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Gabapentinoids Gabapentin Megathread

You will be severely disappointed and underwhelmed. If I was you, I would take 700 milligrams and enjoy the pleasant minor opioid + minor benzo like feeling. This only happens once, however, as Gabapentin's tolerance hits you afte only the first time.

Keep in mind, this is one of the safest meds on the market. There have been no cases of an overdose even remotely deadly.

Yeah, it pretty much did fuck all for my pain. All it did was made my eyes twitch, give me palpitations and make me hungry and sleepy. =\
 
Yeah, it pretty much did fuck all for my pain. All it did was made my eyes twitch, give me palpitations and make me hungry and sleepy. =\

Personally, I've found benzo's to be the best for severe nerve pain. I know, I know... benzo's are addictive etc. But seriously, they provide no euphoria (to most people anyways) and I almost never abuse them (I've found them not be psychologically reinforcing at all). Physical addiction is just a side-effect of benzodiazepines. If you take benzo's for more than a couple weeks straight - you will become physically dependent. There is no way around that. However, you will not be psychologically addictive if they are taken correctly.

Anyways, I tried everything for nerve pain. Tons and tons of SSRIS, SNRI's, Channel Blockers (which were the most effective non-controlled substance Rx drugs), antipsychotics and TCA's (both of which just made things a lot worse), and many other drugs. I was prescribed codeine for a small amount of time, but found it be ineffective after any sort of tolerance built up. But benzo's did just the opposite.

I've found that they've made my RLS and nerve pain way better as time has gone on. I no longer suffer RLS during the day, and while I would have RLS at night - the benzo's I'm prescribe for sleep stop that from happening. I no longer have to live my life in physical pain because of exhausted nerves or whatever the fuck causes nerve issues. Also, I've also found benzo tolerance to be no where near what other people have described it to be like.

Maybe that's because I don't abuse my prescriptions? Who knows... All I know is that I've been on Benzo's every day of my life since last August and they're still 90% as effective as they were when I first started taking them.

An exception to the only thing helping for nerve pain (that isn't a benzo) is Nicotine. For some reason, Nicotine has always taken away all of my nerve pain. It's incredibly effective at doing so. I wish doctors would look into this further (explore nAChR as a means of analgesia) because it seems to really work for me...
 
Gabapentin worked really well for me for anxiety and pain for the first week or so that I was on it. When mixed with medical cannabis it felt very much like a mild narcotic painkiller..

Tolerance developed so quickly that for the rest of my experience with Gabapentin I was trying to recreate what I felt that first week. I was prescribed Gabapentin for about a year. I basically thought of it as ibuprofen, and would take it when I felt particularly anxious. I had a few seizures a month ago and was tapered off of Gabapentin and put on two very strong anti-convulsants. I'm now prescribed Lyrica, and absolutely love it. It is superior to Gabapentin in every way.
 
Personally, I've found benzo's to be the best for severe nerve pain. I know, I know... benzo's are addictive etc. But seriously, they provide no euphoria (to most people anyways) and I almost never abuse them (I've found them not be psychologically reinforcing at all). Physical addiction is just a side-effect of benzodiazepines. If you take benzo's for more than a couple weeks straight - you will become physically dependent. There is no way around that. However, you will not be psychologically addictive if they are taken correctly.

Anyways, I tried everything for nerve pain. Tons and tons of SSRIS, SNRI's, Channel Blockers (which were the most effective non-controlled substance Rx drugs), antipsychotics and TCA's (both of which just made things a lot worse), and many other drugs. I was prescribed codeine for a small amount of time, but found it be ineffective after any sort of tolerance built up. But benzo's did just the opposite.

I've found that they've made my RLS and nerve pain way better as time has gone on. I no longer suffer RLS during the day, and while I would have RLS at night - the benzo's I'm prescribe for sleep stop that from happening. I no longer have to live my life in physical pain because of exhausted nerves or whatever the fuck causes nerve issues. Also, I've also found benzo tolerance to be no where near what other people have described it to be like.

