Gabapentin (Neurontin) Withdrawl Support Group

[[li...]]

dear rst, thanks always for your caring thoughts and support.

 

as i last posted being on 300mg was pure hell and spiralling downwards daily. tapering made me suicidal which i have never been in my life. it also caused extreme anger and rage and lashing out to those i loved. this is so unlike me in every way as i am normally calm and very loving. i am a retired college english teacher so the brain dysfunction felt dangerous.

 

even when i reinstated 300mg and waited 10 days to restabilize my condition just got worse. i reached a point knowing the longer i stayed on this drug the more damage i was doing to my cns and also i could never stabilize on 300mg and i sure as hell was not about to increase my dose of this poison.

 

tapering was not doable. i think i would have killed myself if i continued going down.

 

so i thought i am already in WD so why not stop and let some healing begin?

 

i have now been off morontin 9 days and yes I feel like hell but no worse than when i was on my full dose.

 

my vision and cognition have improved so that is a great thing. the terror/depression/fatigue are full blown but only somewhat worse than being on GBN.

 

as to how long the WD will last I have read from weeks to months to even years!!!!

 

so i take each minute as it comes and try not to obsess about the future.

 

any and all GBN WD stories would be so welcomed. sdx and especially length of withdrawal.  my CNS is so battered and bruised and i am totally stress resistant at this time so i stay close to home.

 

i am so very lucky to be retired. i just cannot imagine working. i also don't exercise right now as i feel too weak but one day soon..

 

i have absolutely no physical symptoms just those brutal emotional ones.

 

so please respond - all posts needed at this time especially your personal GBN WD war stories and how long it took to heal.

 

wishing health and solace and understanding to anyone suffering through GBN whether on or off..

 

lilla

[[Ca...]]

hello dear friends in GBN pain,

 

I CT'ied gabapentin exactly one week ago, Oct 24/2017.

 

my condition on 300mg 1x am. was so hideous and out of control that it seemed to me to be damaging my already stressed CNS.

 

i tried tapering by snipping off the end of the capsule very slowly and began taking the 300mg. at night.  after stabilizing on the time change dosage i restarted tapering.

 

Backstory:

 

On Oct, 14th/2017 i got down to around 185mg or so (i was snipping off the ends of the 300mg capsule so amounts were guesswork)  but it looked to be roughly half or thereabouts of the capsule.

 

The following morning was brutal beyond all words. i was exceptionally suicidal and not one coherent sentence passed through my brain. my brain felt like a huge wadded up piece of gum. I also became full of rage and lashed out at my husband and daughter.

 

i immediately reinstated 300mg the following day.

 

my gbn sdx were and still are almost 100% emotional/ extreme anxiety/depression/hopelessness/apathy/fatigue, major cognitive issues and agoraphobia.

 

last week to the day, the 24th of oct. i could not even force myself to swallow one more poisonous GBN capsule. i couldn't do it.

 

the last seven days have been pure unadulterated hell. again the usual suspects of emotional sdx. some days ok others miserable.

 

on the plus side, my vision and thinking are much improved. basically back to normal.

 

i cannot tolerate any supplements including mag. some days i can drink coffee and other times not.  everyday i don't know what to expect.

 

at this point, i don't feel daily improvement. i generally feel better at night while mornings and afternoons can be very bad indeed.

 

i know this is a useless question but can anyone comment on their WD and how long it took to feel functional. especially those suffering emotional sdx???

 

i really need support right now and all posts would be so appreciated.

 

Godspeed,  lilla

 

Lilla I recognize all those w/d symptoms and I feel for you. I would truly suggest updosing - slowly - til you get back to a point of stability and then stay there for a while. Then, go down very slowly - do the kind of symptom-based taper people recommend for benzos. I am living proof that you can have those symptoms and survive, if you can just find a way to get off very slowly. I actually ended up using some Valium to cover my gabapentin withdrawal, which makes me a bit of an anomaly on this board. I have gone down from 5 mg V to 1.74: in a bit of a wave right now but (I think) coming out of it. I plan to taper the V sooooo slowly, to allow my brain the time it needs to heal from years of Gabapentin use. Please hang in there: I know as well as anybody that it is hell on earth to be where you are, but it can and will be healed. PM me anytime if you need an ear

[[li...]]

thanks cally for your concern and advice.

 

the thing is i was in tolerance withdrawal days after i began gbn on aug. 2nd. i had ct'ied all ad's after 20 years of use in mid-june. that is why my doc put me on gbn to cope with ad withdrawal.

