Opioids Neurontin (Gabapetin) for Opiate Withdrawal?

Hey guys,

A while ago I read about how Neurontin (Gabapetin) and it's "big brother" Lyrica (Pregablin) help with opiate withdrawal. Both are the same drug but basically Lyrica is more potent and you don't need to take as much mg throughout the day for the effect.

I'm in Pain Management and have been getting prescribed 300mg Neurontin since I saw my original family doctor for pain, so I've been on Neurontin for a while. My pain mgmt doctor says I can take like 2000mg of Neurontin a day, that's how big the ladder goes with Neurontin. Well anyway being that I am also prescribed Roxy's and Morphine, I don't take the Neurontin everyday or even quite that often, I do fill the prescription so I can stash it when/if I do need it.

So anyway, has anyone had successful experiences with Neurontin for opiate withdrawal? I tried it once and it did nothing but then again I took one, maybe two tops. Then again though, I see on the net especially over there at drugs.com and opioiphile that the people it helped had never taken it before or were taking like 1,000-2,400mg of the drug (which I think is crazy, I'm personally scared to take a lot of these 300mg nerve pain pills).

Any advice or experiences, any success?

I have held off opiate withdrawal effectively with Pregablin, at higher than prescribed doses, and many other people have found this, though everone is diferent- one mans salt is another man's poison.

As you said, Pregablin is Gabapentin's big brother, though both can be effective.

I found with 450 mg of Pregablin when I was delayed from getting my daily opiate dose left me euphoric and buzzing!

You really shouldn't be on and off again neurontin like that. Suddenly stopping can lead to seizures and such. That said, neurontin is ok for w/d's but you will still have some w/d effects. They just wont be as bad.

Tapering down on your other meds would be the best route. That way you can really minimize the w/d's for the most part.

King Hop Head said:

I have held off opiate withdrawal effectively with Pregablin, at higher than prescribed doses, and many other people have found this, though everone is diferent- one mans salt is another man's poison.

As you said, Pregablin is Gabapentin's big brother, though both can be effective.

I found with 450 mg of Pregablin when I was delayed from getting my daily opiate dose left me euphoric and buzzing!

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Man that would probably be like 3,000mg of Neurontin though. >.> I wish Lyrica had a generic form because my doctor tried to put me on it.

King J said:

Man that would probably be like 3,000mg of Neurontin though. >.> I wish Lyrica had a generic form because my doctor tried to put me on it.

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I wish Lyrica had a generic too. I take 900 mg's a day without insurance BUT I get it free through Phizer it's maker...all I have to do is fill out paper work once a year and prove I am can't afford the 1200/month script and they ship it too me every 90 days! it's woderful and I have found they are very easy to work with and nice!

I think gabapentin is really good at masking withdrawals, as long as you don't mind the effects of gabapentin, which I find can be unpleasant myself, but some people like it

Both Neurontin and Lyrica have been able to almost completely negate withdrawals in myself, but only in much higher than standard doses. At these higher doses, a person can become a bit messed up and feel buzzed (reminiscent of alcohol), extremely tired to the point of passing out, and some other effects which some people do not enjoy (many people DO enjoy it although). Personally, both Neurontin and Lyrica have been lifesavers and I can attest to their effectiveness. For the note, I generally take about 1200-1500mg of Neurontin for withdrawals to be essentially totally negated. This dose is probably too much for a first timer and will likely make you pass the fuck out.

Always keep in mind that people have varied body chemistry and while neurontin may work great for one person, it may not for others.

EDIT: Also, it's widely accepted/known that high doses of Neurontin are well-tolerated in most adults. Taking 1000-2000mg is not a high enough dose to do any harm to a normal adult body (unless you're taking it everyday for extended periods like that, in which case a lasting but not permanent "brain-fog" can occur among other things). Take the smallest amount which will work though.

If you got good relief from opiate withdrawls with Gabapetin how big of an opiate habit did you have?

Did you take anything else with the Gabapetin?

Is there anything you should not take when using Gabapetin for withdrawls?

How long did you take the Gabapetin for, just during the acute phase or during PAWS too?

Does Gabapetin help with insomnia?

Hobble said:

If you got good relief from opiate withdrawls with Gabapetin how big of an opiate habit did you have?

Did you take anything else with the Gabapetin?

Is there anything you should not take when using Gabapetin for withdrawls?

How long did you take the Gabapetin for, just during the acute phase or during PAWS too?

Does Gabapetin help with insomnia?

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150-200mg of Oxy per day was habit. Used the Gabapentin for the acute phase only and was taking between 1200 and 2000mg three times a day for about four or five days. Marijuana and Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) was also used but the Gabapentin was definitely the main thing. Gabapentin also helped me with insomnia greatly. I'm not sure what shouldn't be taken with it but you can always use the drug interaction checkers around the net to tell (i.e at drugs dot com).

No. It will not help opiate withdrawals. Doubt it, severely doubt it. You will become more antsy to move around, these definitely don't help you sleep.

gabapentin is great for withdrawl i use it when i run out of my weekley script of dhc

I’ve used my Gabapentin before when I’ve ran out early on my oxy script from the doctor, I’m prescribed 3600mg per day and I’ve been on this dose for a few years now, I took a around 1200mg and it def helped take some of the symptoms of withdrawal away. Not all but it def made me more comfortable and helped with RLS.
Saying that I did just try pregabalin (not for withdrawal but with my pain meds) and i found it to be way more stronger. I kept finding myself nodding off it and that hasn’t happened in a long time! I will def try pregabalin next time to see if it’s more effective for withdrawal.

You can take gabapentin or lyrica and they help a lot with opiate withdrawals. If you don't have a history of addiction to them, then addiction takes a while to form, so you can take it daily for a week or whatever to mask the opiate withdrawal and then stop without any real trouble. Lyrican works better, but honestly gabapentin does wonders, too. I can take as little as 600mg of gabapentin (in 2 divided doses for better absorption - you can only absorb like about 300mg every half hour) and get substantial relief from withdrawals. It doesn't make you feel 100% but it helps a lot. Back in the day I was withdrawing once and got some Lyrica. I took some (300mg, or maybe 450mg, I had never taken it or gabapentin before) and after a while I felt amazing. Not just better, but awesome, no withdrawal at all and actually one of the better highs I've ever had from anything. Forttunately I only had a handful of them, so I did it a couple more times and pretty much bypassed my withdrawal. I probably would have kept doing them if I had more, because I liked it a lot, so be careful.

Phenibut helps too, but not as much for some reason, even though it shares a mechanism of action.