Gabapentin

[[va...]]

Hi guys,

 

Almost 4 months off Klonipin and having a horrific time. My doctor put me on 200 mg of Gabapentin back in June to help w/ withdraw. I want to get off of it and have been cutting back to 100mg every other day.

 

My waves have been never-ending and was wondering if I should wait to taper off Gabapentin until I am doing better with the Klonipin WD.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Many thanks!!

[Guest [ba...]]

I did 300mg gabapentin for a while after my jump and felt that it helped me (especially with sleep).  I just dropped it when I started feeling a little better from the benzo withdrawal.

 

I've seen people drop gabapentin before and experience withdrawal symptoms.  Often made me wonder if it was gabapentin withdrawal or just that their benzo withdrawal symptoms became more noticeable.

[[va...]]

Thanks Bad,

 

Just getting through a horrific wave and wondering if it's benzo withdraw or related to the fact that I have cut back Gabapentin.

 

Best!!!

[[Re...]]

Thanks Bad,

 

Just getting through a horrific wave and wondering if it's benzo withdraw or related to the fact that I have cut back Gabapentin.

 

Best!!!

 

I think there is too much discussion on BB's about gabapentin in the context of cutting it or dropping it that puts the user at risk.  This is a powerful drug with significant influence on our CNS. 

 

I am currently tapering off of it.

 

I have gone through three 'phases' if you will with respect to my gabapentin taper.  Each of these phases has essentially mirrored a progressive benzo taper.  However, these distinct phases have been defined by necessary adjustments due to what I learned each time I tapered gabapentin too rapidly.  At first, going down from 600 to 500 after 9 days of use was nothing. 2 weeks later I went to 400mg per day.  Some small anxiety was all I experienced for a few days.  So, I continued from 400 down to 200 over a couple of weeks.  I hit major withdrawal at 200.  I thought it was merely a benzo wave, but now I don't think so.  Now, I am pretty confident it was a combo of benzo and gaba withdrawal.  So, I stabilized at 300 and it took me a month.  Then, I did a cut and hold of about 6mg every 4 days.  I made it down to 214 and hit another major wave.  It was horrible.  But this wave was different, it was the worst nerve pain and really centered around nerve discomfort such as burning, twitching, etcetera.  I stabilized for about 10 days and continued cutting.  When I resumed cutting, I cut only 2mg per day, everyday.  I've had to hold a couple times on my way down from 216 to 106mg, where I am today.  I take this dose in two divided doses.  That is to say, I take 53mg AM and 53mg PM.  That's a pretty small dose of gabapentin but I can feel it if I cut too much.  I'm approaching the point where I may hold for 3 or 4 days and let my body stabilize a little bit.  At this point, as a percentage, 2mg per day represents a daily increase in the cut that I think is starting to become noticeable in terms of resulting in symptoms.  Therefore, this next phase (and I hope final phase) may require me to micro taper by a constant percentage such as 1.6% per day as opposed to a milligram constant (e.g. 2mgs).  I haven't come to any conclusion as to what my methodology will be yet, but the constant % method is the way I am leaning.

 

So, at the end of the day, I think a lot of people make the mistake of being too cavalier in respect of the gabapentin taper.  This stuff is powerful and may require the user to taper it with as much care, analysis and design as a benzo.  At first, I thought I could get off it easy just like others have because, "it's just gabapentin, which isn't as bad as a benzo"......  It might not be as 'bad' but it may require slower tapering and careful monitoring if one wants to avoid prolonged withdrawal and damage from getting off it.  At least it seems to require that in my case.

 

All the best.   

 

-RST

[[li...]]

hey there, stuck at 300mg GBN with neuro-emotional sdx/ anxiety through the roof/anhedonia/cring jags/depression so i am paranoid of cutting. is it worth it? do you eventially stabilize? know this is not benzo WD. also bad cognition and vision problems. why is it do you think so impossible to get below 300mg??? any thoughts and please update me on your condition etc.  would love a response as in a dark hopeless place..........lilla

[[Re...]]

hey there, stuck at 300mg GBN with neuro-emotional sdx/ anxiety through the roof/anhedonia/cring jags/depression so i am paranoid of cutting. is it worth it? do you eventially stabilize? know this is not benzo WD. also bad cognition and vision problems. why is it do you think so impossible to get below 300mg??? any thoughts and please update me on your condition etc.  would love a response as in a dark hopeless place..........lilla

 

Hey there Lilla.

 

First of all, my heart goes out to you.  Those symptoms are tough.  I'm holding a bit on my taper (3rd day of holding) and then I'll resume shortly.  I have stabilized every time I have held.  Sometimes it took longer than others.  My longest hold with gabapentin was almost a month when I went from 500mg down to 200 waaaaaaay too fast.  I went up and held at 300mg for about 4 weeks.  My shortest hold has been about a week. 

