Gabapentin (Neurontin) Withdrawl Support Group

[[ho...]]

Hi JKS,

Sorry for the hard time you are experiencing. I wouldn't mess with the neurontin if it were me. I understand needing sleep though! Have you tried some other alternatives. Between holistic approaches and hypnosis I have had much improved sleep. Happy to make some suggestions there if interested. Hang in there!

Hopeful Girl

 

[[Ju...]]

Thanks so much for your kind replies. I was fairly certain that wasn't for me but I was in a vulnerable place yesterday. I actually got some passionflower tea recommended by some others on bb and got more sleep last night than the rest of the past week combined! Who knows if it will happen again but every day I get further from Valium and stronger in my resolve not to go back. Thanks again.

[[Is...]]

Hi all,

 

I have been awol for a while. Things were beyond bad, but I am surviving. Wanted to say hi and wish everyone a speedy recovery.  I will be 7 months of Neurontin come Jan 3....

 

Love IslandGirl

[[Co...]]

I am trying to find out if the way I am tapering the gabapentin is causing me more misery than

Necessary.  3 years ago I tapered off Xanax and although it wasn't painless, I got through it and haven't used it since.

That summer due to a nerve in my low back I went to pain management, I ended up taking

Gabapentin with an explanation that it wasn't the same as any benzos.  That was true.  It is icky

In its own way.  Had surgery this past July, and 2 months ago I started tapering Down.

The way it did the Xanax was taper then hold taper then hold.  My sweet husband set up a schedule and set alarms On my way! my phone which I appreciate. The way he set it up I m adding time between each dose. No holding.  So I feel like I an in withdrawal all the time.  All the symptoms mentioned here and then some.  So I am trying to find out if it's better to cut and hold.  My Pain doc told me to take 3 months to taper off.  So he is aware of the chore.  I also take Norco but not tapering that.  Doc said one at a time.  Any advice would be great. 

[[J-...]]

Hi everyone,

 

I know this is a neurotin w/d group, but I'm on lyrica wanting to taper off.

Can't find a lyrica support group. Don't know if the same rules apply for withdrawing.

 

I've been on lyrica since I started my Valium taper in July this year, was  put on 300 mg

Then got bumped up, stupidly to 350 mg. I'm trying to get back down now I'm on 325 mg.

I asked my pharmacist how to reduce, so he made compounded capsules of 12.5 mg as the lowest

dose cap is 25 mg.

 

He said I should be alright tapering at 12.5mg every two weeks. Does this sound alright?

I really want to get off this drug and don't know where else to turn to for help.

 

Any help would be much appreciated

Thanks,

J-Bird

[[An...]]

Crap, they're trying to put me on neurontin! They don't even believe me when I told them how I reacted to it before, which wasn't good! Glad I read this, and sorry you are all going through this.

[[Co...]]

Hi everyone,

 

I know this is a neurotin w/d group, but I'm on lyrica wanting to taper off.

Can't find a lyrica support group. Don't know if the same rules apply for withdrawing.

 

I've been on lyrica since I started my Valium taper in July this year, was  put on 300 mg

Then got bumped up, stupidly to 350 mg. I'm trying to get back down now I'm on 325 mg.

I asked my pharmacist how to reduce, so he made compounded capsules of 12.5 mg as the lowest

dose cap is 25 mg.

 

He said I should be alright tapering at 12.5mg every two weeks. Does this sound alright?

I really want to get off this drug and don't know where else to turn to for help.

 

Any help would be much appreciated

Thanks,

J-Bird

 

I have heard Lyrica called gabapentin's big brother.  I think this is a good place for help.  The taper sounds about right.  I think the benzo withdrawal information can still be helpful.  My doc was most concerned about seizure risk of dropping too fast.  Also if your heart rate and blood pressure spike up, clonidine can help.   

[[J-...]]

Hi everyone,

 

I know this is a neurotin w/d group, but I'm on lyrica wanting to taper off.

Can't find a lyrica support group. Don't know if the same rules apply for withdrawing.

 

I've been on lyrica since I started my Valium taper in July this year, was  put on 300 mg

Then got bumped up, stupidly to 350 mg. I'm trying to get back down now I'm on 325 mg.

I asked my pharmacist how to reduce, so he made compounded capsules of 12.5 mg as the lowest

dose cap is 25 mg.

 

He said I should be alright tapering at 12.5mg every two weeks. Does this sound alright?

I really want to get off this drug and don't know where else to turn to for help.

