Gabapentin during tapering

[[da...]]

I started my tapering from 3mg Lorazepam + 5mg Valium, in Aug 2023. A huge wave of WD from Jan-Mar 24 (becasue I tapered too fast). And I feel more stabilized now (on 4mg Valium currently). The most acute WD is the joint pain (and also popping sound). I am scared so I went to a doctor.

I did a bunch of checking and the doctor concluded it as "some muscles & tendon are too tight and some are too weak. so the unbalance caused the pain" I think it is reasonable because Benzo is muscle related, and it surely did something on our muscles balancing.

But my doctor prescribed me "Gabapentin 300mg", "just in case". This doctor is a better one because he did keep emphasizing "don't take it if the pain is endurable" So I didn't take any (and the pain got better after the doctor taught me some stretching)

I definitely don't want to mess up my tapering and also the pain is not that acute now. So I don't have any plan to take Gabapentin. But still I want to know more. I looked up the forum, but most of our BBs start their tapering along Gabapentin (instead of prescribed during tapering). Is it dangerous and harmful to take during tapering?

[[ns...]]

6 minutes ago, [[d...] said:

I started my tapering from 3mg Lorazepam + 5mg Valium, in Aug 2023. A huge wave of WD from Jan-Mar 24 (becasue I tapered too fast). And I feel more stabilized now (on 4mg Valium currently). The most acute WD is the joint pain (and also popping sound). I am scared so I went to a doctor.

I did a bunch of checking and the doctor concluded it as "some muscles & tendon are too tight and some are too weak. so the unbalance caused the pain" I think it is reasonable because Benzo is muscle related, and it surely did something on our muscles balancing.

But my doctor prescribed me "Gabapentin 300mg", "just in case". This doctor is a better one because he did keep emphasizing "don't take it if the pain is endurable" So I didn't take any (and the pain got better after the doctor taught me some stretching)

I definitely don't want to mess up my tapering and also the pain is not that acute now. So I don't have any plan to take Gabapentin. But still I want to know more. I looked up the forum, but most of our BBs start their tapering along Gabapentin (instead of prescribed during tapering). Is it dangerous and harmful to take during tapering?

dav867, I took Gabapentin for yrs for  trigeminal neuralgia. Because of it, I now have hyponatremia. 

I'm no longer taking that drug. I tried it again 3 yes ago and it was terrible. 

If your doing ok with your taper I wouldn't risk any changes. With Gabapentin, you loose sodium and have to add extra salt to your diet which isn't healthy for your kidneys or heart.

It's up to you of course, everyone is different!

I have extreme muscle tension and Gabapentin did not help with that at all.

It's all part of wd I'm afraid. 

Take care

Ns

[[Md...]]

I'd say it depends on the dose of Gabapentin and how long you take it for. My aunt has taken Gabapentin for over 20 years for a pinched nerve issue, and she has had zero problems. So just like any other medication, it's going to depend on the individual and how they respond to it.

I took Gabapentin twice. The first time I took it I had an adverse reaction (pretty uncommon). The second time I took it, it just made me sleepy. 
 

@[ns...] Did you happen to find anything that helped your TN? I'm currently looking for something that can help with my facial pain that I developed after dental work. That's actually what got me on benzos to begin with, as they brought the pain down from a 10 to a 1. Had no idea what I was in store for with this medication though. Had i known, I only would have taken it during flareups.

But I've been diagnosed with TN, and aytpical facial pain, etc. by dentists and doctors, but they can't seem to really figure it out yet. Every doctor I go to tells me something different. It could even be TMJD for all I know. 

Edited May 3 by [Md...]

[[da...]]

@[ns...]
Thanks for your kind word!
I am currently doing OK in my tapering. My joint pain is still with me but it is not very awful (although it is still bothering me quite a lot). I definitely don't want to risk my tapering progress. But since my doctor prescribed me the Gabapentin and cautioned me a lot, so I want to know what actually is it.

Seems most of the BBs (who used Gabapentin) are taking it already before the tapering, so I can't find some information of taking it in the middle of tapering. But either way, I won't take the risk! : )

Take care
-Dav

[[kn...]]

I've tried Gabapentin three times during my taper.  Two at 300mg and once at 100mg.  I found the stuff to be kind of a 'miracle drug for about a week or so.  Every time I've done this it's made my nerve pain and weakness worse over a short duration.  I also found the stuff to produce practically immediate dependency for me.  Getting off  it is worse than the Benzos, but didn't last as long.  I'm really leary about any add on drugs during my taper.  Be extra careful with this one.  

[[Le...]]

people going through this have reactions to almost anything. it is hard to say how much is cause of the state of your body and how much is cause you are scared of pills now but i suggest minimal experimenting. the people who study this lots have had few successes. 

[[Ma...]]

I’m on Gabapentin for nerve pain from an accident when I was younger and have been for many years (before I was ever on a benzo).  I have zero side effects/issues with it and will probably be on it for the rest of my life because my nerve pain immediately returns when I try to come off of it.  I was on a larger dose initially and had no issues coming down to the dose I’m on now.  You’ll hear people say it’s as hard to come off of as benzos but that’s not been my experience.  We are all different but I think most people who have come off both find benzos a lot harder.  

[[De...]]

I think for you it’s less likely to alleviate the muscle pain so much as it would help with withdrawal. 300mg per day is on the low end of what I’ve seen prescribed. 
 

i did a 21 day K taper and was on about 2400mg per day (I think) of Gabapentin while I tapered off. I then took Gabapentin for about 2 weeks post jump from the benzos. I personally felt Gabapentin saved my life and allowed me to get off Benzos. It acts on the same receptors but isn’t going to hit as hard as a benzo. Most people I was in treatment with took Gabapentin to ease withdrawal symptoms.

since you’re doing a more gradual taper you probably wouldn’t need it, but I don’t think you’re gonna screw anything up by taking it if you think it helps.