 3:00, but it wasn't too bad. Although I felt like I could've waited another hour to take my second dose of the day, I went ahead and took another 100 mg at 3:00. Thankfully I didn't withdraw very bad while waiting for today's afternoon dose to kick in.

Hopefully I can make it to midnight tonight before taking another one. If so, then I may not have to take the following dose until I wake up tomorrow.

I want to mention this before I forget about it again. When they let me out of the nuthouse after I had been taking gabapentin for six or seven days, I was kind of afraid to leave my house. Keep in mind that when I leave my house, I leave on a power chair, and it gets pretty cold around these parts in December. (Used to, anyway.)

I don't even remember how cold it was in December (because of gabapentin), and I do think gabapentin played a much bigger role in keeping me from going anywhere than cold weather did. Because cold weather didn't make me paranoid and afraid of just about everything.

 

[Aimless Ryan]

I made it to midnight, then 8:30 this morning. I don't feel like I'm withdrawing too bad this morning. This still sucks, but it slowly seems to be getting better. It's kinda hard to believe such small doses make any difference, but they clearly do.

I hope these updates are helpful to someone, or will be.

 

[Aimless Ryan]

It's been 9 hours since my last 100 mg gabapentin dose, which I've been taking about every eight hours the last few days. Four or five days ago I don't think I could last more than about six hours between doses. Doesn't feel like I'm withdrawing much right now, either. Yet I pretty much always feel like I'm withdrawing at least a little. I'm beginning to feel like I might be able to kick this poison fairly soon. Which probably means the shit is about to hit the fan. Even though this hasn't necessarily been hell, it hasn't been easy, either.

 

[Baron23]

I medicate for neuropathic pain resultant from a back injury and subsequent surgery. Just had an MRI two weeks ago, first in 7 years or so, and lumbar degeneration is progressing. I will probably have to have it fused in the not too distant future (but sure as fuck that ain't happening today)

After this MRI the Dr's once again tried the Lyrica/Neurotin pitch yet again. Been there, done that, I will not go down that route again.

So, my principal Dr's, who will not touch MMJ (but I do have a MMJ Dr for my certification) but they will be glad to give me oxycodone, valium and robaxin, ambien, and lyrica/neurontin. Its just too stupid for words.

 

[Aimless Ryan]

I'm beginning to feel really cold inside, along with the familiar itching and stomach pain. Hoping I can make it another 22 minutes. If so, that will make 10 hours between 100 mg doses. I think the finish line may finally be in sight.

I sometimes wonder if people who have had bad experiences with oxycodone were prescribed much larger doses than I will allow myself. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of dosage have you taken?

I was miserable all day after I got out of the burn unit last summer. I am very inclined to think it's because Ohio State had me doped out of my head. For the 24 hours I was in the Ohio State burn unit, I was allowed three oxycodones every two hours if I wanted. I don't know if they were 5 mg pills or 10 mg pills. If it was 10, they should be in prison.

...

Made it!

 

[Aimless Ryan]

I just did some math. Even if the 3 oxycodones I was allowed every 2 hours by OSU were 5 mg (the weakest oxycodone dosage available in whole pill form, times 3), three pills every two hours comes out to 180 mg per day. Yes, having second and third degree burns all over your leg, ass, and dick hurts like shit, but Jesus.

If you (@Baron23) were prescribed even half that much oxycodone per day, I can understand why you have an aversion to oxycodone.

Right now, even if I had a truckload of oxycodone, I still wouldn't take any more than 30 mg on any particular day. But since I don't have a truckload (or any certainty that I'll ever receive any more oxycodone), I limit my daily consumption to 20 mg.