Gabapentin (Neurontin) Withdrawl Support Group

[[ro...]]

Hopefulgirl, Thank you for your understanding. I have been trying so hard to find a Doctor who would help me. Also I have to find a Doctor for my wife now as she has gotten another disease. I am looking for some doctor to treat sjorgens disease.

I don't know what category those Doctors you mentioned fall under. We have a web site for our health insurance but they are the traditional Doctors. The internal medicine Doctors and family Doctors do not prescribe Valium. I am seeing a psychiatrist near my home Tuesday. She is 78 years old so she must be familiar with Valium. I told her I saw a Dr 100 miles away from me in NJ who prescribed Valium for me to help with the symptoms I had from using the phenibut for 1.5 years and the Valium was really helping me. I just did not want to drive 200 miles round trip to see this benzo wise Doctor. I am really hoping she will prescribe me the same dosage of Valium. But You never know with doctors sometimes they may want to put you on something else. In my case I have to stay on Valium. Also she is the kind of Doctor who thinks you can stop taking Valium in a couple of weeks . Does not know about Ashton or slow Tapering. I may have to just tell her the Valium is helping me sleep and for anxiety and works for taking care of the symptoms of phenibut withdrawal. I hope she agrees to prescribe it. It would make my life easier and I could always taper on my own without her help. Unfortunately I do not have understanding doctors. The Benzo wise Doctor may know that benzos need to be tapered off of slowly. But he does not seem to care if I have a problem stopping Neurontin or Trazodone abruptly. I never expected him to be so rude when he asked about my other meds and did not want me on either Neurontin or Trazodone.      Rob

[[ro...]]

Cagr. They have tiny measuring spoons or spatulas. You can buy online from amazon or chemistry supply place. This would help you to always remove the same quantity from your capsule. I bought a set of spoons the smallest has on it the word drop. So If I use this spoon I can take a small quantity out of the capsule. If I need to take more out I would take 2 drop spoons out. It takes out the eyeballing and guesswork. For more precision you could also get a scale but I would at least use some small measuring utensil then you could keep a daily or weekly log of how much you have been removing from your capsule. This is just a suggestion. I don't think I could be consistent in removing the same amount of powder without a measuring utensil or scale or both. Keeping a log would also let you know if when you get symptoms and how much you have removed from your capsule.

 

You had me worried when you told me you poured some powder out of your Neurontin capsule and had gotten symptoms. This is why I am suggesting getting a tiny spoon set so you don't accidentally take too much powder out. My eyesight is bad and I can't judge well by just looking at a pile of powder how much I have removed.

[[ca...]]

hi rob - i saw the measuring spoons on qvc and the scale on amazon - i'm probably going to stick with what i'm doing i'm pretty sure that will work for me, as it did with the xanax.

 

ive had a few sx's the past few days - food makes me feel nauseas, kind of like when i was pregnant, and i'm really hot, but other than that it's been pretty good..i had the ringing in my left ear and my lower body was vibrating, but that is gone now...and i'm getting much better sleep..

 

i guess i still don't understand (and i'm not trying to be a pain in the ass i truly don't get it, i wd from xanax and didn't have this forum i only found it when i hit my first wave) if you are decreasing your dosage by 10% is that right then does that mean you don't have any side affects? It seems if you are going that slow then when you are all done no more wds..is that correct? also i'm lucky every drug i've taken i just quit except for the valium i've been taking 50 or more mg of valium while i was on xanax, that's crazy right?? but i just stopped that with no problem..i never felt it helped me either, i'm not sure why i was taking it..oh well..i'm done now except for this drug..

 

your story is very sad i hope you get some relief soon, i think you must be a very strong person to be a caretaker for you wife while you are dealing with this..can i ask if it's not to personal why you decided to wd from the valium? i know it's not my business but i keep asking myself why i did it..my son will probably graduating from college soon and i have to say how angry i am to do this and miss the time we could have spent together doing fun stuff instead of him kind of being my caretaker, he shops, run errands for me..he is so unhappy about all this, but i'm sure he won't remember how bad it was, i know when i'm done i am going to try and forget this horrible time, but hope to keep in touch with some really great people who helped me thru these last 7 weeks..

 

i wish you luck in finding a new dr...

[[ro...]]

quote i guess i still don't understand (and i'm not trying to be a pain in the ass i truly don't get it, i wd from xanax and didn't have this forum i only found it when i hit my first wave) if you are decreasing your dosage by 10% is that right then does that mean you don't have any side affects? It seems if you are going that slow then when you are all done no more wds..is that correct? also i'm lucky every drug i've taken i just quit except for the valium i've been taking 50 or more mg of valium while i was on xanax, that's crazy right?? but i just stopped that with no problem..i never felt it helped me either, i'm not sure why i was taking it..oh well..i'm done now except for this drug..