Maybe that's because I don't abuse my prescriptions? Who knows... All I know is that I've been on Benzo's every day of my life since last August and they're still 90% as effective as they were when I first started taking them.

An exception to the only thing helping for nerve pain (that isn't a benzo) is Nicotine. For some reason, Nicotine has always taken away all of my nerve pain. It's incredibly effective at doing so. I wish doctors would look into this further (explore nAChR as a means of analgesia) because it seems to really work for me...

I am rx'ed alprazolam for anxiety, and I do notice that it mildly helps me with my nerve pain. I've been on it for well over 2 years, so I think I'm past the point of worrying about dependency, because I know I am dependent on it.

I was on oxycodone/apap and hydrocodone/apap for a while. The hydrocodone and apap worked great, but then my doctor decided she no longer wanted to fill that script and then put me on ibuprofen 600mg b.i.d, 100mg Gabapentin and 5mg cyclobenzaprine. I'm also on a SNRI- tried SSRIs with no success. It's quite frustrating that nothing seems to fully help eliminate my pain. Even the Norco didn't fully eliminate it, but it definitely helped more than my current regiment...

The last time I tried nicotine it triggered my anxiety a bit, but that was a few years ago. I may look into it again.

Gabapentin worked really well for me for anxiety and pain for the first week or so that I was on it. When mixed with medical cannabis it felt very much like a mild narcotic painkiller..

Tolerance developed so quickly that for the rest of my experience with Gabapentin I was trying to recreate what I felt that first week. I was prescribed Gabapentin for about a year. I basically thought of it as ibuprofen, and would take it when I felt particularly anxious. I had a few seizures a month ago and was tapered off of Gabapentin and put on two very strong anti-convulsants. I'm now prescribed Lyrica, and absolutely love it. It is superior to Gabapentin in every way.

What mg were you on, Zwanya? Did you get any of the negative side effects like weight gain? Also, did the Gabapentin cause your seizures? Sorry for all the questions, I'm just trying to get as much info as I can :)
 
I am rx'ed alprazolam for anxiety, and I do notice that it mildly helps me with my nerve pain. I've been on it for well over 2 years, so I think I'm past the point of worrying about dependency, because I know I am dependent on it.

I was recently switched from Ativan to Klonopin and both have help incredibly well for my nerve pain. I've never tried Xanax to be honest, but the consensus online seems to be that it's one of the better benzo's. Problem is - it's also one of the more addicting benzos and if you start taking it every time you start feeling pain - you could develop a psychological addiction to it.

That's what I did with Ativan (took it every time I started feeling any sort of pain) and while it was INCREDIBLY effective... I had to start taking it more and more often because I would start going into bzd withdrawals... which would give me nerve pain. So they switched me to Klonopin 1 milligram twice a day (just want to point out that's a hell of a dose. Equal to 40 milligrams of Valium a day). But I no longer have nerve pain... like at all... It's been totally eliminated by Klonopin.

I was on oxycodone/apap and hydrocodone/apap for a while. The hydrocodone and apap worked great, but then my doctor decided she no longer wanted to fill that script and then put me on ibuprofen 600mg b.i.d, 100mg Gabapentin and 5mg cyclobenzaprine. I'm also on a SNRI- tried SSRIs with no success. It's quite frustrating that nothing seems to fully help eliminate my pain. Even the Norco didn't fully eliminate it, but it definitely helped more than my current regiment...

I'd ask your doc if she would be willing to prescribe Tramadol. The mix of opioid + SNRI action may be even more effective than just opioid action alone.

The last time I tried nicotine it triggered my anxiety a bit, but that was a few years ago. I may look into it again.

What mg were you on, Zwanya? Did you get any of the negative side effects like weight gain? Also, did the Gabapentin cause your seizures? Sorry for all the questions, I'm just trying to get as much info as I can :)

I personally, got up to 1200 milligrams. Long before that, I told them that Gabapentin was no longer working but they refused to change it. I, personally, experience no side-effects at all from Gabapentin other than horrible rebound insomnia and anxiety when I was 'cold-turkey'd' off of it. Those discontinuation symptoms only lasted for a week, however.

