Gabapentin (Neurontin) Withdrawl Support Group

[[Te...]]

Locutus,

At my worst I lived minute to minute, then hour to hour, now day by day. Staying rooted in the present not only helps with withdrawal, but also with anxiety. Remember, we were prescribed these drugs for anxiety. Now we're off, and the anxiety has to be dealt with. I meditate, read as I am able, go to the gym (careful not to overdo it), try to do small productive things but not obsess.

In my case, I lost a lot of weight due to Klonopin induced GI symptoms. I was ado drinking way too much as the klonopin became less effective. Now that I'm not drinking and off meds and exercising, I'm gaining weight and muscle. I'm eating clean. As I'm feeling better, I've discovered that some  if the supplements my medical nutritionist put me on actually upset my stomach so I'm cutting back.

I look better even though I'm not fully recovered. Every day is different. Symptoms fade in and out and sometimes new ones appear. I'm even able to smile a little and feel some pleasure. But there are major areas where pleasure escapes me. I think in time it will cone back but our bodies must heal. Day by day....

[[lo...]]

yeah, ashton claims stuff resolves 6-12 months and thats what we need to be prepped for. there are cases where it takes longer ofc, but I don't think we need to expect the worst.

I too have short moments of laugh and joy, but they usually short lived. the gabapentin was kind of another escape into a pill, maybe not as bad as benzos but still a pill.

the challenge is to live and accept that there is no pill to take, or any substance for that matter to deal with yourself.

 

Locutus,

At my worst I lived minute to minute, then hour to hour, now day by day. Staying rooted in the present not only helps with withdrawal, but also with anxiety. Remember, we were prescribed these drugs for anxiety. Now we're off, and the anxiety has to be dealt with. I meditate, read as I am able, go to the gym (careful not to overdo it), try to do small productive things but not obsess.

In my case, I lost a lot of weight due to Klonopin induced GI symptoms. I was ado drinking way too much as the klonopin became less effective. Now that I'm not drinking and off meds and exercising, I'm gaining weight and muscle. I'm eating clean. As I'm feeling better, I've discovered that some  if the supplements my medical nutritionist put me on actually upset my stomach so I'm cutting back.

I look better even though I'm not fully recovered. Every day is different. Symptoms fade in and out and sometimes new ones appear. I'm even able to smile a little and feel some pleasure. But there are major areas where pleasure escapes me. I think in time it will cone back but our bodies must heal. Day by day....

[[Te...]]

Locutus,

"the challenge is to live and accept that there is no pill to take, or any substance for that matter to deal with yourself."

Yes. We can't be happy every minute, or free from anxiety every minute. Life isn't always pleasant. There are no magic bullets. I know that for some people psych meds are essential. But for many of us they weren't. These meds were prescribed instead of giving us useful tools to cope with our emotions. And look where it got us.

Best,

TeeCee

 

 

[[lo...]]

TeeCee; when would you say your gabapentin w/d peaked? I'm on day 3 or 4 since last dose, and I think I got the full extent of whatever those symptoms are. which is weird cause this drug has a short half life. but maybe it takes the brain a while to notice the w/d after long term use...

[[Te...]]

Locutus,

I'm approaching week three gabapentin free and I think the withdrawal peaked after week two. This  weekend I noticed that although the palps, anxiety, pounding in ears, head pressure and assorted sx were present intermittently and even at night, the sensation was weaker and more diffuse. I'm also coming up on 14 weeks (this Saturday) off the Klonopin. It's hard to tell which anniversary matters more, but I suspect both do. Although the gabapentin may have been a necessary transitional drug, I think it's a horrible drug with its own set of issues. Gabapentin (neurontin) is an anti seizure drug being used off label to treat anxiety. Because it's an anti seizure drug, I would assume it acts on the CNS, which for us has been damaged by the benzos (in my case, klonopin). How on earth could long term use of it be good for our damaged bodies? I think you and I agree that withdrawal stinks and to a large degree adding "remedial" meds eases sx in the short run but creates other issues and may prolong healing and recovery.

Best,

TeeCee

[[lo...]]

I'm prob a week today in being done with gabapentin. the w/d symptoms peaked day 2-4 or so. then they started to resolve fast. Today I feel like I am 80% back to my normal clonazepam w/d baseline.

here is the trick to get through gabapentin w/d (at least in my personal experience); at some point w/d symptoms will hit you. it might even feel close to acute benzo w/d. it does leave pretty fast. lasted maybe 2 days for me. 

overall I do feel better without. it is a nasty drug in a sense of onset and half life. you are constantly in some weird interdose w/d. you wake up in w/d. it takes 2h to work, and lasts maybe 4-6h at best.

it absolutely kills memory and cognitive abilities, which are already impaired because of benzo use.