 

I can't honestly answer your question about withdrawing at 10%. My guess is you still may have symptoms but they may be milder. There is a good site about the 10% rule

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1024-why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage/

 

 

 

I don't know if the C/T of Klonopin made me more sensitive to benzo withdrawals and also taking the phenibut which also acts on the gaba receptors. But I could not drop from 20 mg V to 16 mgV without major sxs. I am thinking of staying on V now the withdrawal symptoms are too horrible and I have no idea how long they would last. Do you think I could stay on V for some time before I have to taper or maybe I can just stay on it if I do not develop any new symptoms. I think the Klonopin and phenibut must have really done something to me. Even cutting Valium at 5% has caused me major symptoms.

I wish some Dr could tell me the consequences of staying on V for an extended time. I need to function and be able to help my wife and myself

 

Rob

 

 

[[ca...]]

wow i just read what i wrote and lol i really need to read something before i send it..i didn't have my glasses and just started typing...

 

at least all my words were spelled correctly..

 

i have no idea what a gaba receptor is i can't delve that deeply into the science of drugs, i just know if they work without major side affects then i'm ok - if i don't feel good after taking them i just stop..

 

what i have heard from my friends who were taking klonopin they say it's more difficult than going off of xanax - i don't know if this is true, but i looked at many of the people who are or were/ or still is  taking klonopin and they had a much more difficult time.

 

im sure you've done extensive research on the long term usage of valium..i don't know why you would go off of it, it just seems like this process could go on for a very long time..

 

you don't need a dr to tell you what you should do, you have to go with your gut, only you can know the honest answer to that question.

 

can you function while taking valium? what is the worst it could do to you? if you don't have any problems with it - stay on it.. maybe you should be good to yourself and just go with your gut feeling..you seem like you are doing great ...maybe it's time you took a break from bb's and write down the pros and cons of the vallium..all i know is that i wish i had waited until my son moved out, ive lost so much time with him already..it makes me sad, and i know it makes him sadder to see his mom like this..

 

good luck in your decision, you have lots of friends here who could just listen to you while you vent. this probably didn't help you sorry...i

[[ca...]]

rob what were you taking the gabapentin for? i was taking it for sleep after i was off the xanax, and my dr also said it was for seizures - i never thought about that until i read his email..

[[ro...]]

I took the gabapentin to help with withdrawal symptoms when I stopped taking the phenibut

[[ho...]]

quote i guess i still don't understand (and i'm not trying to be a pain in the ass i truly don't get it, i wd from xanax and didn't have this forum i only found it when i hit my first wave) if you are decreasing your dosage by 10% is that right then does that mean you don't have any side affects? It seems if you are going that slow then when you are all done no more wds..is that correct? also i'm lucky every drug i've taken i just quit except for the valium i've been taking 50 or more mg of valium while i was on xanax, that's crazy right?? but i just stopped that with no problem..i never felt it helped me either, i'm not sure why i was taking it..oh well..i'm done now except for this drug..

 

I can't honestly answer your question about withdrawing at 10%. My guess is you still may have symptoms but they may be milder. There is a good site about the 10% rule

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1024-why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage/

 

 

 

I don't know if the C/T of Klonopin made me more sensitive to benzo withdrawals and also taking the phenibut which also acts on the gaba receptors. But I could not drop from 20 mg V to 16 mgV without major sxs. I am thinking of staying on V now the withdrawal symptoms are too horrible and I have no idea how long they would last. Do you think I could stay on V for some time before I have to taper or maybe I can just stay on it if I do not develop any new symptoms. I think the Klonopin and phenibut must have really done something to me. Even cutting Valium at 5% has caused me major symptoms.

I wish some Dr could tell me the consequences of staying on V for an extended time. I need to function and be able to help my wife and myself

 

Rob

 

Hi Rob,

I hope today is good for you. Here are a couple of thoughts about some of your questions...withdrawing from these drugs does impact our central nervous system significantly and multiple tapers/withdrawals and especially a cold turkey followed by reinstatement of a benzo causes it to be worse. There is a term called "kindling" for this that you probably have heard. This may explain the troubles you are having now. Many people with this are still able to successfully taper though so there is hope!

