Hello. I was prescribed Gabapentin back in 2011 when I first sought treatment for my chronic back pain. I have a really good pain specialist and made it clear that I was NOT interested in going down the opioid road without first trying other non-opioid alternatives. She prescribed me Gabapentin. At first I thought I was cured. I really did. Needless to say that did not last long at all. Of course the next step was to increase the dosage until I was at 400mg, 8 times a day!! I gained a ton of weight which only makes the pressure in your spine worse. Soon after I reluctantly began a 2 tier opioid program, 1 extended relief and another for breakthrough pain in addition to the Gabapentin and epidural injections every couple of months. Don't get me wrong. I asked for these meds. My doctor did not force them on me. Earlier last year (April 2017) I decided that I wanted to get off all of these medications because we all know how lousy (being nice) they make you feel. So, like an inexperienced idiot I began a really fast taper from Ativan and Gabapentin at the same time quitting the Ativan completely in less than a month (bad idea). I had been taking the Gabapentin off and on in small amounts but not regularly because of the weight gain. Within the first 2 months I had lost almost 50 pounds (47 to be exact) without even trying which is fantastic. Problem is that now even after 8 months I am still in a perpetual state of withdrawal. I know it can take many many months to recover from the Benzodiazepines but really had no clue as to the severity and length of time it would take to be over the Gabapentin. My last Gabapentin dose was back in October, going off cold turkey. I was wondering if anyone knows anything about how long it could take to start feeling better? The headaches, anxiety, insomnia, physical pain, ringing in my ears, muscle spasms, etcband now a new symptom of abdominal pain has arisen and has been bothering me since I stopped the Gabapentin. I got checked out back in October with a complete lab workup, MRI, CT scan with everything coming back as normal so they sent me home. I chalked it up after that to the withdrawal symptoms. I have an appointment next week with my PCP to see if he can check me out again and hopefully get him to order some x-rays or a possible upper GI to see if it's something else more serious like stones, ulcers or even the "C" word. I am attached to 2 heating pads all day and night. Is this the Gabapentin?? This is silly I know but what keeps me going is waiting for the next Star Wars movie to come out and other milestones just to get through it. I'm scared to death that I will never get better and that this is the new normal for me. I'm tempted to take a dose of Gabapentin just to see if that is whats causing the problems. Don't know what else to do. I have really good insurance and can go anywhere and see anyone but still cannot find relief. I truly am out of options. Any suggestions or advise would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the all over the place ramble.