[[Te...]]

Locutus,

I'm happy for you. I'm 3+ weeks off gabapentin and almost 14 weeks off clonazapam, and I still have days where the withdrawal sx hit like a ton of bricks. Today was one of them unfortunately. Shakes, , pounding in ears, sense of being chilled, burning sensations in thighs and hips. A little peripheral neuropathy as well, which had  really subsided. Don't know why I went into this wave but it was a bad one. I hope you are spared this.

TeeCee

[[Ca...]]

Sorry, i been lurking...

What you guys and so many others describe is horrid, like benzos arent enough...

It still amazes me that i took gabapentin and lyrica for years without a problem that i noticed, with a lot of start stop and big doses... -pre benzo.

I still need to take it for occasional sciatic type nerve pain, probably more phantom... and i seem to get thrown into w/d at the briefest of use, especially with lyrica, and the gabapentin now flatterns me at the one off doses i need, which can be months apart...

Is this what i can expect from here on in??

I dont want to take it regular for just one or two days in months, as when i need it, its at 1800 to 2400mg/d... -and regular doses didnt help that...

Does anyone think it might return to fine after the benzos are long gone??

Thanks...

[[lo...]]

TeeCee: its so weird that you mention a wave since I had a bad one yesterday. sort of panic attack without the heart rate. I felt exactly the same like in the 2nd week when I stopped. just horrible.

slept full 8h though again and today is better, but I am still in shock to what happened last night. I hate this stuff. I don't think its the gabapentin.

 

Locutus,

I'm happy for you. I'm 3+ weeks off gabapentin and almost 14 weeks off clonazapam, and I still have days where the withdrawal sx hit like a ton of bricks. Today was one of them unfortunately. Shakes, , pounding in ears, sense of being chilled, burning sensations in thighs and hips. A little peripheral neuropathy as well, which had  really subsided. Don't know why I went into this wave but it was a bad one. I hope you are spared this.

TeeCee

[[lo...]]

are you still on benzos? you mean it throws you into w/d even at 1 time use?

I have not experienced this type of feeling. I threw away all benzos, but I am keeping gabapentin still in my cabinet. i think it is a safe drug, relatively, but long term use is pretty nasty.

 

Sorry, i been lurking...

What you guys and so many others describe is horrid, like benzos arent enough...

It still amazes me that i took gabapentin and lyrica for years without a problem that i noticed, with a lot of start stop and big doses... -pre benzo.

I still need to take it for occasional sciatic type nerve pain, probably more phantom... and i seem to get thrown into w/d at the briefest of use, especially with lyrica, and the gabapentin now flatterns me at the one off doses i need, which can be months apart...

Is this what i can expect from here on in??

I dont want to take it regular for just one or two days in months, as when i need it, its at 1800 to 2400mg/d... -and regular doses didnt help that...

Does anyone think it might return to fine after the benzos are long gone??

Thanks...

[[Ca...]]

Thanks Loc,

Holding at 1.5V... bit rough...

Yes, a w/d from Gabapentin (Gpn) a bit, but way stronger for lyrica, and more an addiction type, rather than dependence for lyrica.. though i dont use lyrica much (because of this), it works better for nerve pain and V s/x...

The Gpn makes me feel like i been hit by a train, and a hangover on top...

Prob a hard question to answer, but i was never affected in a negitive way by Gpn or lyrica pre benzo, and realy hoping it wont be like this for too long after im done with the V...

Just to know that this sounds a bit farmiliar, would be a help...

Thanks...

-b nice if there were a rule book for benzo w/d...

 

[[re...]]

 

Question for those who did a moderately long taper

 

How did you do the taper?

Did it lessen the symptoms going slow?

How bad was it after you jumped?

[[Te...]]

Locutus,

I think the gabapentin is part of it. This is an anti seizure medication, used to treat other issues like anxiety and neuropathy. It must affect the CNS and as the name implies, GABA receptors (although perhaps different ones than the benzos. I won't look it up. Too anxious).  I go for days with improvement, then relapse. If you have to withdraw from a drug (and you can't stop gabapentin CT) then in my view, it is a drug that creates dependence and should not be taken casually. I'm going to have  to tame my anxiety without meds. In the meantime, I swing back and forth with sx as my body  tries to heal itself. I'm fourteen weeks out from the k and 3+ weeks off the gabapentin and I've improved but I'm far from healed.