Anyways, have you tried any of the Alpha-agonists? Guanfacine was the only other non-controlled substance that really helped me with nerve pain. You could also look into that (it's trade name is Tenex.) It's usually prescribe for ADHD or Hypertension - but I found it to be very effective for nerve pain when I was on it for ADHD. It did nothing for my ADHD, but it do help a lot with nerve pain.

And yes... good ol' nicotine. Personally, I recommend that you get mentholated cigarettes if you're going to try that. Menthol itself also has some antinociceptive actions and mentholated cigarettes seem to work way better than non-mentholated ones. Also, I have also experienced increased anxiety with non-menthol cigarettes. But menthols were just the opposite - I experienced a very marked reduction in anxiety and much more power painkilling effect.
 
I was recently switched from Ativan to Klonopin and both have help incredibly well for my nerve pain. I've never tried Xanax to be honest, but the consensus online seems to be that it's one of the better benzo's. Problem is - it's also one of the more addicting benzos and if you start taking it every time you start feeling pain - you could develop a psychological addiction to it.

That's what I did with Ativan (took it every time I started feeling any sort of pain) and while it was INCREDIBLY effective... I had to start taking it more and more often because I would start going into bzd withdrawals... which would give me nerve pain. So they switched me to Klonopin 1 milligram twice a day (just want to point out that's a hell of a dose. Equal to 40 milligrams of Valium a day). But I no longer have nerve pain... like at all... It's been totally eliminated by Klonopin.

i was on klonopin for a while, and that helped me a ton with anxiety and pain. i stopped taking them for a brief period of time, can't quite remember why, and then when i complained of anxiety she (my doctor) put me on alprazolam immediately. i have asked her about switching to clonazepam again, especially since it has a much longer half-life, but she's dead set on me being on alprazolam for some reason. i don't really understand why. i may be switching doctors anyway or getting a 2nd opinion because that office has been pissing me off.

I'd ask your doc if she would be willing to prescribe Tramadol. The mix of opioid + SNRI action may be even more effective than just opioid action alone.

this was actually her suggestion after she took me off the hydrocodone/acetaminophen (cold turkey, might i add). i declined, because i tried it before and it gave me horrible auditory hallucinations. like i'd be trying to fall asleep at night, and then as soon as i would start to fall asleep i'd hear someone "say something" and i'd jerk out of my half asleep state. it was quite scary. it was about 400mg that i was taking, if i can recall correctly.

I personally, got up to 1200 milligrams. Long before that, I told them that Gabapentin was no longer working but they refused to change it. I, personally, experience no side-effects at all from Gabapentin other than horrible rebound insomnia and anxiety when I was 'cold-turkey'd' off of it. Those discontinuation symptoms only lasted for a week, however.

Anyways, have you tried any of the Alpha-agonists? Guanfacine was the only other non-controlled substance that really helped me with nerve pain. You could also look into that (it's trade name is Tenex.) It's usually prescribe for ADHD or Hypertension - but I found it to be very effective for nerve pain when I was on it for ADHD. It did nothing for my ADHD, but it do help a lot with nerve pain.

i have not tried alpha agonistis. it is something that i may consider looking into, however. what side effects, if any, did you experience from the Alpha-agonists? i'm always super anxious when i start taking a new medication, so if i know the positive effects it has had on someone, i'm usually less anxious about trying it.
 
have bad depression from PAWS. though never had anxiety and depression pre heroin addiction. So I know it will pass....but maybe will take a long, long time. I am prepared for this and get panic attacks. I took myself off klonopin (kicking myself) b/b by the time it kicked in my PA was gone and i was just out of it. I have requested 5-10 ativan or xanax a month for my horrible panic attacks, and I took myself off of klonopin.