 

Any help would be much appreciated

Thanks,

J-Bird

 

I have heard Lyrica called gabapentin's big brother.  I think this is a good place for help.  The taper sounds about right.  I think the benzo withdrawal information can still be helpful.  My doc was most concerned about seizure risk of dropping too fast.  Also if your heart rate and blood pressure spike up, clonidine can help. 

Thanks for that, coffeelover

[[be...]]

Benzogirl,

 

Great job!! How much more do you have to go? I too was able to make big drops sx free. It was that last 100mg that were the tough ones.. 

 

Nice job.....Love IslanGirl

 

Hi IslandGirl:

 

My doc wants to keep me on the other 500 mg of N until I finish my taper, which will take months. He won't take no for answer, and if I don't take his advice, he said he'll drop me. Am scared to get off the N. He says it won't be a problem, that I can just drop the 500 mg at once. Doesn't have a clue. From what I'm reading here, the Big N seems to be as bad as benzos. I wonder if they have the same protracted withdrawal affects. I refuse to drop it C/T. Seems like I'd be dropping 5 mg of K at once......Betsy

[[Ut...]]

I just wanted to give an update.  I was on 300 mgs gabapentin for 2 yrs.  I just got the gabapentin in liquid form from my target pharmacy.  I decrease 10 mgs every 2 weeks.  I am now down to 230 mgs.  It's going great.  No problems.  Just thought I'd share.

[[Co...]]

antonius,

 

I was completely freaked out about 2 or 3 weeks ago. I went to my Dr. and was asking if there is ANY med that can help with pain that is not a narcotic and not a benzo. I was handed an r/x for neurontin. I came home and googled it and freaked out also. I threw it away. I came to BB and posted and was told that I was being sold out again. I do not get it. I was sick for a few weeks again and am ok now. I have not addressed this yet. I was so ticked off. This is the same Dr. that has been with me through my entire battle to get off klonopin and now valium. When will they get it? The last thing you want to do is hand someone another r/x after they have been in w/d for a year. I am sorry that this happened to you too.

 

CC

[[Co...]]

I just wanted to give an update.  I was on 300 mgs gabapentin for 2 yrs.  I just got the gabapentin in liquid form from my target pharmacy.  I decrease 10 mgs every 2 weeks.  I am now down to 230 mgs.  It's going great.  No problems.  Just thought I'd share.

 

Congrats on your success.  Sounds like a great plan.  Looking forward to the freedom of being done.

[[La...]]

Hi Everyone ,

 

I'm in need of some support & direction in regards to gabapentin. I was detoxed off of .76 mg of Clonazapam in October, & put on 900 mg gabapentin, 300 mg 3 x per day. Not sure that it's helping my withdrawal, maybe it is, but I'm still having post acute withdrawal that seems to be improving over time. Just wondering when I should start tapering off gabapentin? My doc suggests waiting till I feel a lot better, tapering at 100 mg per month to start with to see how it affects me. He says I'm healing underneath the gabapentin, & he uses it all the time in benzo detox. That most of his patients do not have a problem tapering off. I don't want to do it too soon, yet I don't want to be on it too long either & then have a hell of a time getting off. I know we're all different & react to things in our own way. I've seen people get off this with no problem while others have a hard time.

So any suggestions on this would be appreciated.

 

Thank you,

Laelani

[[La...]]

Hi Utah gal

 

Are you taking anything else while you taper?

Or is it just that the small cuts are working much better for you?

Curious because I'd like to know how & when I should start cutting my dose of

900 mg gabapentin. I've been on it since late October when I detoxed off

Clonazapam.

Are you symptom free as well with the slow tapering?

 

Thanks,

Laelani

[[Ut...]]

In full disclosure I am also on doxepin, 75 mgs.  I wound up on doxepin after my doc had me taper gabapentin from 300 mgs down to 200.  It caused severe withdrawal syndrome.  It was way too big of a cut for mr!  The only thing to end the constant panic attacks and nausea was doxepin.  I stabilized on the doxepin and then got the gabapentin in liquid form.  I decrease 10 mgs every 2 weeks.  It is going great!  I am not having any side effects at all.  I am down to 230 mgs.  Yes, it is a slow process, but it is working for me.

 

I may begin to taper the doxepin soon.  It too comes in liquid form.

