Gabapentin (or Pregabalin) withdrawal question.

[InTorment]

***Cannot Make Paragraphs For Some Reason.*** I started to write a big introduction post which took me a while and somehow got deleted. It was very long and confusing anyway so I'm just going to make this short and to the point. I will try to type another one up but I doubt it matters anyway but it would explain why I'm in this mess.I've been on gabapentin for many years. I've been at 2700mg (900mg 3x a day) for 4+ of those years. ........................................Now because my story is long and complex, let's just say I had to go cold turkey for a week or two. During this time, I'd be going through a nightmare withdrawal. Past experiences have been unbearable and had experienced countless wihdrawal symptoms which have even felt life threatening. Now let's say there's not any chance I could go back on for another week or two. If i went to the hospital, they would probably try to counteract this with benzos which I hear are useless for gabapentin and pregabalin withdrawals. Some think this might have to do with gabapentin/pregabalin possibly indirectly increasing gaba B concentrations which would make gabaA agonists and benzos useless. Also maybe the rebound of excess glutamate could be a major factor. There are many theories and possibilities of what causes the withdrawal. Either way, for whatever reason, benzos are useless during this withdrawal. ...................................Ok I know most people get off no problem and some go through hell with gabapentin and pregabalin withdrawal. I am one of the people who go through the hell. Nothing has been reported to help or even really ease withdrawal symptoms besides some reports of magnesium which maybe works for lighter problems but not this............................The question is, does anyone have ANY idea after all these years of something that might help even for a week of gabapentin/pregabalin withdrawal? At least something that will reduce the possibility of brain damage and nervous system dysregulation from shit like the major glutamate storms?.................................... There's a lot more to this and more I'd like to discuss but I'll just leave it at that for now. Anyone's thoughts or experiences would be very very much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[InTorment]

what the hell?

Anyone know why I can't make my post into paragraphs? i'm the it's really annoying to try to read without them. thanks and thank you for anyone that can help with my original problem even though there are other posts on it. just hoping there is some new type of info on this.

 

[Keif' Richards]

Hey InTorment, I can't say why you're unable to make paragraphs. If I had to make a guess, I'd say it's either a browser or computer issue, because I've never heard of the complaint.

Can you please explain why you can't access a medically supervised taper?

If your withdrawal is truly that severe, you could seek out Phenibut, which is a Gabapentinoid that possesses cross-tolerance with both Pregabalin and Gabapentin. You could taper yourself more comfortable with it. It's cheap and relatively easy to find online. It's only something you should get if you feel you'll be able to control yourself, as it's unregulated and can be bought by the pound like flour.

 

[InTorment]

***AGAIN SORRY ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO SPACE PROPERLY*** well the issue is far more complex. i'll just get to the main point and make it short. over the past couple of years, the gabapentin has been somehow building up in my system whether it be from my intestines or kidneys or both holding onto it. my levels were tested and is at 21 ug/ml which is believed to be triple my dose. this may be due to inadequate water intake or other factors but my kidney tests are normal..despite all of this, i will still get interdose withdrawal especially after urinating or increasing water intake. even a little more water than usual feels like i'm flushing out a ton of it from my system and it will feel like i dropped my dose down significantly. tapering my regular dose makes this worse as i'm losing both my oral dose and eliminating the built up stuff from my system at the same time..the doctor suggests i go to the hospital to somehow get the accumulated dose flushed out of me but that would mean i'd lose what could be like 6000mg plus from my system. i know this must be done because i can't keep going the way i am. the er in the past had no idea how to treat withdrawal from this when i've tried to go off cold turkey or medically supervised taper besides benzos and beta blockers which neither do even a little to help. therefore i am screwed when i lose this out of my system. it's bad enough when i eliminate a tiny bit..i guess there's nothing i can replace this with but i feel like there's gotta be something that can at least reduce the chances of brain or nervous system damage from losing that much at once or even while slowly eliminating it. i know all of this sounds crazy and i really screwed myself up big time here but this gets so severe that i'll feel like i'm ready to have seizures and i'm positive i would when a large dose is dropped but er docs aren't even aware of gabapentin withdrawal like some of my other doctors in the past. .just don't know what i'm going to do but i think i'm done for.