Best,

TeeCee

 

TeeCee: its so weird that you mention a wave since I had a bad one yesterday. sort of panic attack without the heart rate. I felt exactly the same like in the 2nd week when I stopped. just horrible.

slept full 8h though again and today is better, but I am still in shock to what happened last night. I hate this stuff. I don't think its the gabapentin.

 

Locutus,

I'm happy for you. I'm 3+ weeks off gabapentin and almost 14 weeks off clonazapam, and I still have days where the withdrawal sx hit like a ton of bricks. Today was one of them unfortunately. Shakes, , pounding in ears, sense of being chilled, burning sensations in thighs and hips. A little peripheral neuropathy as well, which had  really subsided. Don't know why I went into this wave but it was a bad one. I hope you are spared this.

TeeCee

[[lo...]]

TeeCee: i think you are right, most drugs, once created physical dependence, have to be written off forever. but I would rather take gabapentin then a benzo if things get horrible.

do you think that you passed the worst of gabapentin w/d and back to your base, or still having additional gb w/d ?

[[lo...]]

reba: IMO a slow or moderate taper won't help a lot with gabapentin w/d. and that is only my personal experience. this drug is nothing like a benzo. I tapered quick, and did not have ANY symptoms till I jumped. even at 75mg at night I still had 0 symptoms. maybe not much effect but thats it.

the jump - w/d comes quick. 1st or 2nd day you feel it. agitation is a good word for it. i'm pretty sure it is harder to get off for benzo then non benzo people since our CNS is messed up.

[[Te...]]

Locutus,

I think I am still having gabapentin withdrawal, as well as k withdrawal. I was put on the gabapentin to ease withdrawal from k, and my doc would still have me on it had I not insisted she taper me off. I fully believe my gut issues won't heal until my CNS and adrenal system are allowed to heal from these meds. I'm hoping that at a month off gabapentin I will see more improvement.

 

TeeCee: i think you are right, most drugs, once created physical dependence, have to be written off forever. but I would rather take gabapentin then a benzo if things get horrible.

do you think that you passed the worst of gabapentin w/d and back to your base, or still having additional gb w/d ?

[[da...]]

TeeCee, do you mind sharing how thedoctor had you taper off gabapentin? Appreciate it!

[[Te...]]

Certainly. My memory is a little fuzzy, but I think I was at 300 mg 2x a day to start.  I went to 200 mg am and 300 pm for a week. Then 100 am 300 pm for 2 weeks. Then 100 am, 200 pm for a week. Then 100 2x a day for  two weeks. Then 100 an night for two weeks. I stopped then and didn't do the every other night for a week my doctor said I could do  because I felt it would extend  my withdrawal. I wasn't  off the klonopin for very long before I began my taper off the gabapentin. I have to tell you each cut gave me a surge in symptoms because the klonopin withdrawal wasn't being muted by the gabapentin. It was tough, and still is, but I don't regret it. My ulcer and my intestines need to heal and I didn't  think my GABA receptors had a chance on this drug. Wednesday will be the one month anniversary of my last gabapentin dose, and I just passed 14 weeks off the k. Each day, each week is different. I progress, I relapse, but there is healing. When I am able to cry and to feel normally I know I will really be on my way to recovery. Right now it's just the waxing and waning of other sx.

TeeCee, do you mind sharing how thedoctor had you taper off gabapentin? Appreciate it!

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[[Po...]]

TeeCee, do you mind sharing how thedoctor had you taper off gabapentin? Appreciate it!

 

I am highly sensitive to medications.  I went from 300 to 200, held for about a month, then went from 200 to 100, held about a month.  Then decided that it would be better on my system if I just tapered.  I tapered 5MG a day using 100MG capsule dissolving it in 100ml water.  Down 5MG a day.  Took only 20 days and a much smoother ride.  I have nerve pain, but not sure what the cause is.  I can finally eat pretty normally and do not suffer from the stomach burning or digestive problems.  Sometimes it is easier to taper the body than just shock it.

 

Patti 

[[Te...]]