 

the gbn symptons came on hard and heavy. i thought this was ad wd sdx but now see how much worse and debilitating they were. i never stabilized on them. even my low daily dose of 300mg.

 

the gbn sdx got worse as days and then weeks passed to the point of not being functional. i was bedbound much of the time.

 

following this board i tried tapering but felt hellish with each cut. at about 168mg. i was suicidal with a sponge for a brain and felt like i was going to die.

 

i did reinstate to 300mg but felt the same intolerable effects i had before on 300mg.

 

in other words either i was in extreme tolerance wd or i am highly allergic to this drug which is poison for me.

 

reinstating would not help as i just cannot and never could feel even ok on as little as 300mg a day.

 

tapering just dragged out the torture. so dear cally there is no way in hell that i will ever swallow a moronten capsule again. and i mean ever!!!

 

yes i feel jangled right now but it has only been 10 days off and i truly believe i am 100% better off this thing than on it. i also believe it was harming my already fragile cns. at least now some healing can begin day by day, week by week.

 

as i said before my vision and cognition are back to normal which is huge as i've read stories of some unlucky souls who never fully recover their vision and/or cognition. or at least it takes months to years.

 

i was only on this nasty thing for 3 months and never above 300mg. so that could be a plus.

 

we are all so different in our biochemistry as has been seen on this forum.

 

for me gbn was pure hell from the get-go. i am thrilled to be off and intend to remain so for life.

 

thank-you for reaching out. i so appreciate it cally...

 

sending you peace, serentity and happiness................cyberhugs  lilla

 

 

[[Da...]]

Hello again.

 

I’ve been off the gabapentin completely for almost 3 weeks and it seems my symptoms have gotten worse, not better. I’m having very bad emotional symptoms along with a host of physical ones. Any input on when improvements should be seen? One positive is my sleep seems to has restored.

[[so...]]

I jumped off 700mg of Gabapentin after almost 3 years on 900-1500mg daily.  After 3 months, the Gabapentin withdrawal was over.  Have hope.  Gabapentin is not a benzo and doesn’t work the same way.  All the websites say they actually don’t know how it works!  You will be okay soon.

 

Sofa

[[Re...]]

Hello again.

 

I’ve been off the gabapentin completely for almost 3 weeks and it seems my symptoms have gotten worse, not better. I’m having very bad emotional symptoms along with a host of physical ones. Any input on when improvements should be seen? One positive is my sleep seems to has restored.

 

Hard to say how long.  The restoration of your sleep sounds good though.  Nevertheless, my current symptom uptick has been going for nearly a month, and I updosed from 100mg daily to 180mg daily and from BID to TID.  My symptoms are primarily physical, those are severely debilitating for me although I do find a correlation with anxiety uptick that is no fun either.

 

Nothing we can do but try to go forward.  I am pretty down about my updose..... so much hard work reducing now wasted due to tapering rate error on my behalf.

 

-RST

[[li...]]

hey real, dad and sofa,

 

sorry for your pain right now but hey sofa jumping from 700mg. and out of wd in 3 months!!!! how great can that be! did you gradually notice the improvements and which came first??

 

just started a ticket on  'GBN Success Stories,'  as so much on this forum is with regards to folks who wd from a benzo first and then soon after wd GBN.

 

so it muddies the waters as to which drug is doing what and like you said i think benzo wd is a whole different experience with a longer wd time period. not 100% sure of this but by separating the drugs maybe we can gain a better perspective.

 

anyway sofa has given me hope and i really hope to read more GBN wd success stories.............peace and love........lilla

[[Se...]]

I'll spare you the details of my story, but you can see my signature for my history.  Long story short, I almost died getting off Klonopin.  One of the drugs they gave me at detox was gabapentin.  Im 6 months off of benzos, but still taking 1200 mg/day gbp and 7.5mg/day remeron for sleep.

 

Here's my question: since I've been on gbp, have the last 6 months just been wasted.  I'm definitely still in PAWS, and I've been taking it a day at a time, hoping that my damaged brain is slowly healing.  Reading some posts on here makes me terrified I'll end up back in the ER. 

 

I know everyone is different, but I'm looking for some input from someone who used gabapentin to get off benzos.  Do I have another round of hell ahead of me?  I've quit all kinds of ADs CT and never felt much at all.  Kpin, on the other hand, was an intense hell that transcends description.  Please tell me I'm not heading back there.

[[lo...]]

