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Misc 10 weeks off short term use of Gabapentin

I went inpatient when this stuff brought my depression to dangerous levels. Figuring they would help me with the pain, they did very little except quickly taper me off. No matter how much I cried to them about the pain, they did not care.

Last night I took five Tylenol 3 and it did a real good job getting rid of the nerve pain but I think it may have really intensified my derealization. Today the nerve pain seems to be reduced.
 
So yesterday I took a percocet 5mg in the afternoon to deal with the nerve pain and that seems to have made my derealization worse. I was expecting to feel a high from it as well but that did not happen. The nerve pain seems to be subsided significantly today so I am not going to take anything, and hopefully it is away for good.

I still have no idea what the hell is going on with my body other than the fact that I feel legitimately crazy. This derealization is out of control, my anxiety is sky high, and my anger is real bad. I need this to end.

It's been 3 months of this, how much longer can this go on? I feel like my derealization has been getting worse this month.
 
I popped three percocets and drank two beers on Saturday night because 1) I was frustrated with my situation and 2) I wanted to get high to escape. Well it worked and I got high.

When I woke up on Sunday, aside from some depression in the morning, I have been doing pretty well. My derealization has been significantly reduced, if not completely eliminated. My cognitive skills have improved a little bit, and I've been pretty relaxed. Last night was the first night in a long time that I slept comfortably without some fear that someone would stab me or a plane would crash into my apartment building while I slept.

I still have some anxiety and I don't know how I would do if I tried driving a car, but overall I'm doing okay. I've also had NO nerve pain or heart palpitations/rapid heart beat since. I'm still having difficulty falling asleep and need like 18mg of melatonin to do so.

Could these percocets have reduced my symptoms like this, or is this a coincidence?
 
I think sometimes one can get so wrapped up in negativity that it's hard to see anything past it. On a chemical level there's nothing that an opiate could have done to improve your situation past the temporary high. Having a good experience most likely changed your perception a bit, hence improving your life.
 
So last night I was dealing with EXTREME shakiness and anxiety to the point where it was painful, so I took one Percocet before I went to bed with some melatonin. Well I didn't fall asleep until 5am and now I'm on the bus to work and my nerve pain in my right arm is starting to come back.

Can all of these increased anxieties and nerve pains be caused by withdrawals from the Percocet and from the Tylenol 3 I had last week? How long could this last for? Or is this just my natural pain and its timing is a coincidence?

I brought some Tylenol 3 to work with me in case the pain gets severe.
 
Don't take the Oxycodone before bed, it'll keep you up. It's doubtful that you'd be having an opiate withdrawal so early on, but not impossible. Especially with your state being compromised by Gabapentin withdrawal.

Opiate withdrawal always starts out with watery eyes, yawning and sneezing. Thereafter it progresses into an upset stomach and RLS...so on.

If you don't mind, post about all your opiate usage in the last 2 weeks.
 
06/29: one Percocet 5/325
06/27: three Percocet 5/325 (all at once)
06/25: one Percocet 5/325
06/24: eight Tylenol 3 (spread out throughout day)

Before that...
06/06: two Tylenol 3
06/05: six Tylenol 3

Prior to that, the last time I took opiates was when my wisdom teeth were removed in 2011.
 
I think sometimes one can get so wrapped up in negativity that it's hard to see anything past it. On a chemical level there's nothing that an opiate could have done to improve your situation past the temporary high. Having a good experience most likely changed your perception a bit, hence improving your life.

This.

Blue Comet, please don't take this the wrong way, I have been following your story as I too have had issues with the gabapentin, and though our stories are not identical, I have been handling the withdraw and things are getting better for me.

You seem to obsess over drug withdraw. Do you think there may be a possibility that this truly is all just in your head at this point? There is no doubt gabapentin withdraw is hell, I just can't help but feel like maybe there is something else going on here.

You have to stop obsessing over the symptoms you are feeling. It only makes things worse, and slows down the healing process.
 
Cosmic I know where you're coming from with that assessment, but its definitely not all in my head. A lot of it is still my body healing itself back up, which is moving very slow.
 
I said this before in the thread and I'll say it again.. You better address the issue of benzodiazepine withdrawal because your symptoms are identical to bz withdrawal syndrome. You stated you were on benzos and quit at the same time you quit the gabapentin.