Popcorn,

If my doctor had offered me a taper like yours that would have been great. But she's apparently ignorant of the titration process. My gut is so wrecked from  CNS and adrenal disregulation I just wanted off the stuff. As for the nerve pain, gabapentin is used secondarily (perhaps off label, as it's an anti seizure Med) to treat neuropathy. The nerve pain and tingling (which I have as well) is most likely a withdrawal symptom, as the CNS adjusts. I also got these symptoms when I had reached tolerance with klonopin. These symptoms are slowly resolving, becoming less intense. Other symptoms take their place, fading in and out.

[[Po...]]

Popcorn,

If my doctor had offered me a taper like yours that would have been great. But she's apparently ignorant of the titration process. My gut is so wrecked from  CNS and adrenal disregulation I just wanted off the stuff. As for the nerve pain, gabapentin is used secondarily (perhaps off label, as it's an anti seizure Med) to treat neuropathy. The nerve pain and tingling (which I have as well) is most likely a withdrawal symptom, as the CNS adjusts. I also got these symptoms when I had reached tolerance with klonopin. These symptoms are slowly resolving, becoming less intense. Other symptoms take their place, fading in and out.

 

I hope you are right about the nerve pain from the Gabapentin w/d.  I am starting to take all vitamins they recommend for neuropathy.  Such a slow process. 

[[Ev...]]

Hi there buddies.  I've not been on in quite a while.  I've been off Gpn since June 2016.  I tapered very slowly.  I was given Gpn to help with Klonopin withdrawal.  It helped a lot but unfortunately, the benzo makes the nervous system oh so sensitive.   So, every very small reduction I made took almost exactly 3 days to recover.  When I jumped it was no different.  I was not exacting in my reductions.  I actually opened the capsules and just dumped out some of the medicine. Eyeballed it fairly well because I stepped off without too much trouble. It wasn't what I'd call fun.  But sleep returned fairly quickly after I stopped Gpn.  I'm still in benzo recovery but the symptoms are so mild now, I hardly notice.  Its more my body's inability to properly use nutrients that is still giving me a little bit of trouble but it is improving all the time. 

 

I hope all are hanging in there fighting the good fight.  Getting off of these things can be done.  Just keep at it. 

 

Ever..

 

[[Te...]]

Yes, the gabapentin masks the k withdrawal. My doc wanted me on it for 6 months but I was convinced it was impeding my gut recovery. Had a conservative but not slow taper, at least 6 weeks (I'd have to check my notes). Every cut was like a cut in the klonopin in terms of withdraw sx. Today marks one month since my last gabapentin dose and I think I see improvement, although I need a few more days to tell if this is a real trend,

 

Hi there buddies.  I've not been on in quite a while.  I've been off Gpn since June 2016.  I tapered very slowly.  I was given Gpn to help with Klonopin withdrawal.  It helped a lot but unfortunately, the benzo makes the nervous system oh so sensitive.   So, every very small reduction I made took almost exactly 3 days to recover.  When I jumped it was no different.  I was not exacting in my reductions.  I actually opened the capsules and just dumped out some of the medicine. Eyeballed it fairly well because I stepped off without too much trouble. It wasn't what I'd call fun.  But sleep returned fairly quickly after I stopped Gpn.  I'm still in benzo recovery but the symptoms are so mild now, I hardly notice.  Its more my body's inability to properly use nutrients that is still giving me a little bit of trouble but it is improving all the time. 

 

I hope all are hanging in there fighting the good fight.  Getting off of these things can be done.  Just keep at it. 

 

Ever..

[[Ca...]]

TeeCee, that sounds about right to me... -i think it stops my peristalsis, (GI transit)...

i use it as needed, for nerve pain, or a day in town, Drs, shops, etc...

 

Thanks for the info, im wondering just how carefull i have to be, now there is a benzo involved...

As i have mentioned here n there... it was never a prob pre benzo...

 

I would suspect, and hope, u will bounce back quite soon...

 

Best wishes...

 

[[Te...]]

Yes, I think it deregulates the GI tract. I can't tell you what to do. In my case I felt I'd be better off without the gabapentin as I'm pretty sure the neuropathy is related to the benzos. It is getting better but seems to worsen a bit when I have anxiety, palps, pounding heart, etc. It suggests down regulation of the CNS.

TeeCee, that sounds about right to me... -i think it stops my peristalsis, (GI transit)...

i use it as needed, for nerve pain, or a day in town, Drs, shops, etc...

 

Thanks for the info, im wondering just how carefull i have to be, now there is a benzo involved...

As i have mentioned here n there... it was never a prob pre benzo...

 

I would suspect, and hope, u will bounce back quite soon...

 

Best wishes...