I am still on GB nearly 12 months in. I definitely feel benzo healing happening, with really good days around (and some pretty bad too)

so healing is happening, but eventually GB will have to be tapered. what most say is that GB w/d doesn't last as long, and is very individual.  I would give yourself some time, live as good as you can, and consider a slow taper once you feel somewhat normal.

 

 

I'll spare you the details of my story, but you can see my signature for my history.  Long story short, I almost died getting off Klonopin.  One of the drugs they gave me at detox was gabapentin.  Im 6 months off of benzos, but still taking 1200 mg/day gbp and 7.5mg/day remeron for sleep.

 

Here's my question: since I've been on gbp, have the last 6 months just been wasted.  I'm definitely still in PAWS, and I've been taking it a day at a time, hoping that my damaged brain is slowly healing.  Reading some posts on here makes me terrified I'll end up back in the ER. 

 

I know everyone is different, but I'm looking for some input from someone who used gabapentin to get off benzos.  Do I have another round of hell ahead of me?  I've quit all kinds of ADs CT and never felt much at all.  Kpin, on the other hand, was an intense hell that transcends description.  Please tell me I'm not heading back there.

[[so...]]

Lilllabelle,

 

The Gabapentin withdrawal for me was quite different and distinct from benzo withdrawal.  Gabapentin withdrawal included brain fog, vertigo, drugged feeling, akathesia.  Although the akathesia remained for 8 months, the rest of the symptoms left after 3, so maybe the akathesia was from both withdrawals.

 

Who knows with this stuff.  What causes what is a question that remains with all of us who took more than one drug.  We can’t seem to tease out the culprit of different symptoms, but when they leave one by one, we don’t care.  We are just happy they are gone.

 

Sofa

[[li...]]

dear lovely sofa, thanks for your reply. gbn seems different to so many other drugs at least for me. while on it i was in hell. now almost two weeks off and feel better just knowing it is out of my system and giving my poor, old cns a break.

 

right now i feel depressed, demotivated and down. the 3 d's!!! my anxiety is much improved but still no appetite or lift.

 

i also ct'ed 20 years of ad's in mid-june so there is that. really glad to be off the gbn and will never touch it again.

 

glad you feel better now. hope the same for me..............take good care,  lilla

[[su...]]

Does anyone dose 4 x a day? My doc has suggested I dose 4x to avoid the adverse effects of interdose withdrawal. Would like to hear your thoughts. Thx.

[[Ca...]]

I never felt the interdose withdrawals with Gabapentin. In fact, if I went a day without taking it I would feel fine and it took me a while to realize that the w/d didin't kick in for me for at least a day, usually more

[[...]]

I've never felt interdose WDs with gabapentin either . I've always taken mine at night .

The reason I know I don't have interdose WDs is I start to feel better in the evenings in general , and that's before I take my GPN .

I've tried taking some of it during the day and it just makes me SO drowsy , I don't know how people do it .

 

MiYu

 

 

[[Re...]]

Does anyone dose 4 x a day? My doc has suggested I dose 4x to avoid the adverse effects of interdose withdrawal. Would like to hear your thoughts. Thx.

 

I had gotten myself down to 100mg per day.  This was taken in 50mg doses AM and PM.  Then, I began to have severe withdrawal that didn't resolve by holding. 

 

I think I understand what happened; too fast taper should have been slowed and I was starting to exercise again.  So, I began to experience severe interdose withdrawal.  I ended up adding an additional 50mg between doses and went to three times a day.  This didn't stop the severe withdrawal either and so I updosed to 60mg three times a day (TID).  I've held at that since October 19th and just tried to start reducing 1mg per day for 3 days and then holding.  It's been rough, no doubt.  Anyway, to your point and question, YES, I have experienced interdose withdrawals and this resulted in me going to three times per day from 2.  4 times per day may give you even smoother plasma levels but what a pain in the a$$!!!

 

-RST

[[su...]]

It is a pain in the ass. I’m on day two of 4x a day and it feels better than 3x although I know it may take a week to stabalize.

 

I also feel burning since I changed my frequency. This always happens when I taper or if I move it around. This drug is evil.

 

I do feel a little stoned on it during the day. Interestingly enough I feel a little more stoned even though I lowered the dose.

 

I can’t wait for this to be over. It’s very lonely and I feel like a freak. People look at you like your crazy if you tell them your skin is burning. This is a very sad journey.

[[Ca...]]

It is a pain in the ass. I’m on day two of 4x a day and it feels better than 3x although I know it may take a week to stabalize.