Yes gabapentin withdrawal is bad but not severe enough to last this long and to me it really seems you are experiencing withdrawals from your BENZOS!
I see other people in the thread have said similar things and you keep brushing them off as incorrect.
Anyways magnesium can most likely only help you. It is an nmda antagonist that works as a neuroprotectant and slightly reduces tolerance (aka dependence) which will help your withdrawal.
Sometimes when you are suffering from withdrawal it is best to take advice, because it is your best thinking that got you where you are now ;)
 
Just to clarify, I was off benzos for about five months before I started gabapentin. I was doing 10x better before I started gabapentin. I started it for severe insomnia and lingering anxiety, now those things are the worst of my problems.

I had to take some Percocet and Tylenol 3 for nerve pain over the past week (about four days total use) and I think it's revving up my withdrawal symptoms and is doing more harm than good, so they'll go away and I'll cross my fingers that no more nerve pain persists.

Gonna go back on 1/2 teaspoon of natural calm magnesium citrate.
 
Just to clarify, I was off benzos for about five months before I started gabapentin. I was doing 10x better before I started gabapentin. I started it for severe insomnia and lingering anxiety, now those things are the worst of my problems.

I had to take some Percocet and Tylenol 3 for nerve pain over the past week (about four days total use) and I think it's revving up my withdrawal symptoms and is doing more harm than good, so they'll go away and I'll cross my fingers that no more nerve pain persists.

Gonna go back on 1/2 teaspoon of natural calm magnesium citrate.
Opiates could lower your seizure threshold which is not a good thing when withdrawing from gabaergics.
Here is some advice that might help your problem. When I was kicked off of my methadone clinic I had to withdrawal from both methadone and benzos at the same time. I went through hell similar to yours for three months. I finally made it to my computer to look for a remedy. One thing lead to another and I came across a FAQ on Erowid by dr William White on DXM. I read in his amazing faq on there usefulness of nmda antagonist and they're usefulness in alleviating withdrawal.
In this case the nmda antagonist he was discussing was DXM (dextromethorphan hbr) ... The stuff in Robitussin. After learning hour to safely and effectively trip off of this drug I gave it a go. Had the best night of my life and woke up the next day with withdrawal symptoms cut in half. I did it a second night in a row and when I woke up the next morning, I shit you not my symptoms were gone.
Now I am Not saying that you should go out and robotrip but I'm just saying maybe read the FAQ.
Even if you decide against trying it, you will walk away with immense knowledge on a broad variety of subjects. Trust me on this.. But I beg you not to tamper with any DXM until you have taken the time to read the whole FAQ.
I'll try to get you a link
http://is.gd/DXMfaq/ or
https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dxm/faq/
 
That's interesting. Did your withdrawal effects go away permanently?
Amazingly, yes. But I relapsed on other drugs for other reasons some time later... All I could tell you is read the FAQ ;) ;)
I've been where you're at and I escaped it, so it's up to you.
Let me know how it goes however
 
Read the FAQ; not brave enough to try this.

Seems like I am a likely candidate for psychological side effects, especially with my fragile CNS
 
Yeah I would not take the DXM route as a road to recovery. I take MXE quite often, a dissociative somewhat similar to DXM but different in quite a regular basis, and it does nothing to help alleviate my symptoms.

I'm down to 300 mgs and am really feeling the withdraw bad again. Hopefully this only lasts a couple days. Physically weak, nauseous, light headed...I actually stood up too fast just yesterday and collapsed, blacking out for a second. It was pretty scary.
 
I suffered withdrawal from gabapentin for 2 years after short term use for only a couple of weeks. After that I gave up, reinstated and now I am even more depressed because of the medicine than I was from the remaining withdrawal. I hate this drug with all my heart, though it's a godsend for nerve pain. But there are so many better drugs out there to be honest for that which does not cause depression as a side effect.

The withdrawal never goes away though. It did not for me. I hope you have more luck.
 
Damn...really?

What kind of withdrawal did it give you? Are you on gabapentin for life now?
 
Damn...really?

What kind of withdrawal did it give you? Are you on gabapentin for life now?

Worst type of withdrawal, felt like a mix between withdrawing from PCP and benzos at the same time. Horrible burning pain and extreme anxiety. Also the withdrawal caused me to have a seizure (probably) because it all went black after severe insomnia for a whole week and then when I woke up I was on the floor and since then I suffer constant dizzyness and double vision / other vision problems.

I fucked up though I thought I could just taper really fast because I had been on it for such a short time. Fuck me did that backfire.

I am on Lyrica now for life, I find it a bit more tolerable than gabapentin. The brain damage (vision probems/dizzyness) has now lasted over 1200 days and seems to be permanent.
 
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