Misc Gabapentin - Questions and Concerns

[I B Profane]

Howdy y'all.

I have a long history of benzo use/abuse, taking up to 8mg alprazolam daily at my peak. I have since (over the course of over a year) used diazepam to taper myself down to the point where I do not take them anymore. I have a stash of emergency 2mg Ativans in case shit hits the fan, but those go untouched - I haven't used a benzodiazepine in two months. Withdrawals sucked, but the diazepam taper made it much more bearable, and I did not seize or go through anything life-threatening.

However, I still feel the PAWS of my withdrawl. Unbearable social and generalized anxiety, involuntary tics/facial muscle spasms, just generally feeling like crap all over. I was recently prescribed Gabapentin (Neurontin) at 300mg 3 times daily and it has worked WONDERS. I feel relaxed yet awake, very chatty and social (but not to the point of annoyingness like amphetamines), my body and mind feel great for the first time in, well, the many years I've been using and abusing various pills. I'm also an ex amphetamine and ex opiate addict - these days I stick to dabs (THC concentrate), caffeine (coffee and tea ftw), the occasional microbrew (not a big drinker) and psychedelics and dissociatives once in a blue moon. This gabapentin is having an unintended side effect of reducing my cravings for other drugs, which is simply AWESOME.

So gabapentin pros: reduced anxiety, reduced depression, reduced nerve pain and general "feeling like shit"ness, increased sociability, increased appetite, wonderful aid to insomnia....

What I'm curious about is the negatives, because I know if something is too good to be true it probably is. I have heard VERY conflicted reports about this drug on this site. Certain people claim that they use it for a very long time, in high doses, and experience no withdrawal upon qutting. Others have reported that it has terrible withdrawals, worse than opiates or benzos by some accounts! I would like for anybody who has been on this med, or knows anything about it, to chime in with any information they have regarding this drug, its pros and cons, and especially what withdrawal symptoms I would be faced with should I choose to stop, and how to minimize the intensity of said symptoms. I know that with any drug, tapering is the way to go. Given how mild this stuff is, I don't think I should have a problem slowly taking myself down from 900 to 0 - keep in mind I've kicked benzos, opiates, and amps before.

Thanks for the advice and have a wonderful day BL. Mods if this is in the wrong section please feel free to edit/move/merge/etc

 

[Humperdink]

That's exactly what I would like to know. My doc just started me on these 100 MG's/..I couldn't wait to get home to try it. I took one, and 10 minutes later my eyelids dropping. This is not what I wanted. So, instead of using it for pain, I use it every night as a sleep aide. Trouble is, now I am on 300 MGS..I take one every night.

I have not tried falling asleep without one, in 6 months. Bet I'd need a pill. I have a feeling it's addicting .

I sure wish I could take one during the daytime hours.

I do remember there were a few nights, after taking the pill, it made me more alert..LOL

ETA

That's wonderful to hear that Neurontin helped you stop a few other STUFF


Oh, just remembered Taking this drug brought my blood pressure down from a reading of 180/90 back to 120/80

 

[I B Profane]

Thanks for the response Humperdink. So your doc started you on 100mg? That seems a bit low but I do know that the magic in these lies in lower doses. There's not much of a "high" to chase and 300mg is perfectly enough for me to go out and be sociable.

You said 100mg knocked you out though? Wow, our brain chemistries must be different....back when I was abusing benzos heavily and didn't have access to any, I took roughly 5000mg...and still wasn't able to fall asleep. At that level it felt like being conscious in a ghb-like coma.

If it helps you, that's great. I'm just very wary of this one...it seems too good to be true. Certain people have reported withdrawal symptoms after prolonged heavy use but these people were often taking several grams a day for years. This medicine has been very helpful to me so far, I just need to know tha safest way to go about taking it. Having to take a pill for anxiety and insomnia is much better than being a nervous wreck 24/7 and never getting a full nights sleep, that's for sure...

 

[wezface]

I'm on 800mg 4x/day and so far I haven't experienced any negative side effects... but I haven't tried to quit, either. I'm sure I will taper if and when I finally am able to move on from use. I use it for chronic pain though so that may not happen.

 

[I B Profane]

^Yeah, while I never want to be on any medication for life, this one seems like the positives outweigh the negatives to the point where I can't find a good reason I'd want to quit...

 

[wezface]

Well, being long-term dependent on anything sucks. It's expensive, and it ties you down, and I can definitely tell when I miss a dose (not diligent at all about it). SO who knows if it's making things worse, or how bad they would be off of it.

 

[I B Profane]

You're absolutely correct. However, I've been on a heavy dose of some medication daily since the age of 14, and as a result my sober state of mind is all sorts of fucked up. I'd rather have to take a pill every day than deal with the nightmarish state of being that is my sober mind...if I didn't have to take anything, I wouldn't. But I recently decided to bite the bullet and accept the psychiatric help I know I need.

 

[wezface]

Good for you. I also have to take many pills to feel "normal" and not suicidal. I hope you find what you're looking for

 

[AbqDave]

Gabapentin is pretty non-toxic. I don't think you can kill a lab rat with it; they've tried. It's not going to change anything, but unlike benzo's it won't make you worse over time. Use this time to get some insight into what's going on in your noggin.