• BASIC DRUG
    DISCUSSION
    Welcome to Bluelight!
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Benzo Chart Opioids Chart
    Drug Terms Need Help??
    Drugs 101 Brain & Addiction
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums
  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

Ask my Sub Doc to give me a Gabapentin for depression?

E

evertking

Greenlighter
Joined
Feb 23, 2011
Messages
14
Ok, I am a 40 yr old male in the States. I have been abusing Opiates for
over 10 yes and been on Subs for 5 or so of them. I have been suffering from a very bad bout of depression and anexiety and I have found that taking Gabapentin has been helpful to me. I been getting them off the street.
And it does help A LOT. Should i be straight with my Sub doctor? How should I go about asking him about Gabapentin? I pay this Doc good money outta pocket and I want this damn doctor to help me. I'm tired of listening to my wife and kids live life while I lay alone in my bed.
Thanks
 
I feel for you and completely understand the urge to self medicate, i've been doing it for 7+ years.

The thing is, your doctor is probably not going to see drugs that can get you high as a solution to depression, and although they may seem like it, "abusable" drugs aren't the solution. They seemed like it at first but eventually they stop working and you're left with an addiction that only adds to the depression instead of taking it away but i'm sure i didn't need to tell you that.

Maybe there is an off label use of gaba for depression but find out before you go in there because it doesn't matter how much you pay your doc he's probably not going to want to risk his medical license for this.
 
falsifiedhypothesi said:
I feel for you and completely understand the urge to self medicate, i've been doing it for 7+ years.

The thing is, your doctor is probably not going to see drugs that can get you high as a solution to depression, and although they may seem like it, "abusable" drugs aren't the solution. They seemed like it at first but eventually they stop working and you're left with an addiction that only adds to the depression instead of taking it away but i'm sure i didn't need to tell you that.

Maybe there is an off label use of gaba for depression but find out before you go in there because it doesn't matter how much you pay your doc he's probably not going to want to risk his medical license for this.
Click to expand...
Ok, I am willing to take whatever he sees fit to help me. Should I not even talk about the Gabapentin or just tell him what I have been doing. I just want my damn life back.
 
Well definitely talk to your doc about the depression. We aren't really here to help people get drugs from their doctors. I only gave you my opinion of what would happen if you ask him for gaba for use against depression.

It's up to you whether you bring up that gabapentin helped and i don't know your doctor at all but my bet is that he will want to try ssri's and similar antidepressants before things like gaba. Those are the first line of pharmaceutical treatment for depression and they have no abuse potential.

They didn't work for me but antidepressant may be something you might want to consider.
 
Gabapentin is used for nerve pain. I doubt your sub doctor will give it too you
 
My suboxone doctor writes me all of my regular medication as well as the suboxone. They have become my primary doctor also now, Gabapentin is one of the medications I'm on. Have been for the past 10 years, helps my back and anxiety tremendously. This is my first experience with a sub doctor taking care of everything though.

My last one wrote hefty benzodiazepine scripts which was nice. Haven't talked to him in 10 years though, I took a long break from Suboxone maintenance. Glad I made this choice though, people are overdosing frequently in the part of the country I'm at.

I'm not telling you what to say but figured I'd share my experience.
 
Gabapentin is usually prescribed for neuropathic pain - though it does have an off label use for anxiety, but not depression. It's not surprising that you find it effective for both, as you are throwing another CNS depressant into the mix with your buprenorphine script. As we all know, downers are very effective at relieving the symptoms of anxiety and depression in the short term. However, in reality, you are running the risk of a dual dependency, the efficacy of which will quickly fade with tolerance.

I very much doubt that if you tell your doctor you've been scoring gabapentin off the street and you think it's brilliant, he will immediately write you a script - however much you pay. He will no doubt view you as a drug seeker (gabapentin and pregabalin are becoming well known as abusable medications).

Why not just tell him you've been suffering from anxiety and depression and see what he suggests? Chances are you'll be offered an SSRI or SNRI, which may or may not work for you.

However, have you considered that it may be your long term use of opiates which has caused your problems? Depressant drugs do actually cause depression. I spent 20 years yo-yoing between heroin and methadone and it dragged me down. It was hard to see how depressed I was because all I had to do was take more depressants to relieve that feeling. But that's an illusion, all you're doing is dragging yourself further down into the pit.

Once I realised this, I made the decision to take a long, slow taper off everything. It took years, but the resulting headfuck was manageable. When I eventually came off, it was like emerging from a long dark tunnel. Everyday of abstinence made me see a little more clearly. Now, after 5 years clean I have virtually no anxiety or depression issues. I'm not saying life's a breeze 'cause it ain't - but I no longer feel the need to numb myself with powerful downers.

Perhaps you could consider a totally different approach than tapping up your doctor for yet more drugs?

Best wishes man!
 
Last edited:
Be careful as gabapentin has its own withdrawal in itself. I had to use opiates to wean off gabapentin. I know it sounds backwards but it seemed to work m, but then I had to wean off the opiates. It’s a big mess is what is is so be careful
 
I asked my dr for gabapentin for my anxiety and she knew I was on subs. I just told her I had tried one and it seemed to help and she wrote me a script. But this was years ago and doctors are catching on now that people abuse gabapentin so it might be harder to get a prescription now, especially with a history of drug abuse. I would say give it a try but maybe don't say you've been consistently buying them off the street.

If your doctor says no, you should be open minded to whatever medication they suggest. Different meds work differently for everyone so it may take a while to find what works for you.

While you're figuring it out though, try exercising. (If you don't already regularly exercise) We are all quick to grab a pill to help us. But exercise is a big big help to me. If your depression makes it hard for you to get motivated, force yourself to get out and go for a walk. You'll be glad you did.
 
I would suggest simply buying Phenibut, it is in the same class as Gabapentin and is legal to buy without a prescription.

Warning: very addictive and has withdrawals
 
GABA is not half as easy as it used to be. I've been to psych hospitals where every other patient gets it... Things are changing and it's seen as abusable these days. If you ask for it you won't get it cause they'll think your getting high. If you don't ask for it you won't get it cause there's a thousand other drugs they will try first.
 
Personally I'd tell him I had something like sciatica - or other type of serious nerve pain - and that you have a friend with the same condition who gets a lot of relief from Gabapentin and ask if you can try it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top