 

There are a couple of problems to consider when deciding to stay on a benzo or not...First, the gaba receptors will down regulate. They will do this, the question is when and at what point does it become a problem for you. This will continue to happen which is why we develop tolerance and inevitably either the dose has to be increased to continue to be effective or you have tolerance withdrawal or inter dose withdrawal. So, it becomes a bit of a ticking time bomb to either need to take more to just feel the same or to feel badly and be forced to withdraw.

 

Secondly, we don't know exactly how this works or what it does, but we do know that benzos cause cognitive issues. In particular with the short term memory center in the brain. I work in neuroscience and just in the past few years the PET scans have allowed us to be able to see more of what is happening in the brain for all types of issues. The interesting thing is we can see a benzo brain now! There is damage. The good news is that the body and the brain are amazing at healing and we believe that this "damage" is reversible upon discontinuation of the offending drug. However, there is still very little known about all of this. We need long term studies and no drug company will fund this one. Anyway, just some thoughts to consider as you strive to make the best decision for you and your wife.

Hopeful Girl

[[ro...]]

Hopeful girl ,Thanks for the information. I don't know that much about Valium. I probably am having so much problems as you said because of the Klonopin C/T then the phenibut C/T and now I tried tapering Valium from 20 to 16mg but had miserable sxs and the Doctor had me up dose to 25 mg. My wife and I both have health problems now that need to be taken care of. I would not be functional if I were to get those major sxs back. Right now the only issue I am having that is benzo related is the Tinnitus ringing in my left ear but it has recently flared up and the almost gone away completely. It is unpredictable when it will get worse or better. I have to be stable and have to take care of some business before I attempt to taper. Then it has to be very slow. The Ashton schedule was too fast for me. I am seeing a 78 year old psychitrist Tuesday night. I will ask her if she has had patients on valium for a long time and what kind of outcome they had. She is one of those that thinks you can come off of Valium in a week or two. So I will not plan to tell her I want to taper off of it. I am sort of stuck now between two positions. I can continue taking valium and hope I can be functional and live a somewhat normal life or I can taper and expect to get symptoms some of which may be incapacitating. I am hoping this doctor I will be seeing will write me a script for the valium. I am not comfortable seeing that benzo wise Dr but I am sure many Doctors would advise stopping Neurontin and Trazodone immediately and that neither of these need to be tapered off of

[[Is...]]

For the last 2 days it burns when I pee.  Does anyone else have that sxs from Neurontin? 

[[ho...]]

For the last 2 days it burns when I pee.  Does anyone else have that sxs from Neurontin? 

 

Hi Island Girl,

Bladder issues are a very common withdrawal symptom from benzos so I think it could be from gabapentin as well. However, be really careful because you could have a UTI-urinary tract infection. These are also very common with withdrawal. If you have one, you really need antibiotics to prevent it from going into your kidneys so you don't want to mess around with it. If you don't want to go to the doctor you can buy home test strips to test your urine for an infection. I get them at Walgreens but I think any pharmacy/drug store/grocery store will cary them. If it is positive go to the doc asap. I hope it goes away for you quickly!

Hopeful Girl

[[ca...]]

i'm done with the gabapentin - no sx's at all - i'm glad to be off - i'm sleeping much better now..

 

 

[[Ut...]]

I am on 300 mgs GP at night.  I tried to taper off 100 mg decreases per week.  When I got down to 200 mgs, I had terrible withdrawal effects forcing me back up to 300 mgs.  I know GP also comes in liquid form.  I think next time I try to taper, I will get it in liquid form and use a child's liquids syringe and very slowly taper off 5 mgs every 2 to 3 weeks.  Hopefully it will go more smoothly.

[[Is...]]

Cagr1,

 

Great job getting off the big G. I am so happy for you that you are not have any sxs. Sleep is good for the healing.

[[ca...]]

hi ig - thank you so much - and i want to wish everyone luck in getting off this drug..i'm so mad i'm going to write my dr another letter telling him what i went thru..i have to say i'm sleeping much better, but still have the sx's from xanax, and i'm my 7th month looking forward to some windows soon..

 

have a great sx free friday..

[[Is...]]

Utahgal,

 

I am so sorry you are having such a bad time.  I had a really hard time getting below 300mg too.  I started at 2400mg and went down 300mg at a time with minimal side effects (sxs). I ended up taking powder from the capsules.  I think your liquid idea is far Superior.  I give you all best wishes.  This is really hard stuff. Keep posting and we will be here for you.  Heal strong...

[[Ut...]]

I've only been on 300 mgs.  I don't understand why it is so hard to come off this drug.  Most people don't have any difficulty.