Yet because I am truthful to my doctor (told them i am a opiate addict, and my relapse are anxiety based, and these relapses cause depression etc). So I guess i can't get even 5mg a month for legit panic attacks, when anyone can lie and say they are stressed.

I got prescribed gabapentin once trying to get off suboxone. And it definitely helped with the w/d and the dysphoria. I felt like it feels kinda natural. People i know who are experienced and preach SSRI say it does shit. But i don't want to get on an SSRI if my PAWS depression will sometime cure itself eventually.

Would this be good for PAWS depression, instead of screwing with your already screwed up neurotransmitters.
 
Maybe for short term periods. It's apparent intoxicating effects (not talking nerve pain/seizure indications here) build up tolerance super rapidly. When I took it I'd always feel nice and bit sleepy and energetic. If you try to use it day after day, or any length of time (week+) merely for PAWs, you'll be dependent on gabapentin, and doubly feel shitty.
 
have bad depression from PAWS. though never had anxiety and depression pre heroin addiction. So I know it will pass....but maybe will take a long, long time. I am prepared for this and get panic attacks. I took myself off klonopin (kicking myself) b/b by the time it kicked in my PA was gone and i was just out of it. I have requested 5-10 ativan or xanax a month for my horrible panic attacks, and I took myself off of klonopin.

Yet because I am truthful to my doctor (told them i am a opiate addict, and my relapse are anxiety based, and these relapses cause depression etc). So I guess i can't get even 5mg a month for legit panic attacks, when anyone can lie and say they are stressed.

I got prescribed gabapentin once trying to get off suboxone. And it definitely helped with the w/d and the dysphoria. I felt like it feels kinda natural. People i know who are experienced and preach SSRI say it does shit. But i don't want to get on an SSRI if my PAWS depression will sometime cure itself eventually.

Would this be good for PAWS depression, instead of screwing with your already screwed up neurotransmitters.

This is a misconception.

You're body is not 'screwed-up', there are no screwed up neurotransmitters - the neurons in your brain became adapted to having opioids all the time. The body ALWAYS has to keep some sort of homeostasis in order to keep you alive - so the neurons in your brain actually changed to accommodate that opiate use.

Now that you're body doesn't have to keep itself in homeostasis with the heroin - it will attempt to reach homeostasis once again and eventually you'll feel like you did before your heroin usage.
 
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What mg were you on, Zwanya? Did you get any of the negative side effects like weight gain? Also, did the Gabapentin cause your seizures? Sorry for all the questions, I'm just trying to get as much info as I can :)


Hey ad lib!

I was on a rather high daily dose--600mg 3 times a day--for anxiety. The side effects were pretty nasty. I gained about 10 pounds; this happened even though I eat local, whole, healthy food, exercise regularly, and do yoga almost daily. My eating/exercising habits never changed, the only element that changed was adding Gabapentin to my meds regimen.

My skin was also quite irritated on the medication. It would become inflammed often, and I broke out in hives a few times after taking my dose.

If you have any other questions, just shoot me a message. It's no problem at all. :)

Z
 
I have a question for anyone here. How long (estimated) does it usually take to become physically dependent on gabapentin? I used it for 5 or 6 days to get off of a horrible oxycodone/kratom habit (about 1200 mgs per day average, spread out into 3 or 4 doses or so), and then upon stopping, still had some mild withdrawal symptoms so went back on just kratom (though not nearly as much), and plan to do another week or so long cycle of gabapentin to take care of most of the rest. It's been about 5 days since stopping the first gabapentin cycle, and will probably be a couple more days until starting again. I would think that I shouldn't have to worry about physical dependency from gabapentin from this level of use, right?

PS - gabapentin did work like a charm for oxy/kratom withdrawal - I plan on making another thread to go into much greater detail about my experience shortly.
 
You're not going to get addicted to gabapentin in a week :) So unlikely.