 

[Djsuzymac]

I know this is off subject but I'm new and need advice asap. I've taken 4200MG of gabapentin from 9:15am till 1:25pm is it safe to take one of my oxymorphone 5mg pills? Any advice would be appreciated. Thx

 

[DoesntLearn]

i would go to the hospital and let them try to flush you out and monitor you. atleast if something bad happens you are already at the hospital an they can help right away rather than going slowly at home where if something were to happen you would have to hope yo or someone else could get you to the hospital or call an ambulance and wait. i do not know much about the withdrawl but if i were in your situation i would rather already be at the hospital letting them supervise me rather than being at home hoping for the best. either way keep us updated as i recently got prescribed but so far refuse to take due to the wothdrawl horror stories.

shitty how so many people seem to have horrid withdrawl experiences yet doc's still throw it at you like candy claiming absolutely no risk of addiction. my dr even said of i feel like i need more of it to just call him and he will boost my dose... yet they will not prescribe benzos because they are scared of addiction and tolerance...

 

[InTorment]

djsuzymac: i'm not sure if you mean daily or just at that time. also not sure by what you mean by taking 4200mg at staggered doses between 9:15 and 1:25 or at once or what. maybe someone else can help you here but i personally don't know. not sure if you'd be risking respiratory depression or not. hopefully someone can give you advice.
Doesn'tLearn: yes i would normally agree with the hospital if they weren't clueless the last time i went. i was there for days going through hell with them adding benzo after benzo and beta blockers until i was convulsing to which they just upped my gabapentin dose even more. i don't really think there's much of another option for me anyway though. yeah it can be a mystery because most people have no problem with this drug. i guess the safest thing for anyone taking them is moderation and to not be on them for years at the doses i am on. thanks for the advice.

 

[Keif' Richards]

I know this is off subject but I'm new and need advice asap. I've taken 4200MG of gabapentin from 9:15am till 1:25pm is it safe to take one of my oxymorphone 5mg pills? Any advice would be appreciated. Thx

You don't need to go to the hospital, that's insane. I take 50g Gabapentin in a 24 hour period on the regular if I'm really sick and tolerance is in play. Gabapentinoids all have a very wide therapeutic index and what is of benefit for you, is that they are not known to contribute in a linear fashion to respiratory depression when combined with Opioids. What that means, is that clinically, it's been observed that there is a slight decrease in respiratory rate with this combination, but not to the point where Gabapentin could feasibly be the lethal agent in a drug cocktail. For instance, it could be that anxiolysis or analgesia from the drug reduces overall stress, leading to the decrease, but that's speculation.

So long as you're not abusing dangerous levels of Opioids, you should be totally fine.

Back to OP, can you elaborate as to what your situation is with your doctor? I think that considering you're having such a hard time with the withdrawal, you might be in need of more specialized care. Gabapentinoid dependence/withdrawal is still a pretty "new" and undocumented phenomenon in the mainstream medical community and indeed, most Doctors will outright tell you that these drugs do not produce a withdrawal syndrome. I've met at least half a dozen with this firm belief and I'm talking Harvard-educated anesthesiologists.

For the record though, this is kind of in response to DoesntLearn, Gabapentinoids definitely can produce dependence, but compared to other classes of drugs prescribed for similar indications i.e. Opioids/Benzodiazepines, they are a huge improvement. I'm a pretty textbook drug addict with self-control issues and I've never been dependent upon Gabapentinoids, despite both abusing them off the street and being prescribed them simultaneously. They always stop working by the 3rd day, so I stop and pick up again a few days later. I'm not bragging about my abilities here, it's just for reference that I throw this out there.

 

[InTorment]

Keif' Richards: the hospital thing was in response to DoesntLearn's response about hospitilization for my situation, not to djsuzymac. It's hard to tell because of my issue here with making paragraph breaks.
To answer you question about my doctor, since the test came back with the super high gabapentin serum levels, she thinks that either my intestines or kidneys are holding on to the gabapentin which needs to be somehow flushed out. I forget what she says the hospital might do for this but whatever they do cannot be good because if whatever they do eliminates it quickly from my body, I will be in deep shit. She doesn't think it will be a big deal as she is one of those doctors that are not aware of withdrawal.
I was hoping the gabapentin I lose during the process could maybe be replaced with pregabalin on top of my normal gabapentin dose but she doesn't think they will do that and my insurance probably wouldn't cover it. There's gotta be something that could be added besides more gabapentin. I'm just fucked no matter what I guess.