 

All I can say, is when I decreased from 300 to 200 mgs, I had the most horrendous panic, anxiety, depression, nausea.......I ended up in the hospital after the third day of those horrific symptoms!

 

I am currently back up to 300 mgs.  It's been 3 weeks since my failed taper and I still feel bad!  I still have a poor appetite, my body feels weak and shaky, and I feel so fatigued.  It will be quite awhile before I attempt that again.  Next time I will do a liquid taper and only try 10 mgs every 2 weeks instead of 100 mgs every week!

 

How do people like us get off this stuff?  I was hoping to read more success stories! 

 

 

[[Is...]]

UtahGal,

 

Sucess stories on BB for Neurontin are very little. BB focuses on benzo. I think there are not many success stories is because most on BB that used neurontin has not been successful to get off it yet. I am off it 48 days now.  Like you the last 300mg was the hardest for me. I got to 100mg and had to go back to 300mg. Finally I was able to suffer thru it and to be honest i still am. I believe most of my sxs are neurontin related not benzo. Most reading I have done says Neurontin wds mimics benzo wds. But when I am haveing a good few hours those are way better off the drug.

 

Good luck to you, taper slow when you feel ready...  Heal safely

 

IslandGirl

[[ir...]]

Hi all,

I rapid tapered off 1mg of ativan for sleep a week ago. Insomnia is horrendous! I am averaging 3 hours a night. My psych said she could give me Neurontin as a sleep aid. But I have read stuff that makes it sound like its just as bad as going on a benzo. She seems to think this is a safer med to take than over the counter stuff like the doxylamine unisom. Thoughts?

[[Is...]]

Hi Irenakt,

 

First I a m no Dr and everyone reacts differently. But I can tell you about me. After my cold turkey from Valium the detox gave me a polydrug cocktail that had neurontin as its main player. It never helped me sleep. Actually the opposite for me. It rev me up. Also I made my face feel like it was burning oh yea did I mention all the spots it gave me all over my body? 

 

You have just got off and a week is so very soon. I am envious that you get 3 whole hours of sleep. I am here to tell you I never slept on neurontin and I still have problems today, but I feel so much better I got off all of these evil drugs. I do feel neurontin is worse than benzos

 

If all you have is insomnia I would say embrace only 1 symptom and time will heal. I know it is bad and you feel it will never get better but it does for most us. Dont put another drug on top of your benzo and risk your already compromised cns to be hurt by another evil med.

 

I am not sure this has helped, but you will need to do what you feel is best for you. Whatever you decide we are here for you and keep posting...

 

Heal safe.....IslandGirl

[[Is...]]

Hi all,

 

Ok, I have a new sxs now. My inner core body temperature has dropped. I am so cold. I go between 95.7 one time then 96.3 then 97 then back to 95.7. My husband used our thermometer ( the kind you put in your ear ) just to make sure it is not the thermometer go screwy. His temp is consistant so the themometer is right.

 

Anyone else have this? Any idea what is happening?

 

Heal safe  IslandGirl

[[Is...]]

Hi all,

 

Check this out

 

http://www.truestarhealth.com/Notes/1390003.html

 

Did you know you know that Neurontin depletes or hinders the absorbtion of the following..

 

Biotin*Calcium*Folic acid*L-Carnitine*Vitamin A*Vitamin B12*Vitamin B6*Vitamin D*Vitamin K*

 

Now you know

 

 

[[ho...]]

Hi IG,

I have been MIA due to really struggling with my Xanax w/d. I just wanted to ask how you are doing? I read about your body temp...is that any better? Wishing you well!

Hopeful Girl

[[IG...]]

Hi IslandGirl,

Parker wrote this in the "Whats happening to your Brain" post at the top of the Withdrawal and Recovery threads.

 

 

Hypothalamus This is the structure that is responsible for regulating body temperature. In early withdrawal, my body temperature would drop to 96 degrees in waves! Then 3 hours later, it would return to normal. I'd literally freeze in terror in bed for hours.  I am sure it is more complicated that JUST the hypothalamus, but I could picture this part of my brain retuning and restructuring, and it was less scary that way.

 

Molly

[[Is...]]

Hi HopefulGirl,

 

I am really sorry you are struggling. I am glad you are doing a little better. Thanks for asking how I am. That is so nice of you. The body temp is no better, keeps fluctuating. Another special sxs from Neurontin. I am doing a little better because I could actually eat the last 2 days. Before that I was having major problems and lost a lot of weight.

 

Just keeping my fingers crossed and eating foods to naturally add the vitamins depleted by the detox cocktail they gave me.

 

I hope this finds you healing and safe.  Love IG