[[La...]]

quote author=Utahgal link=topic=84267.msg1262679#msg1262679 date=1388885889]

In full disclosure I am also on doxepin, 75 mgs.  I wound up on doxepin after my doc had me taper gabapentin from 300 mgs down to 200.  It caused severe withdrawal syndrome.  It was way too big of a cut for mr!  The only thing to end the constant panic attacks and nausea was doxepin.  I stabilized on the doxepin and then got the gabapentin in liquid form.  I decrease 10 mgs every 2 weeks.  It is going great!  I am not having any side effects at all.  I am down to 230 mgs.  Yes, it is a slow process, but it is working for me.

 

I may begin to taper the doxepin soon.  It too comes in liquid form.

 

Glad you found something that helps with your taper. We all can't be med free.

As long as you're doing okay with your taper that's all that counts. I'm sure you'll be able to taper

doxepin just fine. I will keep it in mind if I have trouble tapering the gaba.

Thank you Utah Gal!

 

Laelani

[[Is...]]

UtahGirl,

 

As you know I too am still in hell. Too many sxs to list but my pdoc suggested I take Nortriptyline 10mg. This is an AD that also helps wth pain and sleep. He wanted me to take it dailey but I will not. The Ashton manual mentions its sister amatriptyline but to take it short term or ever other day so as not to become hooked and later have to W/D. (Chapter 3). I have been using it once in a while and it does give me some pain relief and is not a benzo or a narcotic. 

 

I have not answered any of the taper questions because I did it so fast because the Neurrontine was hurting me so bad I basically did a C/T from it.  It is just bad stuff for me.  I cant wait until we are all off this stuff and I am glad the info on this thread is helping others make informed decisions.

 

Another sleepless night for me. I pray we all heal and get some relief soon.

 

Love you all  IslandGirl

[[Ut...]]

Yes, I am probably hooked on doxepin.  However, it did end my suffering.  I am doing fine!  I am not looking forward to tapering doxepin, but I will come off it VERY slowly using the liquid, the same way I am having success with gabapentin.

 

The doxepin has ended my anxiety/panic, allows me to eat normal (had severe nausea from withdrawal syndrome), and allows me to sleep great!

 

I will make very small and slow cuts to get off it.

[[Is...]]

UtahGirl,

 

As you know I too am still in hell. Too many sxs to list but my pdoc suggested I take Nortriptyline 10mg. This is an AD that also helps wth pain and sleep. He wanted me to take it dailey but I will not. The Ashton manual mentions its sister amatriptyline but to take it short term or ever other day so as not to become hooked and later have to W/D. (Chapter 3). I have been using it once in a while and it does give me some pain relief and is not a benzo or a narcotic. 

 

I have not answered any of the taper questions because I did it so fast because the Neurrontine was hurting me so bad I basically did a C/T from it.  It is just bad stuff for me.  I cant wait until we are all off this stuff and I am glad the info on this thread is helping others make informed decisions.

 

Another sleepless night for me. I pray we all heal and get some relief soon.

 

Love you all  IslandGirl

 

 

oops, I meant this for ColoradChick.  Sorry UtahGirl. My benzo brain not working right. Maybe one of these may help with pain....IG

 

[[Li...]]

I sure could use some advice. I successfully got off Lorazapam about 8 years ago, then got hooked on Ambien, then Lunesta. Got almost off both of those, but the insomnia has plagued me forever. Doc put me on Neurontin 18 months ago for nerve pain. It didn't help that, but sure gave me relief from insomnia. At one point I was taking 600mg of it at night and have since tapered to 300, but I cannot seem to get farther. Three weeks ago I tapered to 200, but got bronchitis, then a bad head cold and sleep was impossible. I tried 200 of Neurontin with 10 of Amitriptilene which gave great sleep but the Amitriptilene side effects are a pain ( dry mouth, spacey head). In the last week I really screwed up and took Ambien 2.5mg one night, then 2 other nights I took Lunesta 1.5. Here comes trouble again! I want SO badly to stop ALL meds to sleep, but I just can't survive on a few hours of sleep. I can stay off the sleeping pills ( I hope), but how do I get off this darn Neurontin? Will I ever sleep without meds? Right now I take magnesium, progesterone, and L-theanine along with Neurontin.

[[...]]

Hi folks.  I'm just completing a year long taper from K.  I'm at .019.  Some people would laugh at that amount but I've been through too much to not just take it down to nothing and that is the weight of a .25 pill so its probably much less.  Just fear that keeps me cutting.  Now, I want to begin tapering N.  I'm taking 1, 400mg. capsule at night.  I want to begin a week from now.  I just took 1 cap. and broke it open to weigh it and take out the throw away.  It was such a pain in the a...  I dry cut the K but I'm not sure that is going to be an option for this.  How are people doing this?  I could use some help.  Njoy

[[Ut...]]