Yeah, though the original "nice" feeling may be lost after a few uses, physically you'll be fine when talking in that timeframe. Many people using it for nerve pain are on this drug for far longer periods, and they generally seem to be the ones mentioning cessation symptoms. Good luck!
 
No one gets addicted to gabapentin in a week. Its as others have said, those who take it for years, every day, with no breaks. Even people who leave a few days between doses don't get WD symptoms. As for it being a safe drug, yes sure, but only because not much is known about it.
 
I take Gabapentin since 12 Days for Opioide Withdrawal. At beginning I reduce my Opioide and take at the same time the first 10 Days only 200mg Gabapentin for sleep. After the Opioide reduce to minimal doses I stopped complete with Opioide and take first day without Opioide 500mg Gabapentin through the day and night. Second day 800mg Gabapentin through the day and night and today 600mg Gabapentin. I want to take Gabapentin the next 3 or 4 Days and than stop it. So, is it possible that I became hard withdrawal from Gabapentin ?

Oh man, for Opioide Withdrawal it is godsend but after all the posts here I have fear about Gabapentin Withdrawal.

Please answer/ help
 
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I take Gabapentin since 12 Days for Opioide Withdrawal. At beginning I reduce my Opioide and take at the same time the first 10 Days only 200mg Gabapentin for sleep. After the Opioide reduce to minimal doses I stopped complete with Opioide and take first day without Opioide 500mg Gabapentin through the day and night. Second day 800mg Gabapentin through the day and night and today 600mg Gabapentin. I want to take Gabapentin the next 3 or 4 Days and than stop it. So, is it possible that I became hard withdrawal from Gabapentin ?

Oh man, for Opioide Withdrawal it is godsend but after all the posts here I have fear about Gabapentin Withdrawal.

Please answer/ help

You will nto get WD from a few days of use. Mostly its people who use it for months or years with no breaks that get WD. You should be fine.
 
I really enjoy gabapentin, i eat a meal take 3.6grams )since i heard that is as high as u shuld g before its pointless), i drink a glass of dr.pepper. andi feel really good.
 
Not sure if this is the right place to post this...if not, mods please feel free to move it elsewhere where it would be more appropriate :)

So I recently got a good amount of these pills that my buddies and I are calling "Gabaprazin." They are pills containing ~400mg of gabapentin and 1-1.5mg of alprazolam.

How is this possible you ask? Well firstly it only works with the gabapentin that comes inside the capsules, I doubt this would work with the big chunky white ones. Butyeah these were made by a friend, who would make them by opening up the cap of gabapentin, dumping a tiiiiny bit of gabapentin powder out and then dropping liquid alprazolam inside the pill, then closing it back up again. The liquid alpraz was inside a PG solution that was worked out to be ~1mg per drop, and when he sold these to me "yeah, if anything these should be fat" (as in, at least 1mg of Xanax in them. I've had sketchy experiences with some pretty weak liquid alpraz and powdered alpraz before so I wanted to make sure I wasn't wasting my money.) I heard the process described, and I guess the gabapentin powder goes from being powdery to chunky and solid once having the 'praz dropped on it, and if you close up the capsule it should stay good and not degrade...

Anyway, I've been experimenting with it a bit as of late. I took one, and expecting the Xanax to kick in right away, was disappointed when I only felt very mild/near placebo effects at the 30 minute mark. I decided to take another and HOLY FUCK it hit me like a freight train, something about the way the pill is set up it takes much longer to feel the alprazolam than just taking a Xanax. Taking a Xanax kicks in quite fast, but with this stuff it takes a lot longer. It's almost like extended release Xanax in a way, with gabapentin to potentiate it. The good news is there is EASILY 1mg or more of alpraz inside these. 1 of these will get me, 2 of these will get me good, and while I've yet to take more than 2 I imagine at that level it would be pretty hard to stay awake. I also take 1-2 mg etizolam on top of these and smoke weed and it gets me feeling quite nice and cozy. And I have a pretty fat downer tolerance FWIW
 
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