 

I also feel burning since I changed my frequency. This always happens when I taper or if I move it around. This drug is evil.

 

I do feel a little stoned on it during the day. Interestingly enough I feel a little more stoned even though I lowered the dose.

 

I can’t wait for this to be over. It’s very lonely and I feel like a freak. People look at you like your crazy if you tell them your skin is burning. This is a very sad journey.

Please don't feel like a freak. I also felt totally out of it cognitively - I was on the max dose and I weighed 100 lbs when I started, and when I told medical people how much I was taking they would stare, cause they could not believe that I could even be standing up awake. It was awful, and I work in a High School full of totally active and perfectly healthy adolescents. It was hard....

I also felt totally alone because it was all I could do to get through the day and get home to collapse. It will go away in time. I reduced very slowly from 3600 - 1800 - 900 - wasn't until I got down around 300 that it got so rough. But count your blessings please: you have every expectation of getting past this. In my school we've had one suicide, one former student gravely injured by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan, and two teachers diagnosed with really bad cancers in the last week. You WILL come back from this, and please remember that there are tons of us going through what you are. Blessings

[[su...]]

Thank you so much for your kind words. I really needed to hear that. I’m just so scared because if I feel this bad now I don’t know how I can take anymore. I just wish the anxiety would go away. I just stopped Prozac  five days ago after trying it for two weeks maybe that is effecting me too. I’m so hopeless.

[[Ca...]]

Please don't be. We're all here just a PM away. I am totally familiar with the anxiety - mine was sheer terror in the middle of the night - it does go away. I hope you get some rest tonight.

[[be...]]

Hey this for Gabapentin pros. Right now I seem to be stabilizing at 800 miligrams but wanted to go down 100 milligrams to 700 but I don't have scale to make those kind of cuts to distribute it evenly. I have about 75 of the 300 miligrams capsules and was thinking of getting a script for the 100 miligrams 4 times a day. So would this work if I took the 300 mg midday?. I have a feeling this would stabilize me more the 400 mg twice a day. Any thoughts and concerns guys?

[[su...]]

What would your doses be? I think more doses would help you stabalize. It makes sense because of the half life. How are you feeling now? How many times a day are you thinking of dosing? Will you make the cut equally across all doses? Have you tried the water titration?

[[be...]]

Right now my doses are 400 mg twice a day but I wanted to make it 200 mg in the morning 300mg midday and 200mg at night making it 700 a day down from 800. I'm feeling good right now just some anxiety and muscle tension befoe my dose witch is why I wanted to divide the dose into 3 times a day intead of 2. No I haven't done water titration I don't feel like doing all that.do you think taking one of the doses higher than the others is going to cause problems?

[[su...]]

No it shouldn’t cause any problems. I think you’ll be fine and it should help the interdose withdrawal.

 

I’ve gone to 4x because I feel it after five hours if I haven’t had my next dose.

 

I’m adjysting from 3x to 4x I’ve been doing 4x for 3days and my body is really upset.

[[Re...]]

It is a pain in the ass. I’m on day two of 4x a day and it feels better than 3x although I know it may take a week to stabalize.

 

I also feel burning since I changed my frequency. This always happens when I taper or if I move it around. This drug is evil.

 

I do feel a little stoned on it during the day. Interestingly enough I feel a little more stoned even though I lowered the dose.

 

I can’t wait for this to be over. It’s very lonely and I feel like a freak. People look at you like your crazy if you tell them your skin is burning. This is a very sad journey.

 

It IS tough.  No doubt.  One step forward.  The burning is a crazy thing.  That is probably my worst symptom.  It is what caused me to updose from 100mg.  But, I had cut 25% in 17 days because I hadn't been paying attention to the percentage of my cuts enough and was consistently cutting by 2mg per day continuously.  I should have slowed my taper by going to 1mg per day for a while.

 

Anyway.  I'm still trying to stabilize at three times per day but I've reduced from 180 (60TID) daily down to 174 daily in 9 days (58 TID).  (A reduction of 3.33%)  I guess you could describe my current circumstances as being in tolerance withdrawal, it seems. 

 

Hang in there, we'll all get there.

 

-RST

[[lo...]]

I had no problems going from 3x to 2x a day. still at 300+600

will start another slow taper soon

 

No it shouldn’t cause any problems. I think you’ll be fine and it should help the interdose withdrawal.

 

I’ve gone to 4x because I feel it after five hours if I haven’t had my next dose.

 

I’m adjysting from 3x to 4x I’ve been doing 4x for 3days and my body is really upset.