NJoy........

 

I don't know how sensitive you are to meds.  I happen to be very sensitive.  I was only on 300 mgs of gabapentin.  My doc had me decrease by 100 mgs down to 200 mgs total.  It sent me into severe withdrawal.  I had to go on doxepin to stop the withdrawal, even though I went right back up to 300 mg gaba.

 

After I stabilized on my doxepin, I got the gabapentin in liquid form and only decrease by 10 mgs every 2 weeks.  I am now down to 220 and doing fine!  No problems!

 

You may want to take it slow, especially since you just tapered K.  See if you can get part of your dose in 100 mgs caps and decrease by 100 mgs every 2 weeks until you get to 800 or so, then maybe decrease by 50 (open cap and dump half out).  Then when you get down to 400 or so, get the liquid like I did and you can decrease by 10 or 20 mgs.

 

Just take your time.  There is no prize for coming in first place!

[[...]]

Thanks Utah girl.  You don't have to sell me on taking it slow. I, originally, planned to wait till I was completely off the K for a few months before beginning this but I've read some things that have me somewhat alarmed so I just want to get started. I did read today that the N will dissolve in water.  That wasn't an option w/ the K.  It was always a suspension.  I'm not sure what it means to take the dg out of the capsule.  Maybe I should find out before starting.  Dropping by 10 mg sounds good.  That will be 80 wks at 10 mg every 2 wks.  Why does everything have to be so hard.   Njoy

[[...]]

Hello all, I quit taking neurontin about 19 months ago and I need to reinstate this hell of a medication due to withdrawal symptoms that simply never ends. I came here to ask if it carries the risk of kindling, like benzos. because while I could go through benzo withdrawal again, I would rather die than experience the symptoms I got from quitting this med. I just need to know reinstating won't make things worse on me, as I can't even live with myself as it is.

 

I need to reinstate this or I feel like I will commit suicide by now. Screw being off the meds it's not worth killing yourself over, I'd much rather live with the dizzyness and other side effects than continue feeling like this because it's destroying me from the inside out. I just need to be reassured it won't cause kindling and leave me with some kind of unsolvable withdrawal symptoms. This happened to me with benzos, I tried to reinstate my old dosage and it made me feel a million times worse.

 

I'm prepared to reinstate twice my old dosage (3600mg daily) if I so have to, but these problems need to be gone now. I also suffer nerve pain daily that I thought would resolve itself but it's been 2 years now and I don't believe so anymore. Neurontin completely removed these so it seems wiser to reinstate neurontin than to start up some other pain medication that may or may not work.

 

[[ho...]]

Hello all, I quit taking neurontin about 19 months ago and I need to reinstate this hell of a medication due to withdrawal symptoms that simply never ends. I came here to ask if it carries the risk of kindling, like benzos. because while I could go through benzo withdrawal again, I would rather die than experience the symptoms I got from quitting this med. I just need to know reinstating won't make things worse on me, as I can't even live with myself as it is.

 

I need to reinstate this or I feel like I will commit suicide by now. Screw being off the meds it's not worth killing yourself over, I'd much rather live with the dizzyness and other side effects than continue feeling like this because it's destroying me from the inside out. I just need to be reassured it won't cause kindling and leave me with some kind of unsolvable withdrawal symptoms. This happened to me with benzos, I tried to reinstate my old dosage and it made me feel a million times worse.

 

I'm prepared to reinstate twice my old dosage (3600mg daily) if I so have to, but these problems need to be gone now. I also suffer nerve pain daily that I thought would resolve itself but it's been 2 years now and I don't believe so anymore. Neurontin completely removed these so it seems wiser to reinstate neurontin than to start up some other pain medication that may or may not work.

 

Hi Toz,

I am so sorry you are suffering so much. Unfortunately, I do not know about reinstating and kindling with gabapentin. I have tapered from 2700 mg to 900 mg. I then tapered down to 400mg but was super sick from too fast of a benzo taper and going too fast with gabapentin that I went back up to 900mg. I don't think it made any difference. Have you tried anything else? Supplements? Natural alternatives? Are you in an area where there are integrative doctors or a naturopath that can help? Maybe worth a short. I've had great success with this. Hang in there!

Hopeful Girl