 

I don't see in your signature your use history and tapering information so that makes it difficult to compare experiences.  How long have you been on gabapentin?  What was your highest dose and the duration of that dosing schedule?  How long have you been tapering and how have you been tapering?  What is the amount you've been reducing per reduction?  All of these things may influence how we regard your particular issue and how we are able to offer opinions.

 

The reality is that gabapentin influences the glutamate - gabba system (even if by different mechanism than benzos) and so the potential for withdrawal is real and no less important than someone using benzos.  I have only had success tapering gabapentin by treating it just the same as a benzo.  I do measured and controlled cuts in a daily micro taper and hold when necessary.  I'm down to 50mg AM and 50mg PM, or 100mg per 24 hours.  That's getting into the very low dose range for gabapentin but I still have to be very careful.  I was feeling well enough to get a little exercise yesterday and only 2 hours after my bike ride my symptoms spiked.  Anxiety went way up (which is not typical for me), and my nerve pain went up such as burning as well as muscle twitching.  I am only cutting 2mg per day (1mg off each dose) and yet it catches up with me sometimes, as it did over the last few days.  It seems my sweet spot is to cut no more than about 1.5% to 1.6% per day, although my current pace is a little less than 2% per day (1 - ((50mg/51mg) x 100) = 1.96%.  This is significantly faster than 10% per month, or even every 2 weeks.  Now that I am into the very low doses, I may have to slow down my pace a bit, just as one does with benzos. 

 

Anyway, that's me.  Try to create a signature to give us your benzo or gabapentin dosing and cutting information and then we can all be of better service. 

 

-RST

[[Hd...]]

I am having a horrific time with gabapentin ! I've been on Ativan for a couple year , which was a reinstatement after an 8 month long cold turkey , withdrawal from Xanax, which led to hospitalization for over a week... I think I've been in a kindling state ever sencne... I had a car wreak about ten years ago , and had to go to a specialist ,that put me on 300mgs x3 times a day in July.. I felt bad from the begining , so after a couple months of hell, I cold turkeied that.. BIG MISTAKE !

 

I've been very sick , so I went back on to stabalize , and I'm not stabalizing and very scared ! I went back up to 300mgs n I'm so sick, I honestly can't believe it !

 

I need some advice on what to do ... I'm having every horrifying symptom there is and dr refuses to acknowledge this .

[[Re...]]

I am having a horrific time with gabapentin ! I've been on Ativan for a couple year , which was a reinstatement after an 8 month long cold turkey , withdrawal from Xanax, which led to hospitalization for over a week... I think I've been in a kindling state ever sencne... I had a car wreak about ten years ago , and had to go to a specialist ,that put me on 300mgs x3 times a day in July.. I felt bad from the begining , so after a couple months of hell, I cold turkeied that.. BIG MISTAKE !

 

I've been very sick , so I went back on to stabalize , and I'm not stabalizing and very scared ! I went back up to 300mgs n I'm so sick, I honestly can't believe it !

 

I need some advice on what to do ... I'm having every horrifying symptom there is and dr refuses to acknowledge this .

 

First of all, my heart goes out to you.  That is such a hard place to be in. 

 

By your signature, I notice you have a lot going on.  You are doing a lot of things to your CNS.  You're cutting the Ativan, but then went on a substantial dose of gabapentin, and then off C/T, now reinstating.  That's hard. especially because you reinstated a benzo (Ativan) to deal with the Xanax cold turkey hell.

 

First of all, has your Ativan taper been tolerable to this point?  Second, at what dose of Ativan were you at when you started the gabapentin and also when you CT'd it?  As I understand it, you are on somewhere between 4 and 5 mg of Ativan now after coming down from 8mg?  Does it give you any therapeutic value at that lower dose?  If 900mg of gabapentin did nothing for you but cause problems and ct'ing has been horrible.  I don't think a 300mg reinstatement will help.  Normally, when one reinstates you have to go higher than the most recent dose, but I don't know how helpful that analogy is here because of the poly-drug issue.

 

OK, my belief is that adding gabapentin while you are still on a benzo is akin to updosing.  That's JUST MY OPINION.  I say this because although it doesn't act on the same receptor in the neuron as the benzos do, it does influence the glutamate / gabbaminobutyric acid system. I think if I were in your shoes I would stop the gabapentin reinstatement and hold your ativan taper for a bit to see if anything stabilizes a bit.  That's just my gut feeling.  Worst case scenario, I'd consider updosing the Ativan a bit if you felt there was no tolerable option of holding.  I'd leave the gabapentin out of the equation now.  However, remember that I am NOT A DOCTOR.  These comments are ONLY THE OPINION OF a lay person suffering in the same boat as you.

 

Perhaps others can offer opinions and critique my comments as well.  Hang in there, I'm rooting for you....I'm rooting for us all.

 

-RST

 

Regards,